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Daimler-Guinness "Boiler" Armored Lorry

Model Photos

Model Kit and Photos by Ron Bell- Columbus, Ohio USA

(Converted 1/72 Roden London Bus Model )

During the Irish Easter Rebellion of 1916, the British Army employed a group of improvised APCs made out of railroad engine parts mounted on a (Daimler) truck chassis (some sourced from the Guinness Brewery) with improvised armor for the cab, engine and drive train. The cylinder on the rear is actually four railroad engine smoke boxes bolted together with the door on the rear most one functioning as the entry hatch. They then cut holes in the sides so the soldiers inside could fire out of the vehicle without dismounting, but reports say they usually didn't use them do to the noise and smoke it produced inside. They also painted "dummy" holes to fool snipers. These vehicles were generically known as "Boilers" and took several forms.  I started with a 1/72 Roden London Bus kit for the frame, suspension and drive train, then I scratch built everything above that.