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The publication of any images or informations related to nazism, fascism or any other totalitarian regimes must be understood as the reproduction of historical accuracy and not as apology to these regimes, leaders or symbols.
ATENÇÃO:
A publicação de qualquer imagem ou informação referentes ao nazismo, fascismo ou quaisquer outros regimes totalitários deve ser entendida como reprodução do rigor histórico e não como apologia a estes regimes, líderes ou símbolos.

Scammell Pioneer SV2S Heavy Breakdown Tractor - case report

Hurrah!!!
      Finally, after ages in the modeling, I will have the opportunity to build this tractor, without undoing a cornea or a kidney (very important parts for my shabby body kit ...). Let's build the Scammell Pioneer, in the version SV2S Heavy Breakdown Tractor.

Scammell Pioneer SV2S Heavy Breakdown Tractor in flooded ground
North-west Europe, 1944-45.
      After a Herculean campaign in social networks and groups (you maybe remember this girl shouting ...):
The Desperate Girl!!!
    My dreams have come true: We have the Scammel injected at our disposal. Praise be to you, beloved IBG Models, who heard our prayers and supplications !!!
IBG's box art
History:
      The Scammell Pioneer was a British 6x4 tractor unit used in the Second World War as an artillery tractor, recovery vehicle and tank transporter.
      Designed as a 6×4 off-road vehicle for use in Britain's colonies where sealed roads were scarce, the Pioneer was first produced in 1927. Though lacking all-wheel drive, its combination of a suspension with great travel, excellent traction, and a low-revving engine gave it impressive pulling power on rough ground at low speeds. Though not designed for military use, the British War Office purchased a single petrol engined example in 1932.
    Equipped as a tank transporter with a permanently coupled 18t semi-trailer, it was assigned to a training unit but did not initially catch on. Additional transporters were not purchased until 1937.
Scammell Pioneer Tank Transporter carrying a Medium Tank (A6E1)
England, 1932.

Scammell Pioneer Tank Transporter carrying a Medium Tank (A6E1)
Full turned right

Scammell Pioneer Tank Transporter loading a Vickers Medium Mk II
England trials, 1932.
      With the exception of the single 1932 tank transporter, all Pioneers purchased by the British Army were equipped with a 102 bhp Gardner 6 cylinder diesel engine, driving the rear wheels through a constant mesh gearbox and fitted with a power take-off driving a Scammell winch.
Gardner 6 cylinder diesel engine - left side

Gardner 6 cylinder diesel engine - right side
Artillery tractor:
      Introduced in 1935, the Pioneer R100 heavy artillery tractor was used throughout World War II to tow medium and heavy artillery pieces, it had accommodation for the gun's crew, tools, equipment, and ammunition.
Scammell Pioneer tows an 8-inch howitzer of
1st Heavy Regiment, near Calais.
France, 1940.

Scammell Pioneer artillery tractor with his 7.2-inch howitzer.
Yorkshire, England, 1941.
       Typical early war use included towing such medium pieces as the 60-pounder, 6-inch howitzer and even the 4.5-inch gun and 5.5-inch howitzer until the AEC Matador 4x4 artillery tractor was issued in sufficient numbers.
Scammell Pioneer tank transporter leading long line of transport,
including an AEC Matador 4x4 artillery tractor right behind.
Africa, 11 November 1942
      Heavy artillery pieces towed included the 6-inch gun, 8-inch howitzer, 155 mm Long Tom and the 7.2-inch howitzer.
Scammell Pioneer artillery tractor writhing in his towing job with
8 inch howitzeron a narrow curved road
Somewhere in Italy, 1943.
Scammell Pioneer artillery tractor towing 155mm Long Toms.
Notice the  two 
Archer Self Propelled 17 pdr Valentine Mk I
Victory Parade  - London - 8 June 1946
      Many Pioneer gun tractors were lost in France in June 1940 with the evacuation of the BEF, either destroyed by the withdrawing troops or captured by the Germans.

Scammell Pioneer abandoned in Dunkirk,
in the beach.

Scammell Pioneer artillery tractor in German hands
Russian front, 1943.
      The Germans loved their captured Scammells and used them whenever possible. In all situations and in all theaters of operations.
Happy Germans in front of their captured Scammell Pioneer.
Scammell pre-war 20 ton tank transporter with Somua S35 captured
in German hands. A very rare pic...
France, 1940.
Captured Scammell with Famo towing a heavy trailer with locomotive...
Indeed, German loved the Scammells!!!

     Scammel produced 980 Pioneer R100 heavy artillery tractors by the end of the war, never available in sufficient numbers, the Pioneer was supplemented by the Albion CX22S heavy artillery tractor from late 1943.
Albion CX22S 6x4 heavy artillery tractor
Recovery vehicle:
      From 1936, the British Army began to receive Pioneer heavy recovery vehicles. The first 43 delivered were designated the Pioneer SV1S and the Pioneer SV1T both with a 3-ton folding crane and lockers for recovery equipment and towing bars. Most of these early Pioneer recovery vehicles were lost with the BEF.
Scammell Pioneer SV1S in German hands.
France, 1941
      The Pioneer SV2S had a simpler redesigned extending crane that provided greater lifting height, introduced in 1938 the SV2S would remain in production throughout the war, a total of 1,975 were built by war's end.
Scammell Pioneer SV2S recovery vehicle

Scammell Pioneer SV2S recovery vehicle
Right side
Scammell Pioneer SV2S recovering a Bren Carrier
for the delight of the boys.
Sussex, England, 1941.

Scammell Pioneer recovery vehicle tows an A-15 Crusader tank
Tunisia 1943.
A Scammell Pioneer SV2S Heavy Breakdown Tractor
working with a 75mm gun being salvaged from a knocked-out
Sherman tank at 26th Armoured Brigade workshops.
 Perugia, Italy - 30 June 1944.
A restored Scammell Pioneer SV2S Heavy Breakdown Tractor in RAF colors.

 Scammell Pioneer SV2S Heavy Breakdown Tractor
This photo that served as inspiration for box-art
      Among the Pioneer's equipment was a pair of tracks that could be fitted over the two rear wheels, converting it temporarily into a half-track and giving greater traction on soft ground. 
      The last Pioneer recovery vehicle was not retired from the British Army until the 1980s in Belize.

Tank Transporter:
      With the exception of the 1932 prototype, delivery of a production variant tank transporter did not begin until 1937.
Scammell Pioneer Tank Transporter carrying a Medium Tank (A6E1)
England, 1932.
      The production variant was equipped with a longer chassis for an extended cab to accommodate the tank crew as passengers and larger rear wheels than the Artillery tractor and Recovery vehicle variants and was given the designation Pioneer TRCU20. 20 and 30-ton (Pioneer TRMU30/TRCU30).
Scammell Tank Transporter
Notice the double cabin
North Africa -1942
      The tractor/trailer combinations were delivered, in both cases the trailer was more-or-less fixed to the tractor and not demountable like modern semi-trailer trucks. Hinged ramps were used to get the tank onto the trailer, which if immobilised could be pulled on with the tractor unit's winch. See in the movie below (no sound). North Africa 1942.


A Scammelll Pioneer tank transporter loading a
Matilda II in the African Desert.
3 August 1942
      Pioneer tractor/trailer combinations proved too tall to carry higher profile US tanks under some British bridges, resulting in their being superseded by the American Diamond T tank transporter from 1941 on.
Diamond T Model 980 tractor towing a trailer loaded with
Churchill tank during preparations for crossing the Rhine.
German - 1945
      Despite this it remained in production throughout the war, with 459 being produced. As a result of their tall profile the trailers proved undesirable postwar and most were scrapped; the tractors were retained for use with other trailers or sold into civilian use.
Scammel Pioneer tank transporter tractor in civilian use

A rare Scammell Pioneer SV1S in civilian use
Specs:
Scammell Pioneer
TypeTractor unit
Place of origin  UK
Service history
In service1932 - 1980s
Used byBritish Army
Wars                  World War II
Production history
DesignerScammell Lorries Ltd
Designed1927
Produced1927 - 1945
No. built            3,414
Variants                  Heavy artillery tractor,
Heavy recovery vehicle &
Tank transporter
Specifications
WeightUnladen: 8.51 t
Payload: 3.00 t
Max towed: 19.96 t
Length6.27 m
Tank transporter: 6.7 m,
with trailer: 11.13 m
Width2.59 m
Tank transporter: 2.87 m
Height2.97 m

EngineGardner 6-cylinder diesel
102 brake horsepower (76 kW) at 1,700 rpm
Transmission    6-speed constant mesh gearbox
SuspensionWalking beam, 6x4
 Operational                              range   
690 km
Speed39 km/h

The kit:
      The pieces come in a sturdy cardboard box, with the trees of pieces packed in individual bags.
      The instruction booklet is complete, with clear images, with images exploded and mounted side by side, which greatly facilitates the understanding of the assembly. The kit comes with a great photo-etched sheet, too.
Instructions booklet

      Well, let's go. Starting by the book:
Wheels!!  Injected, thank the Gods!!

Big wheels, indeed!!!

Metal and plastic togheter
       The engine is very well injected, but is a bit poor in detail. As I'm going to build my big girl with the sides of the engine bonnet open, I need to detail the engine a bit more ...
Installing fuel pipes... cooper wires.

Injection pumps in position

Using spare parts of PE and other materials ...
      First steps ready. The kit is very fun and easy to build ...
Fuel tank, external rack, engine and radiator done!!

The rear transmission assembly is built under a careful alignment ...

The radiator in the chassis...

...and the chassis winch.
      Installation of some more scratch details on the engine:
engine - left side

engine - right side
       Starting the engine's painting: primmer
white primmer Vallejo

Painting - right side
Before weathering

after weathering...

Painting - left side
Before weathering

after weathering... Much better.
      While the dry engine, we end up to assemble and paint the chassis:
Chassis painted...

steering bar and front rack...

The engine glued in position - right side

left side

Exhaust pipe and silencer glued in position - right side

left side
      While we wait to dry the paint and the chassis glue, we will attack the cabin ...
Cabin's rear panel: cabinets, seat supports and levers ...

Glued in place...

Cabin's floor: levers and pedals.
exchanging two fragile plastic levers by
two clothes pins. Much better!!!
       The fuel tank features two very thick plastic steps. I'm going to change both by steps made with PE leftovers
The two thick steps. Amputation!!!

The new metal ones... Much better
Notice the chain in the fuel cap!!

Cabin's subassemblies ready for painting...

Done...Starting the weathering...

The new fuel tank...

Cabin parts...

Firewall: internal view

Rear panel; notice the 03 Lee Enfields .303 rifles...



And the cabin glued in the chassis...
Uops...I forgot the water pipe between the engine and the radiator ...

Water pipe in position!!  Ufff!!!


      And the building continues: Time to assemble the steel cable on the chassis winch. The cable will exit through the front guides.
Waxed wire that will later be painted in black-matte.

The steel cable in the front guides...

Painted in black: the wire turns into metal...
       The cargo bed winch!!!




I was almost forgetting the air filter ... I added some metal details ...
      I decided that my girl will be painted in ETO colors: Normandy rules!!!!!
ETO colors...


 The kit comes from the factory with an excellent sheet of decals with many options, but I'd like to make my girl in the colors of the glorious 79th Armored Division: The Funnies of Hobbart !!!
79th Armored Division badge
      I researched and discovered a Brigade Workshop of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), which served under the 79th AD. I made this color guide to make it easier to place the markings...

      I had a dry-transfers sheet from Archer, with the 79th AD badge. But it is complicated to apply a dry transfer on tight, curved surfaces, such as the front of the front fender. Turning a dry-transfer into a decal is easy: just apply the transfer over a transparent decal sheet and then apply as a normal decal.
The dry-transfer turning in regular decal...

79th Bull head!!!
       Applying a variation of the Mickey-Mouse cammo:


Future to prevent silvering...
       When the Future dries, time to paint the wheel's nuts: internal white ... external red.
Whell's nuts colors...

In the kit...

Markings: 79th AD!!!

79th Armoured Division
30th Brigade Workshop (Special)
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME)




Instrument of fuel level ...
Hmmm ... Kojak needs to fill the tank !!!

Adding resin stuff: Value Gear!!!
Testing the positions...





       And the girl was ready: Scammell Pioneer SV2S Heavy Breakdown Tractor. 79th Armoured Division (Hobbart's Funnies) - 30th Brigade Workshop (Special) - Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) . Normandy, 1944.

Scammell Pioneer SV2S Heavy Breakdown Tractor.
79th Armoured Division (Hobbart's Funnies)
30th Brigade Workshop (Special)
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME)
Normandy, 1944.


Scammell Pioneer SV2S Heavy Breakdown Tractor.
left side



Scammell Pioneer SV2S Heavy Breakdown Tractor.
right side

Scammell Pioneer SV2S Heavy Breakdown Tractor.
cabin rack




Scammell Pioneer SV2S Heavy Breakdown Tractor
with Kojak and Rover, the dog.


Two girls from Hobbart's Funnies; the  Grant CDL and
Scammell Pioneer SV2S Heavy Breakdown Tractor.

The Scammell is huge!!!

Funnies!!!

Scammell Pioneer SV2S Heavy Breakdown Tractor.
79th Armoured Division (Hobbart's Funnies) 
30th Brigade Workshop (Special)
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME)
Normandy, 1944.

      Well, thanks for following!! The Scammell kit was an old dream and I really enjoyed building this beauty !!! The IBG kit is very good, but needs a few scratch touches to increase detail. but it builds very well and it was a delight to develop this project. I'm very happy with the results...

See you soon!!!