Alan,
Must admit lost track on this ...have just had a re-run through to catch up on it
It is coming on a treat ...completely intrigued with the whole thing .....
That B&W pic really brings it to life ....so natural ...
Keep going you 'mad fool'

aye
BARV
(GOSMG)

Hi Bruce and James,

thanks for your support.

Steve, yes mad might be right I blame Skipper he got me interested in the boats!!

Cheers
Al

Hi Guys,

Here's the little beast with the side armour on:











and in the boat





I have still work to do on the front hull external and internal stowage (I can get more kit in now the sides are on lol, lol) and sort out a commander. A small handle need to be added to the top front of the armour and the painting and weathering finished off.

Cheers

Al

Alan, looks great! I like the coloring of the tracks... againk, thanks for sharing!

hello Alan,
looks good.the tracks look great.should not the driver have a slit or periscope so he can see where he is driving?keep up the great work and updates.
cheers,
Bruce

Hi guys,

Decals and front fittings are on so I will start on a little wear and tear tomorrow, but not too much.

Bruce, the Commander/gunner stood up and looked out over the top of the plates and told the driver where to go lol, lol - fact, very technical lol lol , but that's how they did it.

Cheers

Al

hello Alan,
you learn something new everyday.i did not know that the commander stood to tell the driver which way to go.seems to me like a good way to get your head blown off.maybe they used "problem soldiers" as the commanders,hoping that they would straighten out.or get killed.
thanks for the info.
how did you get the track colors to look (to me) rust red.they look great.when you do the detailing are you going to add some water in the Landing Craft.i was in one,when i was young and stupid,and they had about 6" of water in the bottom.i know,i keep adding stuff for you to either think about or do or both.
thanks for all your updates and teaching us how to do such a great Ship Dioramas.
cheers,
Bruce

Hi Bruce,

With the carrier being such a low vehicle and the purpose of the panels to get it to shore a matter of perhaps 10/12 yds I suppose they saw no point in adding a periscope for the driver, this being a wading rather than swimming vehicle for any great distance.

Yip the Commander looking over the top and shouting orders to the drive above the nosie of battel and the engine must have been real fun. The panels were supposed to come off at the first opportunity although I have seen pic of them with the drivers panel removed and the remainder still in place several days after the landing.

On the tracks I probably need to add a lttle exposed steel. I used Humbrol Matt 70 as the base colour and treated that with Mig Dark Wash and some watery black here and there. I dry brushed some Tamiya metalic grey one the edges and pins.

On the water in the boat, I have considered that. The ramp on this one isn't fully down so there will hopefully be some water spashing over it,. One reason things aren't glued down is the need for further developemnts as the project develops as I hope will my skill. Time will tell.

I'm afraid the life preservers are a no go as I couldn't work out a way to add them below the kit.

Thanks for your comments as far as teaching goes I'm learning as I build. One thing I'm not happy with is the anchor on the LCM, it looks a bit too big. I have a more appropriate one on the LCA but I can't remember where I got it from so there are still some changes I want to make.

The new RN figures from Wee Friends arrived and I've started on them. I had hoped to get both done this weekend but they have only had a base coat as the finishing of the carrier has taken longer that I thought.

Some updates later, if the light is good and I can get the bits I'm working on done.

I wasn't sure about the carrier but the more I look at it the more I like it, it's a quirky little vehicle with the wading gear on. I have a figure in mind for the commander that I hope will work well, although no yet purchased.

I also need to get some feeedback on the external stowage for the vehicle. I can't see there being any on the front and I'm not sure how much, if any, would have been on the back given that that part of the vehicle is likely to have been submerged. More research required.

Cheers

Al

Hi Guys,

this mornings efforts:









inside







Cheers

Al

hello Alan,
i would think that the stuff would be hanging where the crew could put them.i have seen in some of my books,that the crew had stuff hanging everywhere.including a tea pot on the rear deck,so they could make a cuppa.there is a book about the Bren carrier,with alot of wartime photo's in it.i will see if i can find out who wrote it.
cheers,
Bruce
edit: have you checked the anchor against a scale ruler.

:) Thanks for the credits, Alan
Your carrier looks terrific!
I like the fast welded marks, and also the small rods that populate the armoured carrier. The painting is your usual (very good), and also like the attention you have put on making the wheeled models of this dio, with a worn look and full of things (boxes, crates, the lot!) - it really makes them look like they are actually being used
Keep up, mate!

Thanks for sharing, sorry for the late reply!
Skipper

Hi Bruce,

Thanks for the thoughts. My thinking was that being so low anything on the outside would be submerged, so if you didn't want your kit wet put it inside. I was also thinking about things like petrol and tins of biscuits which woudl have a tendency to float even when tied down which makes me think they may have loaded up the back but perhaps not the front you know what it's like when you dive in lol, lol. Anyway I have some stowage from Resicast on the way for the rear and I shall try and find some pics of them on the beaches to see what kind of stuff was stowed outside.

Hi Skipper,

Thanks for the feedback the boats have been a lot of fun, frustrating at times but I've learnt and am still learning a hugh amount through building them. I'm very pleased with the way the carrier turned out, room for improvement for the next one but it's a neat little vehicle and should look the part when I get a commander in the front.

The Wee Firends figures arrived last week. The signaller comes with a choice of heads , cap or helmet so I'll use the cap on the commander and he should work well with Pete's other figure on the observation deck of the Lighthouse. Projects are moving along, won't get done this year but maybe next, still no hurry with such a lot to do.

Cheers guys and thatnks for the support, encouragement and advice.

Al

Very nice and interesting conversion on the universal carrier. Great stuff Alan.

I can imagine the conversation...
"No dear. I can't run to the market for you. I know that it's right up the road but the officers look down on that sort of thing."

or... "Dear, I have to go now or we will be late for the invasion."

hello Alan,
i found in one of my books showing a bren carrier wading ashore.in the rear of it it showed a small raft loaded with boxes and other gear tied to the rear deck.from what i could see it looked liked it was tied at 4 points on the rear deck,so it could float if needed,but as the carrier came ashore the raft would stay on the rear deck.
hopes this helps.cheers,
Bruce

Hi Kenny,

Firstly congratulations on your recent appointment/promotion

Glad you enjoyed the show as they say lol, lol After these two I don't know if I'm ready to start the LCVP. Probably need a break onto somethng else for a while.

Bruch,

Thanks for the info, they had sledges for the AVRE and the tanks. I have a Porpoise Sledge for my AVRE when I get around to finishing it, they were towed behind so it looks like it might be one of those or a smaller version. Loaded with stores and ammo they struggled to get up the beach lol,lol. For this one I'll probably just do a load for the rear although the sledge is an idea for the beached one for a bit of variety.

This is the Porpoise, used for ammo and stuff



Can you post a pic?

Cheers

Al

hello Alan,
the photo i saw,about 5 years ago,was in a book that i think i have.it will take some time going throught all 2000+ books i own.
cheers,
Bruce

Hi Bruce,

No worries, you might be looking for a long time lol, lol.

Cheers

Al

Hi Bruce,

I was watching the World at War last night, the eposide on the landings and what should wade ashore but a carrier loaded up to the gills with kit on the back so that answers that question.

A very timely arrival this evening when I got home:











This is the new Resicast stowage set 35.293 for the Universal carrier. Contains enough stuff for two carriers plus some repklacement boggies if you want a heavily loaded version and a set of stowage for the front.

Cheers

Al

hello Alan,
i guess i am off the hook.i only got through 6 of the books last night.do you still want me to keep looking for that photo?
that is a sweet storage unit for the Bren Carrier.
cheers,
Bruce

Hi Bruce,

Don't put yourself out, if you happen across it some tme that would be nice to see, but the W at W will do for me.

Cheers and thanks for looking.

Al

Hi Guys,
No more work on the carrier yet but started the 2 RN figs from Wee Friends: The signaller will be for the boat, probably around where he is and the 2nd chap I'll probably use on the Pier dio. Wellies need dulled down a bit!!















Al

hello Aaln,
nice looking figures. did they come fully painted,or did you paint them.either way they look great.
cheers,
Bruce

Hi Bruce,

Thanks. They are white metal so you need to attatch the heads and some arms/hands. The SIgnaller comes with a choice of heads, cap or helmet. I used the cap on the chap in the duffle.

For better or worse, all my own painting.

Cheers

Al

Hmmmm,

Hi guys, no thoughts on the sailors? OK here's a question for you. In the original build I had the skipper with a whitish jumper, but thoughts were that it was in appropriate or too bright so I changed the colour to a buff type. I have seen pics of RN sailors and they show them wereing a thick white jumper as per Pete's figure. So my question is should I paint the skipper with an off white or ivory coloured jumper too or vise versa?

Some further info. I had asked the question about numbers on the back of the wheelhouse and the concensus was there weren't any. My thoughts were that this would lift the back of the boat, by helping to break up the grey. Anyway I was watching the Workd at War a few days ago and what did I see but an LCM with a big white 57 on the rear of the wheelhouse. lol, lol I'm going to watch the landing footage again today as I want a closer look at a couple of carriers that feature and to double check I actually saw what I thought I saw.

So any thoughts about the jumpers?

2nd carrier is under construction

Cheers

Al

hello Alan,
if your talking about the wee friends,i think that they look fine the way the are.i would not change them.if you have any photo's of them it might help to get your point across.

i missed the post about the numbers,i am sorry about that.in some of my books,they carried numbers on the wheelhouse,on the stern and on the ramp.some of them had numbers on each side about 1 meter from the ramp.in 1 photo the is a saying on the ramp,i also think it was in a movie.the statement read: "It is to late to worry now".
i hope this helps.
cheers,
Bruce