Built by: Harley Richards in Croydon, Surrey, England

This arrived on the work bench as a promising looking built up, albeit one missing a front wheel and tyre. However, once the dismantling started it became very obvious that all the chrome was really badly faded (where does it go?) and the engine was an unsalvageable glue bomb. The good news was that all the unique Sand Crab bits, like the canopy and windscreen, were intact. So, one Li'l Van later and I had a pile of parts which would yield a complete Sand Crab.

....which is pretty much what you see here, basically it's a Sand Crab top half sitting on a Li'l Van bottom half. No additional detailing, no paint (the plastic's the right colour so why make work?), just a lot of polish and a set of Decal Digs' finest (thanks Dan) to finish it off. Works for me. For the really picky Showrodders out there, this is actually a replica of the car that Tom Daniel drew for the Sand Crab's box art as it has clear head light and tail lenses, whereas the lenses that came with the kit were the same green as the canopy (just thought you¹d like to know that).

On a purely personal note, I love the idea of this car because it's so impractical as to be near-on unusable in the real world. Proof? OK, how long do you think the body would last in the rough stuff being mounted that close to the tyres? Does sign writing the front bash plate really make any sense? No seat belts and an acrylic sheet over the occupants' heads? The first roll would be a real hoot. And finally, just how long would the engine last out in the dunes with no filters on those Webers? Showrod nonsense at its finest folks!