Universal Carrier, Mk2 Tamiya

[BarleyBop]

Probably everyone has built one of these, by Tamiya.
I thought I'd give it a try, had just finished reading about the Kasserine Pass debacle, and of the combined forces 'minding the gate'

Not too many photos in 2016 when I built it, but I had started being more diligent about pics that I would then share with my brother 12 hours away!

First contact with ridiculously tiny aftermarket PE!







some scratch built Bren ammo boxes

 

[BarleyBop]

Camo net and rear end!



oooh! and radio set please!

 

[BarleyBop]

as an observation post, what they are seeing was not pretty...



2nd look at rear stowage

 

[OldManModeler]

Chap! Bloody nice work!

I never built one. But will order one post haste.

 

[BarleyBop]

Thanks! It was fun to research, fun to build.
Desert mule!

 

[kevin]

I like the paint job and weathering.

 

[BarleyBop]

I like the paint job and weathering.

Thanks Kevin, it was mostly by accident!
I'm just now getting to the point where I can predict a bit how something might turn out;
so what do I do?
I keep trying new techniques! I suppose that keeps it interesting and fresh.

...and just having really joined since Dec 19th, I've seen so many great techniques and builds, there is no end in sight to what I can learn!

 

[BarleyBop]

Here are some source photos from a random encounter with a variant, the Scout Carrier, in a public plaza. No signage!? Crappy phone on me at the time... 2016
I'll put them in an album for reference:
https://www.scalemodeladdict.com/media/albums/scout-carrier-walk-around.16/

 

[Jakko]

Do you have any pictures from the left or right side of that carrier, by any chance? It's extremely hard to tell from this angle, or from the other photos in your album, if it really is a Scout Carrier — but if it is, somebody made a right hash of the paint job, in terms of historical accuracy …

 

[BarleyBop]

nope, I rushed the photos as I was with other (let's say slightly less enthusiastic) folks on our way to dinner.
I surmised it was a Scout from the (gun racks?) mounted right next to the open (slanted) engine cowling, behind the crew compartment on left side of vehicle.



here is a photo from the Resicast Scout Mk1 kit sitting in my stash... similar, but not exactly... could it be a later version?

 

[Jakko]

The Resicast kit is indeed a Scout Carrier: enclosed on the right, open on the left. Universal Carriers were enclosed on both sides, and there are very few Scout Carriers left in the world. I was recently told there's exactly one, and it could be that you came across that, of course. The problem is that your photos don't appear to show anything that allows easy identification If the left-hand side was open, like on the model, of course, then it was one.

I don't think there were early and late versions, though — they only made 647 of these, after all (says AFV Profile No. 14, Carriers, by Peter Chamberlain and Duncan Crow; Windsor: Profile Publications, ca. 1970). That's a drop in the ocean compared to its replacement, the Universal Carrier, which is the most-produced armoured vehicle ever at something around a hundred thousand vehicles …

 

[BarleyBop]

Yes, not really stellar at anything, but handy in a pinch at just about everything!

 

[Jakko]

And it somehow looks cool

 

[BarleyBop]

...the R2D2 of WW2!

 

[BarleyBop]

But will order one post haste

Hey, if you do go for it, see if you can snag one of these too!
Learned so much: development, versions, manufacturing, and photos in the field with different units, camo, stowage, - really inspirational.

It probably doesn't hurt that I get all weak-kneed at the sight awesome technical drawings!