The Commer Q25 was a familiar and hardworking van in post war Britain.
Production began in 1939. However, civilian production of the van stopped as the war ramped up. The Q25 actually had quite an interesting military history.
In the early stages of the war they were used by the British Army and RAF as a light ambulance and general goods van. From 1942 batches of them were deployed in North Africa as mobile workshops and radio vans in support of the 8th Army’s armoured columns, they were also used in the Far East and in the latter stages of the war in Europe, helped the Allied advance from Normandy to Germany.
They were reliable, easy to maintain and rugged. When civilian production began again in 1946 they became a popular van – notably, British Rail used a fleet of them for their parcel delivery services.
George Turner had produced a kit of the Q25, in several different liveries, for a number of years.
I’d been debating picking one up for quite a while as I think they’re a wonderful looking little van. However, it was only when he put the kit on his annual “cull list” that I took the plunge and ordered one.
I ordered the MG Racing one as I plan to use it as a tow vehicle. An MGA will be coming a little later in the year and I’m sure as time presses on I’ll be building other MGs (someone please make a kit of the EX181!)
As with all resin kits, there’s always a bit of flashing to clean up.
With George Turner kits, the biggest culprit for flashing is the detail parts.
They’re normally all moulded together on a block that acts a bit like a sprue on a plastic injection kit.
Clean off the excess with a sharp scalpel and just take your time with it.
Once everything is cleaned I dry-fit all the running gear into the chassis.
The guide actually sits in a drop arm. As the van sits a little higher off of the ground than a racing car, this arrangement allows the guide to sit at the correct height. It’s a very clever little bit of engineering from GTM!
With a rotary tool, I opened up the holes the wires pass through, the hole in the chassis the guide sits in as the tip of the guide would just catch the lip of the hole as the assembly compressed, and shaved off the bump stop on the bottom of the chassis for the drop arm as restricting the arm’s movement didn’t really make sense to me.
The next job is to wash everything so it’s ready for paint. The moulds for resin kits are coated with a release agent before production. Sometimes that agent can remain on the kit, and your paint simply won’t stick to it.
To wash it off I give the parts a bath in lukewarm water with a little washing up liquid and then rinse them off thoroughly and leave to dry for a day or so.
The chassis is then sprayed black. I used Army Painter’s Matt Black primer.
The body was sprayed in Army Painter Ultramarine Blue primer.
Once dry, I mask off the roof and wheel arches with a mix of AK Interactive’s masking putty and normal masking tape. The van is then sprayed MG Iris Blue.
Moving onto the wheels! The alloy wheels are by Pendle Slot Racing and GTM provides 3d printed inserts with the kits.
These were really tight fitting to begin with – so I gently passed around their outer edge with a rotary tool until they were able to be pressed in. I used a little drop of superglue just to make sure they stay in place.
The wheels are then painted in matching Army Painter Ultramarine (that’s the beauty of using Army Painter colour primers – they are matched to their dropper bottle paints!) and detail is added using Army Painter Shining Silver.
I then fitted the back axle to the chassis.
Now, I must confess, at this point I made a mistake.
On the front of the chassis is a little tab. This tab should sit behind the radiator for the chassis to sit correctly. I had the tab sitting behind the number plate, so the rear wheels rubbed slightly against the body. I sanded the inner aches back slightly, but when that tab is in the correct place, the body bows out slightly and rear wheels will clear no problem.
The below pic has been taken with the tab being positioned behind the number plate (if you zoom in you can just about see it).
Any details that are to be painted, I go over with Army Painter’s Brush-On Primer.
Brush on primer is one of those things that once you add to your toolbox, you never knew how you got by without it. The grey is a neutralising base colour, and it’ll be easier for the silver to stick to than the Iris Blue.
The silver detailing is then added.
After this I used Army Painter’s Dark Tone Wash over the slats in the grill to give it some depth. The inner parts of the lights are painted Vallejo Sky Grey and given multiple coats of Citadel’s ‘Ardcoat to build up the lens effect.
I didn’t get a pic at the time but you’ll see the effect in some later pictures.
The front wheels were fitted to their axle.
This is how that clever drop-arm looks when complete:
The interior is in multiple parts. This is the dashboard painted and ready to be fitted. A 10/0 brush like Army Painter’s ‘The Psycho’ is perfect for doing the needles on dials.
The steering wheel fits onto the steering column.
The driver takes his seat and the interior is all together!
The windows are a vacuum formed piece that needs to be carefully trimmed and fitted. Once you’re confident with the fitment, pop the windows back out and refit them with a little blob of Uhu glue to hold it in place.
The windows in the rear doors are made from a clear plastic sheet that’s provided with the kit.
You can see the effect the Dark Tone Wash has on the grill in this pic.
The chassis has obviously been fitted, with the front tab now in the correct location and the rear is held to the body with a screw.
Finally it’s time to add the decals!
GTM does provide a nut and bolt for the towing eye. I found it a little bit short so found a longer bolt from my collection.
I have a flatbed trailer that I bought on eBay many years ago. It fits nicely though!
The finished product!
For what is, it drives well!
It’s a shame George Turner has discontinued these, but I get that he had to cull his old kits to make way for new ones – and he has been making some spectacular models!
It was an enjoyable build and will look nice with the MGA I’ve got lined up. I’m sure the build of that will be up soon!
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By Richard Francis.
