Nice review Nigel, the rear body was made of a wooden frame with stretched canvas across it, so texture on the parts is representing that. Great touch from Gecko. Cheers Bob 🤣
Was at the 'local' model shop yesterday and they had this and the Airfix kit. Having seen your Airfix review just a few hours earlier, and given that this kit was only a few quid more I went for this one expecting it to be a more complex kit. This one having an engine and the extra PE will make it more detailed and really lends itself to a diorama. That is what I will probably use it for. The Airfix looks OK though especially if you don't like PE! Thanks for doing these reviews, they are really useful especially when there is a choice like this.
I suspect the figure is Princess Elizabeth. She served in these ambulances and there are plenty of images of her changing wheels etc. I am, as I have mentioned before, a new modeller but looking at the 2 kits I would buy the Gecko, if only for the radiator grill. How hard can it be, right? :)
I do like Gecko kits, they are superbly detailed and have what are probably the best instructions in the business at the moment. Whilst I appreciate that gloss paper does present filming difficulties, there are good technical printing reason for doing it. Look forward to the comparison but my take is simple: it's like a Ford versus a BMW... 👍
Surprised you haven't twigged that the figure included is Princess Elizabeth Nige; there's a very famous photo of her stood beside a K2Y ambulance on which she trained in various disciplines in '44 and '45- so please treat the figure with great respect! Lols. Great review 😀
My initial impression is the Airfix kit could be a nice addition to a diorama and the Gecko kit could be the centerpiece of a diorama. great reviews Nigel
Great review! I don't comment much, but kudos for both reviews! I was going to mention Her Majesty, but others did. Great addition to the kit. There are pics of her changing the wheel, and standing by here ambulance (decals are in the kit!). Can't wait for the comparison vid...
Great review. This will be my first substantial 1/35 kit and first time using photo etch. Hoping you will do a step by step build of it soon, aimed at us newbs.
Great in-depth review my friend looks a fantastic kit the details look amazing lots of options will add that nice touch to the build be interesting to see your comparison on both kits thanks for sharing and keep up the great work 👍👍
Another great review Nige! From what I can gather the Gecko kit has quite a bit more detail on it, for just a few quid more, but I have never done a gecko kit before so I think I will get one ordered so I can try it out. but I'll have to wait untill they come to Sweden as the shipping costs from the UK are utterly ridiculous since Brexit. most stockists are charging as much if not more than the kit costs to ship to Sweden! Then i'll probably have to pay import duty on top of that, so I'll have to wait. Looking forward to seeing the comparison video. all the best!
Great review thanks. I ordered mine last night, ahead of your review - the more I researched online, the weaker my resolve got until I caved in - ho hum! I'm hoping to build this into a diorama, and whilst doing my research into this kit I stumbled across an imminent release from Gecko Models that would go very nicely with the model. It's a set of figures, including the one that is in the K2 kit. The only place I was able to find reference to this kit was on Scalemates, under the title of "WWII British Army Truck Driver set". Apologies for slightly derailing your review - I thought it might be of interest if you were planning a diorama yourself.
Small detail but you need to set the steering wheel ‘angle of rotation’ to match the angle of the front wheels if you deviate from ‘straight ahead’. This has a lot more detail than the Airfix kit but will be interested to hear your views on fit of parts as you build it.
Hi Nigel, great review. I just recently watched Ice Cold In Alex, it's a great movie. This looks like a great kit. I have never tried a Gecko kit either, but I'm sure thinking about picking this up when they become available here in the US. Thanks for sharing. Have a great day Jeff
If I should decide to buy a Katy kit, this would be the one. The Airfix kit, as you say, will be no trouble to build, but this has many more options and will be more of a challenge and we like stretching our modelling abilities, don't we?
I have actually pre-ordered the Gecko Early version of this vehicle due for release in October. However I saw this on Jumblies site on Monday at a very reasonable price and couldn't help myself and ordered it straight away. It will be delivered later this afternoon and your review has only increased my excitement and confirmed the wisdom of my decision to cancel the Airfix pre-order.
Hi, Nigel. Just a quick comment about the KTY - Both look to be Good kits but the KTY had, in common with other British Made lorries of the period only 2 pedals. An Accelerator and a clutch- The brake is the odd handle by the Gear shift with the lever at the top by the grip. I made this comment below on another preview: I am not 100% sure but if you look at that handbrake it appears to have a main lever and a small hand lever at the top end. The main lever would be the "Footbrake" part and that small hand lever would be a "lock" to act like a handbrake. My father's old Bedford truck had a similar brake on it. (He sold it when I was about 4-5 years old - Longer ago than I like to think about!) -c 1962? (I think that thing you thought was an accelerator was actually the footpedal for the parking lock.
@@NigelsModellingBench Yes, I think the rightmost pedal is the foot operated parking brake. I kind of remember my Dad's Bedford had that as the leftmost oedal. Essentially you pressed to lock the brakes fir oarking and released it by using the small lever on the double handled brake, while pumping the foot lever once. At least on the Bedford. I recall watching Dad curse the system roundly.
Have a few pictures taken at Southport forces day in 2019 the sides are textured as Bob has suggested. Give me a heads up if you would like me to forward the pics.
Hi Nigel, fantastic model, looking at the figure on side of the box, i think it really does look like the Queen during the war and my other half says the same. tell me your thoughts on it , if you think same.
Nice review, Thanks. The side windows were, I am pretty sure, not glass but some clear material as the 'doors' were canvas and rolled up as seen on the box art. Thus the 'warped' look of the clear part is deliberate I am sure. The cab windows at the front will have been glass of course.
Gréât review video. From a pure detail standing this looks to be the much better kit than Airfix and the price différence is quite small considering the différence in détail, plus photo-tech. I wouldn't buy it as I hâte when the is no choice between plastic and etch given (I should choose as builder, not Gekko etc). Looking forward to the comparison video. I think Gekko will come off a lot better unfortunately. To be honest, on the 1/35 scale (and 1/48) Airfix need to stop worrying about part counts and go for higher (but not extreme) detail. They've seem to have just about got everything else right now. Since the chassis was used for a lot of late 30s/40s vehicles, both manufacturers can produce a range of trucks and other vehicles in the long term, which is a good choice for both saving cash and for modeller choice. I am (paused) part way through building the Gekko A9 Cruiser tank. Generally the fit has been good and I havent had any major dramas apart from: In at least 1 place the instruction were very unclear. By the looks of this kit, that's something they've fixes. The springs on the suspension bogies are very cleverly molded to look like réal springs. Unfortunately there're very fragile and swap easily. The other issue I had is the individual track links are about 5 mm long and about 1 mm wide and are extremely fiddly. I lost patience and the whole kit went back on the shelf. The other thing I noticed with Gekko is that they use a lot of small sprues with multiple copies, which I find quite irritating. However, this probably makes sensé of you're producing smalle run, highly details kits and a lot of variants. BTW written on a french language computer set to french, which is why there are funny typos (pressing I didnt spot and correct them)
Yeah that's the dagger I spoke about. Airfix and shipping was $65 (with club discount even). Hobby Link Japan has it at $43 and usually shipping around $10. Harumpf. Don't mind my bleeding
Would be nice if airfix did all the 1/72nd airfield vehicles sets in 1/32 we need tractors, bomb trailers, towing vehicle, fueler and jeeps ect..... With the proliferation of 1/32nd aircraft in last 15 years it seems all the diorama accessories are only available from after market companies
Hi Nigel. I went for the much better Gecko kit. But agree with you that the Airfix kit will be better for beginners, and will still look nice if painted properly. But what is confusing is this: Both the Airfix and Gecko kits have the scheme for the Ambulance driven by Princess Elizabeth. But the Airfix kit tells you to paint the body in Dark Green. Where as the Gecko kit tells you to paint the body in a Dark Brown colour. They both cannot be right? Won't matter to me, as I will be doing the Ice Cold in Alex one.
It depends on date Andrew.. SCC2 is brown, SCC15 is green, in simple terms. If you research camo on British soft skins you will find the correct colours/pattern relating to location and period. Basically '41-44 SCC2 with Brown or black over it in a camo pattern. '44 on SCC15 olive Drab. Remember UK and US Olive drab were different.
@@NigelsModellingBench Ah but. Both kits are depicting the same vehicle A1212251. The Airfix kit just says 1944. The Gecko kit says March 1945. Airfix says paint it Green, Gecko says paint it Brown. Are we really going to say that in 1944 it was Green, but totally repainted Brown in 1945? Its also funny that the artwork on the Gecko box looks to be in the Green colour.
Sorry Andrew.. I didn't look that closely. So, if the period is '44/'45 it would definitely be SCC15 olive Drab. I have just done a comparison and colour call outs is one area Airfix won on.
@@NigelsModellingBench Am watching that comparison video now mate. I will be doing the sand coloured one anyway. But I think maybe Gecko have got it wrong with the Green Princess Elizabeth version.
@@NigelsModellingBench I'd recommend Loctite 60 second adhesive- it gives you time to get things in exactly the correct position, which I've found is less fraught than using CA which only gives you a few seconds.
Is that figure meant to be the Queen, she was famously photographed changing a wheel on one during her military service as a mechanic. Certainly looks like her on the side of the box.
Would have picked this kit personally, waited for the review's and unboxing if known was coming at same time. Wanna buy a pint glass Nigel 🫗? LoL The comparison is going to feel brutal as your comments at the end. Is what it is unfortunately.
Option 1: 4 Stretchers Option 2: 2 Stretchers Windows painted over … or covered with oil to attract sand/dust to reduce glare & shine for tactical purposes in the open desert?
the figure is that of very young Queen Elizabeth and the decals on the ambulance is the 1 she drove during the war lovely model kit
Nice review Nigel, the rear body was made of a wooden frame with stretched canvas across it, so texture on the parts is representing that. Great touch from Gecko. Cheers Bob 🤣
Thanks for the info!
Another ambulance. Beautiful! Thanks Nigel
Was at the 'local' model shop yesterday and they had this and the Airfix kit. Having seen your Airfix review just a few hours earlier, and given that this kit was only a few quid more I went for this one expecting it to be a more complex kit. This one having an engine and the extra PE will make it more detailed and really lends itself to a diorama. That is what I will probably use it for. The Airfix looks OK though especially if you don't like PE!
Thanks for doing these reviews, they are really useful especially when there is a choice like this.
Excellent review!, the roof decal & the ventilators look like they are going to be fun fitting and painting!, AIRFIX have tackled that differently.
I suspect the figure is Princess Elizabeth. She served in these ambulances and there are plenty of images of her changing wheels etc. I am, as I have mentioned before, a new modeller but looking at the 2 kits I would buy the Gecko, if only for the radiator grill. How hard can it be, right? :)
I do like Gecko kits, they are superbly detailed and have what are probably the best instructions in the business at the moment. Whilst I appreciate that gloss paper does present filming difficulties, there are good technical printing reason for doing it.
Look forward to the comparison but my take is simple: it's like a Ford versus a BMW... 👍
I believe the figure is supposed to represent the Queen who did her service driving a K2/Y during the war.
Surprised you haven't twigged that the figure included is Princess Elizabeth Nige; there's a very famous photo of her stood beside a K2Y ambulance on which she trained in various disciplines in '44 and '45- so please treat the figure with great respect! Lols. Great review 😀
My initial impression is the Airfix kit could be a nice addition to a diorama and the Gecko kit could be the centerpiece of a diorama. great reviews Nigel
Great review! I don't comment much, but kudos for both reviews! I was going to mention Her Majesty, but others did. Great addition to the kit. There are pics of her changing the wheel, and standing by here ambulance (decals are in the kit!). Can't wait for the comparison vid...
Great review Nigel. I recently purchased my first Gecko kit. Very impressed.
Hope you enjoy it!
Love this gecko kit I’ve ordered from uk currently no stock in oz 😂nice review nigel like the instruction manual of this kit so much info and options
Great review. This will be my first substantial 1/35 kit and first time using photo etch. Hoping you will do a step by step build of it soon, aimed at us newbs.
Great in-depth review my friend looks a fantastic kit the details look amazing lots of options will add that nice touch to the build be interesting to see your comparison on both kits thanks for sharing and keep up the great work 👍👍
Another great review Nige! From what I can gather the Gecko kit has quite a bit more detail on it, for just a few quid more, but I have never done a gecko kit before so I think I will get one ordered so I can try it out. but I'll have to wait untill they come to Sweden as the shipping costs from the UK are utterly ridiculous since Brexit. most stockists are charging as much if not more than the kit costs to ship to Sweden! Then i'll probably have to pay import duty on top of that, so I'll have to wait. Looking forward to seeing the comparison video. all the best!
Great review thanks. I ordered mine last night, ahead of your review - the more I researched online, the weaker my resolve got until I caved in - ho hum! I'm hoping to build this into a diorama, and whilst doing my research into this kit I stumbled across an imminent release from Gecko Models that would go very nicely with the model. It's a set of figures, including the one that is in the K2 kit. The only place I was able to find reference to this kit was on Scalemates, under the title of "WWII British Army Truck Driver set".
Apologies for slightly derailing your review - I thought it might be of interest if you were planning a diorama yourself.
Small detail but you need to set the steering wheel ‘angle of rotation’ to match the angle of the front wheels if you deviate from ‘straight ahead’. This has a lot more detail than the Airfix kit but will be interested to hear your views on fit of parts as you build it.
The texture on the ambulance body is because it was made of wood/canvas.
Hi Nigel, great review. I just recently watched Ice Cold In Alex, it's a great movie. This looks like a great kit. I have never tried a Gecko kit either, but I'm sure thinking about picking this up when they become available here in the US. Thanks for sharing. Have a great day Jeff
Magnificent kit sirrrrrrr! 👌 thank you for sharing.
Very nice kit. Oh well I was not going to buy anymore kits. This is a hard one not to get.
Sure is nice Wendy!!
If I should decide to buy a Katy kit, this would be the one. The Airfix kit, as you say, will be no trouble to build, but this has many more options and will be more of a challenge and we like stretching our modelling abilities, don't we?
I have actually pre-ordered the Gecko Early version of this vehicle due for release in October. However I saw this on Jumblies site on Monday at a very reasonable price and couldn't help myself and ordered it straight away. It will be delivered later this afternoon and your review has only increased my excitement and confirmed the wisdom of my decision to cancel the Airfix pre-order.
Hi, Nigel. Just a quick comment about the KTY - Both look to be Good kits but the KTY had, in common with other British Made lorries of the period only 2 pedals. An Accelerator and a clutch- The brake is the odd handle by the Gear shift with the lever at the top by the grip. I made this comment below on another preview: I am not 100% sure but if you look at that handbrake it appears to have a main lever and a small hand lever at the top end. The main lever would be the "Footbrake" part and that small hand lever would be a "lock" to act like a handbrake. My father's old Bedford truck had a similar brake on it. (He sold it when I was about 4-5 years old - Longer ago than I like to think about!) -c 1962? (I think that thing you thought was an accelerator was actually the footpedal for the parking lock.
I have looked at images on Google and all the interior shots show 3 pedals Brett.
@@NigelsModellingBench Yes, I think the rightmost pedal is the foot operated parking brake. I kind of remember my Dad's Bedford had that as the leftmost oedal. Essentially you pressed to lock the brakes fir oarking and released it by using the small lever on the double handled brake, while pumping the foot lever once. At least on the Bedford. I recall watching Dad curse the system roundly.
Have a few pictures taken at Southport forces day in 2019 the sides are textured as Bob has suggested. Give me a heads up if you would like me to forward the pics.
Hi Nigel, fantastic model, looking at the figure on side of the box, i think it really does look like the Queen during the war and my other half says the same. tell me your thoughts on it , if you think same.
I think you're right?
I was holding off on buying this kit, but it looks a far better modellers model, looks like this will be on my buy list next month.
Nice review, Thanks. The side windows were, I am pretty sure, not glass but some clear material as the 'doors' were canvas and rolled up as seen on the box art. Thus the 'warped' look of the clear part is deliberate I am sure. The cab windows at the front will have been glass of course.
As I pointed out in the video, the side windows are beautifully moulded with their distorted surface. The cab windows are also distorted.
Gréât review video. From a pure detail standing this looks to be the much better kit than Airfix and the price différence is quite small considering the différence in détail, plus photo-tech. I wouldn't buy it as I hâte when the is no choice between plastic and etch given (I should choose as builder, not Gekko etc).
Looking forward to the comparison video. I think Gekko will come off a lot better unfortunately. To be honest, on the 1/35 scale (and 1/48) Airfix need to stop worrying about part counts and go for higher (but not extreme) detail. They've seem to have just about got everything else right now.
Since the chassis was used for a lot of late 30s/40s vehicles, both manufacturers can produce a range of trucks and other vehicles in the long term, which is a good choice for both saving cash and for modeller choice.
I am (paused) part way through building the Gekko A9 Cruiser tank. Generally the fit has been good and I havent had any major dramas apart from: In at least 1 place the instruction were very unclear. By the looks of this kit, that's something they've fixes. The springs on the suspension bogies are very cleverly molded to look like réal springs. Unfortunately there're very fragile and swap easily. The other issue I had is the individual track links are about 5 mm long and about 1 mm wide and are extremely fiddly. I lost patience and the whole kit went back on the shelf. The other thing I noticed with Gekko is that they use a lot of small sprues with multiple copies, which I find quite irritating. However, this probably makes sensé of you're producing smalle run, highly details kits and a lot of variants.
BTW written on a french language computer set to french, which is why there are funny typos (pressing I didnt spot and correct them)
Would pick this kit over Airfix generally look’s better
Yeah that's the dagger I spoke about. Airfix and shipping was $65 (with club discount even). Hobby Link Japan has it at $43 and usually shipping around $10. Harumpf. Don't mind my bleeding
Just double checked, was $70 for the Airfix version delivered, cuz "International fee's". A bit more flesh to go with the pool of blood 😜🤣😂
Would be nice if airfix did all the 1/72nd airfield vehicles sets in 1/32 we need tractors, bomb trailers, towing vehicle, fueler and jeeps ect..... With the proliferation of 1/32nd aircraft in last 15 years it seems all the diorama accessories are only available from after market companies
Good idea!!!
They were canvas covered over a wooden frame.
Looks really detailed, what a shame this isn’t in 1/16 wow,
Hi Nigel. I went for the much better Gecko kit. But agree with you that the Airfix kit will be better for beginners, and will still look nice if painted properly. But what is confusing is this: Both the Airfix and Gecko kits have the scheme for the Ambulance driven by Princess Elizabeth. But the Airfix kit tells you to paint the body in Dark Green. Where as the Gecko kit tells you to paint the body in a Dark Brown colour. They both cannot be right? Won't matter to me, as I will be doing the Ice Cold in Alex one.
It depends on date Andrew.. SCC2 is brown, SCC15 is green, in simple terms. If you research camo on British soft skins you will find the correct colours/pattern relating to location and period. Basically '41-44 SCC2 with Brown or black over it in a camo pattern. '44 on SCC15 olive Drab. Remember UK and US Olive drab were different.
@@NigelsModellingBench Ah but. Both kits are depicting the same vehicle A1212251. The Airfix kit just says 1944. The Gecko kit says March 1945. Airfix says paint it Green, Gecko says paint it Brown. Are we really going to say that in 1944 it was Green, but totally repainted Brown in 1945? Its also funny that the artwork on the Gecko box looks to be in the Green colour.
Sorry Andrew.. I didn't look that closely. So, if the period is '44/'45 it would definitely be SCC15 olive Drab. I have just done a comparison and colour call outs is one area Airfix won on.
@@NigelsModellingBench Am watching that comparison video now mate. I will be doing the sand coloured one anyway. But I think maybe Gecko have got it wrong with the Green Princess Elizabeth version.
Were I can get the geko models ambulance?
Search Google for your local suppliers?
That figure is supposed to be of Princess Elizabeth (The Queen).
I have the airfix and the gecko kit and on the airfix kit a1212251 is green and on the gecko kit it is brown is the gecko kit wrong?
The correct colour will be SCC15 olive Drab.
@@NigelsModellingBench thank you
Looks great!
Any advice for which glue to use for bonding resin parts to polystyrene plastic kits?
CA glue mate
@@NigelsModellingBench I'd recommend Loctite 60 second adhesive- it gives you time to get things in exactly the correct position, which I've found is less fraught than using CA which only gives you a few seconds.
@@NigelsModellingBench Thank you
@@ianthomson9363 Thank you
Is that figure meant to be the Queen, she was famously photographed changing a wheel on one during her military service as a mechanic. Certainly looks like her on the side of the box.
I think it is.
It is! And I might get this kit, just for this!
I've got to watch this, even though it'll be like a dagger twisting in my heart.
Would have picked this kit personally, waited for the review's and unboxing if known was coming at same time. Wanna buy a pint glass Nigel 🫗? LoL The comparison is going to feel brutal as your comments at the end. Is what it is unfortunately.
I think the figure is meant to be the Queen.
Phil, how is this a review if you haven't built it? At best this is a sprue tour.
Who's Phil?
Option 1: 4 Stretchers
Option 2: 2 Stretchers
Windows painted over … or covered with oil to attract sand/dust to reduce glare & shine for tactical purposes in the open desert?
Just a comment
for the algorithm
early