Photos

History

In July 1941, U.S. Ordnance and the British Tank Mission issued procurement orders for a heavier, larger armored car, primarily for desert warfare (2" front armor vs. T17's 1-1/4"), using the T17 turret.

After initial tests of pilot no.1, Britain recommended up-gunning to the 6 Pounder. Pilot no.2 was fabricated in late 1942, evaluated at Aberdeen and then shipped to the U.K. in November for final testing. Production began in December, employing a U.S. 57 mm gun instead of the 6 pdr.

Production was halted in May 1943 after 30 units, as the campaign in North Africa was ending. Spare part orders halted in January 1944 and the T18E2 was declared obsolete.

Build Notes

• Hunnicutt's "Armored Car" drawings were re-scaled to 1/35 and additional drawings made for reference and templates.
• Cast hull front and turret were sculpted from balsa wood. Cast texture was formed with red auto glazing putty.
• Main hull, secondary structure, suspension, various hardware and fittings fabricated from styrene sheet and strip stock.
• Other materials - brass sheet/rod, soft wire, paper, Mylar, sheet lead, stretched sprue, resin, styrene and PE spare parts (modified).
• The under-carriage was constructed from the 1942 drawings printed in Hunnicutt.  These may be slightly different from what was actually manufactured. Also, I did not have photos of the under-carriage from the surviving example at Bovington.  Due to this fact and since this area was not visually prominent, I didn’t worry about it too much and even simplified it some.  Therefore, it’s only an approximation.
• Editor's Note: Mike's Boarhound won the Best of the Show "Theme Award" (for the subject: Prototypes, Experimental and "One-Off" Vehicles) at the 2008 AMPS International Show in Auburn, Indiana USA.

Kit Parts Used

• Bronco Staghound Mark I (2)- Tires, transfer cases (modified), various standard fittings;
• Tamiya M20 Utility Vehicle (2)-  Leaf springs, drive shafts (modified), various fittings.

After-market Items

• Aber - Aluminum 6 pdr Barrel
• Adler's Nest - Brass 30 cal. machine gun barrels
• Karaya - Copper/resin tow cable -
• Formations - Resin tools
• Archer Fine Transfers - Tread plate Surface Details and US Serial Numbers.

Finish

Tamiya Colors, artist's oils, pastels and MIG pigments.