Okay, here's some pics of my Universal carrier I've been building since last summer.



It's almost finished. I'll do some more drybrushing, add some weapons to the passenger compartment, and add an antenna.

What do you think? Comments are of course welcome.
Btw. what's the correct lenght for the British antenna?

Looks great! I like the emblem colors on the fender giving it some "pop" against the all OD hull.

Nice work - nice subtle weathering, all in fact that it needs. Looking forward to seeing it finished...Jim

That's one good carrier model. Can you tell me what unit markings there are - I don't recognise them and they are certainly striking!

The vehicle is in Italian markings. Scoccia kindly sent me some decals, the original Tamiya decals were very poor (Thanks again, Scocia! ). I don't know the exact unit where this carrier served. I tried to find info on Italian-used carriers but could'n find a single page about them. To my knowledge Italians got some carriers from the British after the armistice and they just recieved new markings and were put to service with original armament and equipment.

Hey those aren't the original tracks ...What else have you done to this kit ...I've been wanting to build one for a while now,but so much work needs to be done to it . I did see a new resicast improvement set that I have ordered ..Let me know what you've done to yours.

Rick

No they aren't the original tracks, I used Model kasten indi-tracks. They're quite time-consuming to build but they fit exactly and come with white metal drive sprockets. I think these are a must, since the original tracks are appaling. I also used the Eduard's photo etched set.
I heard that the resin up-date set includes resin link&length tracks which are copies of the kasten tracks.
When built out of the box, the sidewalls are too thick but I didn't bother scratch-building them. They shouldn't be too hard to make, though.

A realy nice job !
I built mine few time ago ( http://perso.wanadoo.fr/maquette.garden/IMAGES/Maquettes/Bren%20Carrier/gkgal.htm

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/maquette.garden/IMAGES/Maquettes/dio%20bren/gkgal.htm )

Your new tracks give a plus to the kit ! Congrats !

Your model looks good too!
What decals did you use? And where did you get those headphones for the radio? And how did you make that tarp on the back?

That looks nice, which brand is the model.

Greetz Rob!

It's the good old tamiya model. Been around since mid-seventies. I remember some sprues are marked 1976. Since that the model has been re-issued several times. Last time in 1997, with a single new sprue with a couple of figures and some weapons. I think both "forced reconnaissance" and "European campaign" boxings are from the '90s I added Kasten tracks and eduard PE.
It's still a nice model, but Tamiya should do a brand new model instead of recycling stuff from the '70s. Some competion could do wonders. Imagine, two or more companies putting out Universal carriers, one better than the last.

I found my decals on an old Esci's sheet.
Soory for the headphones I don't remember but I think they are homemade with differents parts.

My tarp is realy easy to do with a tissue soaked in white glue mixed with watter ( as shown here: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/maquette.garden/trucs/bache/Une_bache.htm )

Eetu-
thats a nice carrier
Looks great.
Next time I build one I'll go for the link and lengths I think- I don't know if I could handle the indies, even though you've shown how good they look.
MC

Ciao Emeritus,
Beautiful job! I built one years ago, and you are right. The problems of recycling an old kit are apparent when exposed to the quality of today's kits. The walls are too thick, the original figures were abysmal and the tracks hard to work with. I really applaud your work with the indy tracks. They must have been a bear to work with.
Ciao for now
Rob

Thanks for the compliments.
Those indi-tracks were probably the single most time-consuming part of the model. If you plan to use kasten tracks be careful cutting the links from the sprues. They're connected to the links in three points. I found it best to first cut the single connector (this takes off the tension from the sprue so the links won't break in the next phase). Then cut away the sprue around the links. Now you have little sprues with one link with two connectos. Then it was easy to cut both connectors at once with side cutters.
After cleaning the tracks were ready for assembly. Fortunately the links didn't have any flash. I used liquid cement to build the tracks, first making the curving part around the drive sprockets. I made a lenght of track, wrapped it around the sprockets and then secured the track lenght in place with super glue. (the sprockets are white metal) I did the same with idler wheels but left the lengths unglued.
I glued the suspension units and rear axels+drive sprockets to the hull and left idlers separate. Then I made the rest of the tracks by making lenghts that fitted neatly between the idlers and sprockets.
The links fit perfectly to each other and were easy to handle but use a ruler or similar tool to get the track lenghts straight. I had a couple of sightly warped lenghts but they fitted nicely.
cheers

very nice looking carrier!love the weathering on it,its not over done!!!!very nice

Yes, I think the amount of mud & dirt is about right. But I thought about doing a little more drybrushing to accent the details on the exterior, especially on the front. I should get it done sometimes soon. All it needs is the (possible) drybrushing and adding some more stowage and weapons. I may also add a tarp made from tissue as the kit-supplied one isn't very good.