The Universal Carrier was one of Great Britain’s most common WWII vehicles. These small, light carriers lived up to their name, and there universally used in the British, Australian and Soviet armies in a variety of roles, from troop carrier to light gun platforms. Even the Germans nabbed themselves a number of these ubiquitous units.
Today, I’m looking at Warlord’s newly released plastic Universal Carrier.
Warlord’s plastic model retails at £12 for one model. There is also a three-pack set, which also comes with infantry, for £45. This set is great value, but for today I’m only looking at the carrier on its own. It is a very small model, but it is one of the cheapest transports out there.
The kit comes on two sprues, and is very easy to assemble, with only two stages before options. the parts are very well detailed, with clear-cast rivets and details galore. One thing I like about it is that it doesn't have a slab of resin underneath; that was the one thing that bothered me about the old resin ones, I don't like having a mix of based and un-based tanks.
In terms of options, the vehicle comes with four crew members (only the driver is needed really), and parts to make either a mark one or mark two. There are no weapons options apart from two MMGs, so you’ll need to do a bit of converting to make a gun carrier such as the boy’s rifle UC or the 2 pdr.
The kit is easily customised with just a few outside parts. I plan to make this model a part of my early-war German army, and it will be run as a count-as 250 scout unit.
All I’ve needed to do is change the heads for German helmets and add a few bits of stowage from the Heer box set. The British MMG has been changed out for a German MG34, also from the Heer set. The Pak 36 still needs adding, but so far it is turning out to be a great investment.
To finish off, here's a scale shot next to another Warlord Games plastic kit, the Hanomag.
Overall, this is a great addition to a Bolt Action force, and not just for the British armies. Germans, Soviet, and I think Canadians too, all these armies (and probably more) could all do with more Universal carriers amongst their ranks.