Introduction

For D-Day, many Universal Carriers were fitted with deep wading screens as they had a very shallow draft. This conversion kit can be used with the Tamiya kit or with Resicast's own early carrier conversion.

Review

Inside the strong cardboard box is an A4 instruction sheet printed on glossy paper and 2 zip lock bags containing 31 resin pieces, cast in an olive green resin, and a bundle of thin brass rod. There were no air bubbles on any of the parts in my kit and the detail is very sharp. The box label shows the set in place on the kit as well as a war time photo of a carrier equipped with them.

The set contains nine resin panels cast very thin, closer to scale thickness than the Tamiya kit walls which scale out at over an inch thick. The set also contains all the brackets needed plus some spares. Including spare brackets is a great idea as, although there were no miscast pieces in my set, their tiny size makes them perfect fodder for the carpet monster. Each part has a part letter cast on the pour plug. This letter is used to show the assembly sequence in the instructions where there is a printed key explaining what each part is. When removing the panels from their plugs, it’s a good idea to write the letter in pencil on the part so that you don’t confuse them during assembly.

All the parts are very easy to remove from the pour plugs and as always I used my trusty UM razor saw. The panels come with the mounting brackets in place. These need to be drilled out and thankfully there are guide holes in place. You will need a set of micro drill bits for this and a steady hand. When drilling the brackets on the panels, a good idea is to lay them flat on a raised piece of wood so that you can drill at the correct angle and a small piece of two by one would do. I say this in retrospect because I drilled one panel while holding it in my hand and managed to warp the part due to its thinness. For the loose brackets I would drill them while they are still attached to their pour plugs.

The instructions have a diagram showing the location and assembly of the panels and brackets as well as 5 black and white photos showing key points in the assembly. There are more than enough brass rods supplied to simulate the stiffening rods used to keep the panels in place and you will be left with plenty to use as grab handles on other kits.

Conclusion

This is an interesting kit which makes the Tamiya kit or Resicast's early conversion look quite different. It also gives the tiny kit a bit of bulk. The deep wading screens were used on D-Day and were worn with the front panels removed for some time afterward. They may also have been used for large river crossings – there is a photo of a carrier in Burma fitted with them on the Imperial War Museum’s photo archive.

A Build Log is available via the Forums to evaluate the kit parts and assembly.