1:48 British sand channels

Hauler British sand channels 1:48 - photo-etched set

A set of parts made of photo-etched sheet from the Czech maker Hauler in 1:48 scale. It holds British sand channels, that is, the perforated channels that soldiers carried strapped to the fenders and sides of vehicles. It is not a kit or a finished model but an accessory with which a built vehicle is equipped.

The real subject

In the parched areas of North Africa wheels and tracks regularly sank into soft sand. Crews therefore carried perforated steel or wooden channels, which they laid under the wheels and over which the vehicle drove out of the place where it had sunk in. The channels were perforated because of weight and to let sand fall through, and they bore traces of bending, wear and rust. Similar equipment was used outside the desert as well, in mud and on waterlogged roads for instance.

Why photo-etched parts instead of plastic

The perforation is exactly what a molded plastic part can never manage. Either it is blanked off or it is absurdly thick. Etched sheet has the correct thickness and the openings go right through, which shows on a model at once. Cut the parts off against a hard surface and sand the remains of the tabs down. Realism is helped a great deal by bending the channels slightly and irregularly, which you achieve with careful pressure from a finger or over a round object. Degrease the metal, spray a primer and then build the rust up from pigments or from rust shades blended out with thinner.

Who the set is for

• builders of British and Allied vehicles from North Africa
• modelers who are bothered by the blanked-off perforation of plastic parts
• makers of dioramas with a bogged-down vehicle being recovered
• modelers in 1:48 scale looking for small period equipment

This is an accessory for a build, not a model in its own right. The kit, glue and paints are not included in the package.