KenRay - 02000 - Truck, Willys MB - United States Army

Prototype History: The Willys MB and the Ford GPW, both formally called the U.S. Army Truck, 1⁄4‑ton, 4×4, Command Reconnaissance, commonly known as the Willys Jeep, Jeep, or jeep, and sometimes referred to by its Standard Army vehicle supply nr. G-503, were highly successful American off-road capable, light military utility vehicles. Well over 600,000 were built to a single standardized design, for the United States and the Allied forces in World War II, from 1941 until 1945. This also made it (by its light weight) the world's first mass-produced four-wheel-drive car, built in six-figure numbers.[nb 6]

Road Name History: The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution. As the oldest and most senior branch of the U.S. military in order of precedence, the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which was formed (14 June 1775) to fight the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)—before the United States of America was established as a country. After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army. The United States Army considers itself descended from the Continental Army, and dates its institutional inception from the origin of that armed force in 1775.

As a uniformed military service, the U.S. Army is part of the Department of the Army, which is one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The U.S. Army is headed by a civilian senior appointed civil servant, the Secretary of the Army (SECARMY) and by a chief military officer, the Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA) who is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is the largest military branch, and in the fiscal year 2017, the projected end strength for the Regular Army (USA) was 476,000 soldiers; the Army National Guard (ARNG) had 343,000 soldiers and the United States Army Reserve (USAR) had 199,000 soldiers; the combined-component strength of the U.S. Army was 1,018,000 soldiers. As a branch of the armed forces, the mission of the U.S. Army is "to fight and win our Nation's wars, by providing prompt, sustained, land dominance, across the full range of military operations and the spectrum of conflict, in support of combatant commanders". The branch participates in conflicts worldwide and is the major ground-based offensive and defensive force of the United States.

From Wikipedia

Brand/Importer Information: The real start of KenRay Models was pretty simple. Ken was a repressed model railroader and interested in WW II modeling. Ray was interested in almost every kind of modeling. Ken was a draftsman by trade and able to discern infinite details. Ray was an award-winning master modeler and model painter with an eye for colors that were spot on. Both were very attuned to accuracy, solid details and wanting to share a passion for both those things.

Ray saw some WW II tanks that Ken built and mounted on flatcars and asked a question that was to have a farther-reaching effect than either would imagine: "Hey, you think we could make some money selling those?" Ken's answer was pretty much standard Ken: "I don't know, let's see." Ray's next question led to something on the business cards that stayed for a long while and will probably make a return. "A business needs a name, so what do we call this?" Ken's answer was vintage sarcastic Ken. "Two ******* Guys Models." Ray intelligently nixed this idea and the name KenRay Models was born in 2005.

Ray passed away late in 2008. We bought the business outright from his wonderful wife, Donna, in 2012, with the understanding we'd never change the name from KenRay Models. In mid-2012 we built a 12x16 foot shop building in the backyard, installed the equipment and got back to work.

It's been a good run so far and we've no intention of stopping any time soon. We've met great people, made good friends, created a business we enjoy. Keep coming back to the site and stopping by our tables at the shows. We promise that we'll always make time for you.