If you’re wondering what a Desert Creeper is, well . . . . look at the photo and you know what it is. Imagine some small desert dwellers (ones who pretty much scavenge anything that isn’t tied down) and you’ll be spot-on. Maybe if I split the name into two words like this . . . . Sand Crawler.

Anyway, this is an original design from Jesus Luna and was a scratchbuilt pattern. The kit from Multi-Verse Models is absolutely beautiful, and when I saw they were available, I made arrangements to pay in advance and pick up this kit from the MVM booth at WonderFest 2014.

Even though this kit is in 1:144 scale, it’s no lightweight. Most of the review kit’s 38 parts are solid pressure-cast resin, with the exception of the center hull which is roto-cast. Later versions of this kit featured hollow-cast center sections. This kit weighs in around 4 pounds. While some flash is present, it is minimal and will be quickly cleaned up. The casting is beautiful, and assembly is carefully laid out over three 8.5 x 11 pages with text and photos.

The cockpit area is solid pressure-cast, but with VERY careful drilling it MAY be possible to drill out the cockpit windows/deck to include detail. The window framing is very small, so you may end up damaging the model in your drilling attempt. Also, at 1:144 scale, not a lot of interior detail is going to be seen. The windows themselves are about 1/8-inch square.

No markings are included with the kit, but then . . . there aren’t any. The instructions indicate the primary color should be rusty brown, with shading/weathering with shades of browns, tans, oranges, grays, and black. I’m thinking that the standard rust-colored automotive primer might be just close enough to use as the base color.

The completed model is about 10.5 inches long and roughly 3.75 inches wide.

Review by: Rich “Lonewolf” Dula

Entry created: June 30, 2014