My great uncle was with the maintenance company of the 67th Armored Regiment, 2nd Armored division in WWII. He was there from pretty early on (enlisted on 10/12/41 and he's listed in the regimental history as having been on Sicily) until the end. This last weekend I found some of his pictures from the war and three of them seem to show him posing on and around the same vehicle (I think). Can anyone tell me what it is and if there are any kits out there?







Many thanks!

Michael

It looks like it may be a Ward LaFrance 1000 Wrecker.





I don't know of any models of it.

Gar-Wood crane on the back.

Ward La France Model 1000 earlier than series 4
(series 4 got the "triangular" bumper instead of the "normal" C-profile)

It looks as if the photos show two wreckers, one with non-directional tires and the other with "directional" tyres.
/ Robin

P.S. Accurate Armour produce a later variant of this type of wrecker but the differences are significant ....
http://www.accurate-armour.com/ShowProduct.cfm?manufacturer=0&category=14&subcategory=23&product=162

Hi Michael,

Not common subject. Anyway: SOLFIG is a French maker of resin kits.

Check this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Solfig-72225-1-72-Resin-WWII-US-Ward-Lafrance-Wrecker-/141592711857?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20f79552b1

Small and expensive...

Cheers

Giovanni

And not the right version. That is a Ward LaFrance M1A1, a later version. It is the same as the Accurate Armour resin kit in 1/35.

Hi Gino,




Checked, you're right. It is different version. thanks for info.

Cheers
Giovanni

What's the name on the door? X--STON? Thought it might be "KINGSTON", but the first letter looks like an "X".

I make out the last four to be: "X ... STOR" or maybe "X ... STER."

Here's my guess : "MONSTER" (an appropriate nickname... )

H.P.

I agree. It appears to say "MONSTER" on the passenger door.
The bumper code is very concise, just "Tx" if I read that right. Is that just a truck number? The 2nd Armored would have a 2 and a triangle, right?
Also, the gym shoes are noteworthy.
thanks for posting these neat pictures of your great uncle!
-Sean H.

Thanks for all the info! Shame there's no kit, I'd like to do something in his honor (aside from the several M4s from the 2nd Armored I have planned!)

Michael

I would go with the AA kit anyway. It's as close as you're ever going to get to modeling anything that halfway resembles what your uncle tinkered with in kit form. Don't stop (i.e.'count the rivets') on this one...go with your heart.

If you want to build him just a wrecker that is close, I would go with the Mirror Models Diamond T wrecker. It is a hardtop and a lot cheaper than the all-resin AA kit, about half the price.

Thanks guys. Of course, the other thing to consider is that, since he was in for the whole war, chances are that he had other wreckers later on. I'll see what I can do, that AA kit is pretty pricey.

Michael