1:35 Universal Carrier part 1

The small tracked maid of all work of the Polish units

The Universal Carrier was among the most widespread British vehicles of the war. An open tracked hull with no turret could be used for practically anything: as a machine gun carrier, a mortar tractor, a liaison vehicle and a supply mule for the front line. It was built in hundreds of thousands and spread through all the armies of the Commonwealth, the Polish units among them.

The markings on the sheet

The sheet covers four vehicles of the Mk.I version. The oldest belonged to the Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade and is tied to January 1942 at Gazala in North Africa. Another carries the insignia of the 24th Lancers Regiment of the 1st Polish Armoured Division at the time when the division was training in Scotland in 1943. The remaining two vehicles belong to the end of the war in Germany in 1945, one with the Independent Parachute Brigade, the other with the 3rd Armoured Brigade of the 1st Armoured Corps.

Application

Cut the individual insignia out close to the print, so that as little carrier film as possible is left around them. Then soak the paper in warm water and leave it to rest for a few seconds, until the decal starts to slide freely; draw it into place with a soft brush. The body of the carrier is full of rivets and edges, so it is worth planning in advance where an insignia will end up, so that it does not run across a sharp corner. The open space of the hull also lets you see inside, so it pays to match the tone of the interior to the outer finish before you even open the sheet.

A note on the subject

The vehicles listed share Polish service, but each of them comes from a different phase of the war, so they also differ in the way the insignia were placed on the hull.