This odd looking vehicle is a Talleres Mina De RioTinto armoured truck which was built and operated by Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War.
The war in Spain saw a bewildering number of improvised armoured vehicles, mostly created by the Republicans as they were continually hard pressed for arms and equipment.
To be honest, I couldn't find much information about this vehicle. It seems to be a modification of a large civilian truck, or perhaps a bus, with a huge amount of armoured plate bolted/welded on. I came across a reference indicating that it could carry a crew of 14, which makes sense as there is that number of firing ports along its side and rear. The photo below shows a Tallares captured by Carlist forces. Note the CNT/FAI/UGT acronyms painted on the front. Knowing that many of the steel/automotive trades came from Barcelona I'm thinking it may have been stationed in or near that city.
From what I undersand many of these vehicles would have gone into service with no body paint, just raw slab steel, perhaps with a few patriotic slogans hand-painted on here and there. So this is pretty much how I approached this model. As it was almost entirely clad in unadorned steel I weathered it quite heavily, having a bit of fun fiddling with pigment powders, washes and rust coloured paint.
As a bit of tongue-in-cheek I painted the popular Republican slogan 'No Pasaran!' (They Shall Not Pass!) on the back of the truck.
I also mounted an aluminum tube along the side so I could swap in Republican flags for some additional colour. (I didn't have a CNT/FAI flag so it's shown here with the colours of the Major Attlee Company of the British Battalion, XV International Brigade.)
Originally created for Anglian Miniatures by Ian Crouch, this resin model is now available through Empress Miniatures. Though I really like the model I must say that I'm now being drawn into the camp which believes that 1/56 scale is just too small for 28mm figures (yes, you Greg). This model seems much better scaled to 20mm and just seems a little too weedy next to 28mm figures. Oh well, I still love the brutal look of the thing and it'll great to put it out on the table for some shenanigans.
This ugly beast will give me 15 points.