I MUST BE DAF(T) 5

The cab and chassis of the 1:24 scale DAF 95 is now virtually complete, thanks to some improvisation with a pack of 4mm scale Highland Railway decals. After lining-out the cab in yellow, I needed some logos for a fictional UK haulage firm and managed to create Ray Haigh - a convincing-sounding name for a small-scale haulier - from the shaded Highland Railway lettering. I'm really pleased with the outcome, not least as it saved me the hassle and expense of tracking down existing 1:24 decals or commissioning a bespoke set. All that's needed now is to fill in the lower side panels with a phone number and I've just found some likely yellow digits from another pack of railway decals, this time for a modern intermodal container. It goes to show that you should never throw spare decals away, as you never know when they might come in handy!

Once the cab is complete, it can be weathered and final assembly commence. The replacement wheels and hubs have been painted and are also due for the weathering treatment before being installed onto the chassis. That will just leave the rear cargo body and I'm currently undecided about whether to use the kit's canvas body or create something a little different, such as a scratch-built flatbed...

... after starting the DAF over 18months ago, I'm tempted to stick with the kit body in an effort to get the model finished sooner. Then, I can move on to finishing some of the other projects I have on the go.