Scale 1/72
Manufacturer Hasegawa
Kit ID
Type GMC CCKW-353 Gasoline Tanker Truck
Unit
Date Circa 1950
Aftermarket parts used None
Other detail added Bulkhead added between drivers' compartment and engine compartment, decals from Roco
Model built by Alex Hunger
Date Completed March 2009

I had already build and painted most of the Hasegawa aircraft support sets over the last decades. Nevertheless, the efforts of Tony Clayton and his Diaerama magazine inspired me to do more with what is available on the market. The WWII Deuce and a half tanker seemed like an ideal candidate for a Korean war era treatment.

Despite it's age, the Hasegawa Deuce stands up well. There was only a minimum of flash on around the grill frame and even less the chassi frame. The crew figures, ironically needed more cleaning up. The chassi and cab of the tanker are identical to the cargo and dumper truck.

The frame and drive train went together well. The only idiosynchrosity was the middle axle, were part of the metal axle remains visble. This remains invisible when the truck is on its wheels, so I won't worry about it and any accuracy issues.

The cab received a plasticard blanking plate between the driver compartment and the engine compartment, even if the dead space is not that visible with the driver in place and the soft top on. Frame and cab were wedded and primed. The ensemble was then sprayed with Tamiya Olive Drab 2 while the frame, engine and axles were done up in Tamiya Gun Metal Acrylic paint.

The wheels were cleaned up, primed and also spray painted in OD green. The tyres were painted in the greyisch Tamiya Nato Black which looks better than normal matt black. The hood received a coat of gloss and the standard Hasegawa army decals were applied. A small "F" from a Roco decal sheet was added to the "USA" in order to give us "USAF." A more faded shade of acrylic OD green was applied to the seats while the black steering wheel was glued in place.

The standard part of the truck, common to the normal cargo truck and dumper could be put aside while the rear business end could be begun.

Only the frame on the side needed a minimum of clean up before being attached to the platform together with the cover plates at the rear. When dry, this could be primed.

The 2 tanks were assembled and left to dry. They needed to be sanded a bit before being primed.

As the area on the bottom of the tanks cannot be reached if it is attached, it is best to spray the separate parts OD green before glueing them together.

When this was all sturdily dried, the rear module could be attached to the preprepared rest of the truck. As there was a bit of curvature on the wrong place of the frame, a dab of superglue was required to secure everything.

A dab of silver was brushed on the headlights, while the rear lights were brushed red.

The entire truck was then sprayed in Extracolour Matt. 2 small sheets of transparent plastic were attached to the windschield with white glue.

The pose of the driver figure was fairly straight forward, but the figure of the man leaning out and waving his arm and the crew with the nozzle and hose were more imaginative. As mentioned before, the figure required more cleaning up before being primed. The uniforms were standard OD green with a slighly faded look and Revell Acrylic flesh colour for faces and arms.

The Airman with the nozzle was just placed on the rear frame, until he can find a home in a diorama. The other 2 were super glued in permanently.

In conclusion, the Hasegawa Deuce stands the test of time and can be assembled quickly and effortlessly. It also bridges nicely the gap between the prop driven and jet powered era, particularly as exemplified by the Korea  conflict in the early 50s.

Model, article and photographs by Alex Hunger