Introduction

Bronco Models has boxed their offering of the Loyd Carrier with the Riich Models 6pdr AT gun in 1/35th scale. The Riich Models 6pdr AT gun kit is of the Mk IV and a welcome addition to supply with the Bronco Models Loyd Carrier. Originally tested in 1939, the Loyd Carrier was based on the 4x2 Fordson truck. The initial order of 200 carriers was fulfilled by Vivian Loyd’s own company, further orders were produced by the Ford Motor Company, Wolseley Motors, and others with a total of 26,000 carriers built by the end of the Second World War. The carrier was mostly used for towing the 6pdr anti-tank gun, as supplied here and known as the Tracked Towing configuration. One of the latest kits from Bronco Models depicts this anti-tank gun tractor and towed 6pdr Anti-tank gun.

The Kit

The kit comes packed in a sturdy box with a nice picture of a 6pder AT Gun being towed by a Loyd Carrier. Inside the box are a large number plastic bags with the sprues individually packaged except where the sprues are duplicated and the two sprues that make up the gun. There are two instruction booklets in the box with the one covering the 6pdr AT gun now having Bronco Models logo present. There is a photo etched fret for each of the two elements that will add some nice details but also make it a more challenging build.

Review

This Loyd Carrier had eluded modelers for a long time until this release by Bronco Models back in 2015 and this offering is a good mix of the two offerings. The gun part of this kit is molded in green plastic, and from a look at the sprues the moulding is holding up well. I found little to no flash, no sink marks, and the only ejector pin marks that really need to be cleaned up are on the inside of the canvas top. The surface details look great, and there are a lot of fine molded parts.

6pdr AT Gun
The 6pdr was not a large gun by artillery standards and there are many small parts to deal with but as the devil is in the detail I don’t think modellers will be disappointed with this product. Bronco Models has opted not to supply the metal barrel issued with the original Riich Models offering, but the single piece plastic barrel is a fair compromise.

The Mk IV had a slightly longer barrel than the previous Mk’s of gun and also came with a muzzle brake, which is catered for in the kit. The wheels come in a ridged type of black plastic to which you add the rims. A section of cord is provided for the tow rope for the gun.

The gun can be built with the breach in the open or closed position, and if you build carefully the gun should be able to elevate and traverse, you can also finish it as a towed version, or with the trail legs open in the firing position. To round thing off a small fret of delicate looking PE is included.

Loyd Carrier
This Loyd portion of this kit includes a full detailed engine and transmission that will be mostly hidden when the model is complete. But there is a photo-etched screen on either end of the engine compartment, so you might get a slight view.

The running gear is also very well detailed, including metal springs in the kit to add that extra detail. The built-up bogeys will add to the detailed frame that will need to be constructed. From the instructions, this should go together relatively easily, even though there seems to be a lot of parts.

The interior detail extends into the driver's compartment as you complete the construction of the frame and floor. This includes adding the well detailed engine. The cover for the engine is in multiple parts, thus if you want to display the engine, it would not take much work.

The track included with this kit from Bronco Models is a length and link style. There are several lengths of moulded track that will be connected using individual links, mostly around the idler and drive sprocket. The moulded track looks great, very finely moulded. I do personally find this style of track a little more difficult and time consuming to install as you have to get the individual links in the right spot to ensure lining up of the lengths.

With the lower frame and most of the interior detail added, construction then starts with the body armour plating. Again this looks relatively straight forward. The armour plates look to be well done with good looking surface detail on both sides, and what looks to be good scale thickness. A photo-etched storage bin is included, and will be a great place to add the stowage included in the kit. The kit does include 6pdr ammunition boxes with some loose 6pdr rounds. There is also some packs and weapons that can be added for stowage. The weapons sprue looks to be showing signs of wear and looks to have been off set in this case.

With the body built and stowage added, it is now time to add the top. Bronco has included some finely moulded plastic parts to represent the framing. Over this is a solid moulded canvas top that provides the option of having the sides rolled up or down. This is great to see inside the model, as a lot of producers usually don’t provide this option. If you are using the side down option, two lengths of string are included to represent the tie downs.

Paint and Marking Options

9th Carpathian Rifle Battalion, 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division, Italy, Summer 1943
11th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division, France, June 1944
1st Netherlands Reconnaissance Squadron, Netherland Independent Brigade Group ‘Prinses Irene Brigade’, Sept 1944
1st Netherlands Independent Motorised Fighting Group ‘Prinses Irene Brigade’, Sept 1944
2nd Btn Gordon Highlanders, 15th Scottish Infantry Division, Netherlands, Oct 1944
2nd Netherlands Independent Motorised Fight Group ‘Prinses Irene Brigade’, Sept 1944
1st Btn East Lancashire Regiment, 53rd Infantry Division, Netherlands, Oct 1944

As a bonus with this offering Bronco Models has included a figure of an artillery soldier, I say artillery soldier as a leather jerkin is depicted which was a common item seen on artillery soldiers during World War 2. The figure is shown drinking a cup of tea and I first saw this one in a Chaffee release from Bronco Models. I do like the figures released by Bronco Models and I only wish they released offerings more often that were not so expensive in the UK.

Conclusion

This release from Bronco Models is a great combination of their Loyd Carrier and the Riich Models 6pdr Anti-Tank Gun in 1/35th scale. Bronco Models has started releasing kits that are easy to build of late, but this offering goes back to the more complex kit days and so not one for a novice modeller to tackle. The models will however make a great combo and have the possibility too be built into very high quality models.