1:35 British Bishop accessories set

1:35 British Bishop accessories set - a Black Dog accessory set

This item is an accessory set in 1:35 from Black Dog meant for a model of the British Bishop self-propelled gun. It is not a model of the vehicle but an accessory for it. The point of such a set is simple: with period equipment a finished model looks more lived in and reads as a machine in the field rather than a museum exhibit.

The real subject

The Bishop came about during the British North African campaign as a quick answer to the need for mobile artillery. A tall boxy superstructure with a 25-pounder gun was mounted on the chassis of the Valentine infantry tank, which gave the crew at least partial protection and the ability to move with the advancing units. The design had one fundamental weakness, though: the enclosed superstructure limited the elevation, so the vehicle fell far short of the range the same gun reached in its conventional towed form. Crews helped themselves with piled earth ramps that the vehicle drove up onto in order to get the barrel higher. Bishops appeared at El Alamein and in the later fighting in Sicily and in Italy, and they were replaced fairly soon by more successful types.

How to work with the accessories

British vehicles from the North African campaign were literally covered with the crews' personal gear, so the arrangement of the accessories matters here as much as their painting. It pays to work with faded shades, dust weathering and a fine difference in gloss between metal and textile. It also helps to pick out from period photographs where the crews actually stowed their gear.

Who the set is for

• Modelers of British Second World War vehicles in 1:35
• Anyone interested in the North African campaign and in artillery vehicles
• Builders of desert dioramas
• Collectors of Black Dog accessories