Roc Hobby 1/6 jeep

[Pine-Tree72]

Im a long time re-enactor, mostly American west but got into WWII in 2007.

Im a member of the MVT and whereas I don't actually own a jeep myself I have friends that do and have enjoyed many a trip and experience with them and thanks to them for including me in what has gone on.

For a bit of fun I decided to get my own jeep, not full size of course due to costs but on hearing about and seeing the 1/6 scale version decided to buy one of those, which I luckily got at around £225 because it was shop soiled and slightly damaged, the thing being that when I came to fit a figure to it I found them to be somewhat oversized among other things and to get to a point I'm of the conclusion that either 1/6 12inch figures aren't accurate or the jeep model itself isn't accurate in scale. I have literally taken about 1/2 inch out of an action man torso and yet he still sits high in the vehicle

In reading posts on other forums I'm a little surprised too I think that a lot of folks seem to leave the jeeps as they come ie; factory finished whereas I'm one that likes to see them as realistic as possible and I have painted and marked mine to represent a jeep from RAF Shipdham in 1943 as per a picture I have from then of a jeep on that base.
I have also added a 'third' pedal in as much as Roc Hobby only show too on the floor, (no auto jeeps then I think ?), also at the rear end by the tow pintle I have added the two safety rings used when towing a trailer. In disliking immensely the engine bay finish I have tried to make that a bit more realistic by painting it to represent the engine bay of a jeep, another addition was the inclusion of two small squares of plastic card to represent the storage area on the rear of each side of the inner body. I have included rear red lights too as there were none and modified the front left wing light with black paint to represent the back out cover it would have had and also extra lighting for the small inner side lights. Another mod was to change the cheap thin nylon straps on the fuel can and axe/shovel for thin elastic which when painted look like canvas straps.
The overall paint job is in an actual Jeep OD color finish, the same paint my friends do their real ones with, and then 1/6 scale stencils used for the markings, the object of all of this being as I say to have it look right and be correct.

To sum up then, does anyone have thoughts as to the accuracy of the scale of the figures and Roc Hobby jeep, a final question too ... I have a leaf spring conversion kit for these crawlers, has anyone actually done this to this jeep model, can it be done as Im toying with the idea of trying to get a scrap crawler chassis to have a go.

Pics attached for possible interest and comment.

[Son of a gun-ner]

Hello there.
As far as I know, from the ground to the top of the windscreen is 64" Or 271mm in 1/6th. And the top of the rear panels from the ground should be 158mm in 1/6th. Which should give you some idea of the accuracy of your model.
Also, although a 12" figure would be 6' in 1/6th, I wouldn't trust an Action Man to be anatomically correct, those articulation balls at the tops of the legs don't allow for an accurate horizontal swing like a real leg would, therefore an Action Man will always sit higher than it should were it to be more accurately articulated.

[Pine-Tree72]

Hi, thanks for reply ... well I measured my jeep and if your figures are correct it is out of scale as it only measures about 265 from ground to top of windscreen .. ??
What I will do tomorrow as I'm seeing my friends with the (real) jeeps is measure them, I did use pictures from their vehicles to get the minor detail I fitted and that isn't on the model, so can use that as a guide. Just finished painting the wheels, all done now I think .. Pics attached of the lighting, I used the existing headlights to make the side lights and fitted new (slightly too bright) bulbs in the headlights, there were no rear lights at all so have fitted them too.

Re; action man ... I did manage to get him down to 11 inches in height with my 'surgery' but still sits high as I say, hadn't considered the articulation factor of them but you could be right there, will have to look at it again perhaps, although of course whereas all jeeps were the same size, people aren't of course and a tall person would perhaps end up looking over the top of the windscreen maybe ..??

I cant complain, the figure cost me £3, however using DID clothing it cost over £100 to dress him .. !!

[Herr Dr. Professor]

I had never seen photos of the 1/6 Jeep, so yours are a treat for me. Despite the inaccuracies you have noted, I do like the way the tools are lashed on. Of course, my guess and most of the vintage photos suggest to me that the shovel and space walked away quickly as soon as a Jeep was put into service "in theatre."
Do you have books and information on the Jeep---apart from the restorations you get to see "up close and personal"?

[Pine-Tree72]

Well of course my pics are of a 'post production' version if I can put it that way and I hope an improvement on the basic model a picture of which as it comes from the store is attached for your interest.

In reality a USAAF jeep, which mine going by the marking is, wouldn't have the shovel. axe. spare wheel or fuel can in as much as on base it would be used, among other things, for carrying about a dozen GI fliers to their a/c .. but yes as you suggest those things did have a tendency to 'get lost' over time.

No I don't have any specific books on the jeep itself altho' I do have a very extensive WWII library, there is the internet of course, but best of all I have a 'Patrick Hargreaves', and what he doesn't know about jeeps isn't worth knowing frankly, my go to live library, Patrick has been invaluable to me in helping me get my model right.

A point of order here being that according to Roc Hobby they do I believe advertise this as an MB41 .. 1941 .. only it isn't as that version had the slat grill and not the later type as depicted on their model.

If I may be allowed to brag a little here, as a matter of interest if you go and see the new 'Railway Children' film, in the train scenes the 4 jeeps on the lowmac rolling stock are those of my friends

[sassgrunt]

When these first came to market, I remember someone posting that the windscreen was too tall; that when folded down, the end of it was too far forward in relation to the front of the hood. (I never saw any actual dimensions that it needed to be cut down, though). I know it looks right, but if it is too tall, that would throw off your scale sizing.
I bought one to use for a Rat Patrol build, where the windscreen is both folded down and covered with a canvas cover. I used photos from the TV series to get the length on the hood right, and it now measures 9 cm from the bottom to the top of the flat frames of the windscreen, (I don't know what it measured originally, but you can measure yours to compare). If that new measurement of the windscreen height is used, that may give you a different scale. I'm not sure how easy it would be to shorten the height for you - for me it was easy because everything is hidden by the cover. Hope this helps!

[Ad Lav]

Cracking jeeps but off scale. Windscreen as mentioned is too tall and needs addressing.

You’ve done a cracking job

I’d measure my Jeep for you but it’s away at the moment.

[Pine-Tree72]

Hi, thanks for the compliment, I'm not a perfectionist altho' my family and friends would argue that point but I am a bit of a purist and like things right.
Since buying the jeep I am a little miffed at the disparity of the scale etc., I remember reading a link where someone said that Roc Hobby had not actually built a jeep but more simply put a jeep body on a stock crawler chassis, and I would agree with that, still and all at around £400 basic price you would have thought they could have got the sizes right ?
Its not just the clash between the figure and the model overall but also the markings. I got stencils at 1/6 scale from e-bay and they are good quality but again my eye tells me there is something amiss there too as they look a little big. I got markings info, size placement etc. here .. http://jeepdraw.com/images/AR-850-5.pdf .. something I think you may all be aware of anyway.

I am seeing as I say my friends today and will be measuring up two 1945 models, one a Willys and one a Ford and comparing actual life size and model size.

Re the windscreen, on measuring the model, from the bottom of the screen to the top in the middle its 10cm, another indication of wrong size being that when down the top bar of the screen does not line up on the hood rests .. I'm something of a basic modeller and would have no idea how to address the windscreen size change without making a hash of it !!

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Hey, there's nothing shabby about your work on the Jeep: it looks quite good. I would guess that the 1 cm (that much!?) would have to come out of the panel below the window, perhaps a straight cut, re-glue, and sanding. But not being familiar with the toy, I am likely over-simplifying. As to markings: try Rad Schuhart, a member of RCTW who has made me and many others excellent stencils. His web page is https://radindustries.wordpress.com/aut ... ndustries/. His web pages are interesting to look at.

Now if you want to stay with 1/6 (and your wallet can afford it ), dig up one of the 21st Century Toys 1/6 Stuart Tanks (I think they were called the "Honey" in the UK). Here's an example of a NOS one for a minor fortune: https://www.monkeydepot.com/Vehicle_21s ... sf0101.htm. (I know nothing at all about Monkey Depot.) A fellow I know did a Schiffer book on this Stuart toy. Of course, his modeling skills are so far in excess of mine it makes me dizzy.

[Will01Capri]

Maybe i have missed in the text, but what i would say is that height is a poor way to check scale on these models. Remember also the chassis is completely unlike the real thing as the ROC jeeps have a rather modern suspension in comparison to a leaf sprung original vehicle.

I would just suggest measuring scale on Length & Width to get a better idea. But honestly with most models there is something not quite right and out of scale.

These ROC jeeps are a cracking piece of kit however and i am looking forward to getting my hands on one of these, or i may resort to building my own. I need some 1/6 scale stuff for our model exhibitions and 1/6 always seems to get noticed easily haha