Some rather disparaging comments have been made about the Commando Miniatures Land Rover earlier in this thread and the production team would like to take the opportunity to set the record straight.
First of all scale. The Land Rover is criticised for being underscale. In fact the model is exactly to 1/56 scale as any check of the dimensions will quickly reveal. The original Series 1 SWB had a wheelbase of 84” which is 1.5” in 1/56 scale. The model has a wheel base of precisely 1.5”. Similarly the width overall is 59.1” equating to 1.06” in 1/56; the model is very fractionally wider than 1”. Later variants had a wheelbase of 86” – we suspect we will be forgiven for not producing a second version 0.04” longer than the first.
If the model looks small, it is because the Series 1 Short Wheel Base Land Rover is a small vehicle and anyone who has owned or driven one will usually comment on how compact it is. Overall length is 11’ 4”, which is actually shorter than a modern Mini.
The Land Rover master was fabricated by a skilled model maker who has made vehicle masters for a number manufacturers. We set out to make a life-like representation of the original, suitable for wargamers. It has all the necessary detail including door handle recesses, windscreen wipers, lights, number plates and radiator grille. We would be the first to admit it is not a fine scale model; we leave that to companies such as Accurate Armour. Our aim was to provide a model of a ubiquitous vehicle, suitable for many armies over a twenty year period, and at a price which would allow customers to purchase two or three if required.
Casting was initially carried out by an experienced resin casting company, more recently we have commenced casting ourselves. Any item which does not meet our quality standard is rejected and goes in the bin. Every item that has been packaged for sale has been a crisp clean casting with minimal flash. We are always ready to replace, free-of-charge, any defective item. In nearly 18 months of online trading we have had to do this once so far (not a Land Rover casting).
Commando Miniatures is always ready to take suggestions for improvement or constructive criticism. However we cannot allow unsubstantiated criticism to go unanswered especially where it is factually incorrect.
28 June 2010, 08:28:39 AM
