Of the 3 cars i did last time the Land Rover defender was the easiest. That’s before I encountered the phenomenon of the Land Rover enthusiast. At least as bad as the VW enthusiasts and enough to give the most ardent P4 modeller a run for their money I was (in a very polite way and from several sources) informed that it was wrong as in a too late version.
Friend and fellow Calcutta Sidings operator Brendan supplied the above image of (one of) his. Turns out the Oxford one is a ford engined one and you can tell by the different bonnet shape (not sure why i didnt notice this). These were introduced in 2007. Also Brendan’s didn’t have a sunroof and the roof ribs were different.
So the bonnet ‘hump’ was ground down and the new raised bits added from 5 thou plasticard. The sunroof was filed and new ribs added from microstrip. The wheels came from a RAC version again from Oxford Diecast.
Well done on discovering the world of Land Rover enthusiasts! (I speak as one of these myself).
Picky OCDC moment warning: technically the name “Defender” wasn’t used until 1990, to differentiate the traditional Land Rover from the new Discovery.
Brendan’s Land Rover pre-dates this. Also, Brendan’s has the Range Rover style wheels that were used on Land Rover 90s around that time.
Hope you are keeping well in these strange times…
Thanks Eddie. So there were just called Land Rover 90s in then?
This particular Oxford Diecast Land Rover also has the slightly extended grille panel, standard on Defenders fitted with air-conditioning. After 1983 and pre-1990 they were just known as 90s or 110s (plus the rarer 127) depending on the wheelbase, but some had a slightly better range of trim options known as “County”.
Best Regards,
Alan.
Jim,
In the very beginning (1948) the Land Rover was just a Land Rover. From 1958, when the barrel sides were introduced they became “Series 2 Land Rovers”, so by default everything prior became Series 1. The Series 3 appeared around 1971.
The only distinction between models was long / short wheelbase, and body variants such as truck cab, station wagon etc.
After 1970, only two basic models came out of the factory : Land Rover and Range Rover.
The coil sprung utility Land Rover first appeared around 1983 and the leaf sprung Series 3 ended production shortly afterwards.
The Utility Land Rovers were still just “Land Rovers” and the only distinctions were “90” or “110” and again different body styles.
The Discovery was a new model that appeared in 1989, and that was also a “Land Rover”.
To differentiate between these models, the basic utility Land Rover gained the name Defender around 1990, at the same time as getting the improved 200 Tdi engine. So, Brendan’s is a “Land Rover 90”; I think the badge on the front even says so.
Cheers,
Eddie