As mentioned in my previous review on the Humber, my care package from Meeplemart also included a Warlord LVT- 4 Water Buffalo.
Used in ETO during the latter half of 1944 and into 1945, the Water Buffalo was a beast that could carry 30 combat ready troops, a jeep with trailer, or a universal carrier. Operated by the 79th Armoured Division, the Water Buffalo was successfully used to transport and support assault troops during the Battle of the Scheldt and Operation Plunder. Even though it is not stereotypically associated with British Armour like the Firefly or Churchill, I decide to pick up the model because it played a critical role in the notorious Battle of the Scheldt and for the units of the 3rd Canadian Division that fought there.
The model was a relatively simple build and I had no trouble putting it together. It comes with the resin hull and rear ramp, two 1 piece metal track assemblies, and then some odds and ends, .50s, hatches, etc. Two down sides I felt from the kit was that the ramp doesn’t move and is either open or closed; and two, there are no groves for where to mount the tracks and you have to just go with what feels right. Little tip: mount the rear mud guards first before the track assemblies, if you do it the other way around you might not have enough room for the mudguards.
To Britishize my Water Buffalo I had break out the sprue cutter and clip off the forward MG mounts and move them farther back on the hull. I was quite surprised at how well this went and with some super glue they looked as though they belonged there. However the pièce de résistance of the mods is the 20mm Polsten from Rubicon Models mounted just above the crew compartment. I was a bit worried that the Rubicon Polsten wasn’t going to work with the Warlord Water Buffalo and it almost fit perfectly… except for some boat hooks running across where the Polsten goes. So out came the modelling knife and a few seconds later the gun fit (and the crew had less kit to worries about losing). To touch on the 20mm quickly, like the Stuart, the Polsten is a beautifully modelled kit that features a 30 round magazine or the 60 round drum to customize your look. I would highly recommend it to anyone with a LVT-4 as a nice add on.
With the model assembled, I did my standard paint job of Tamiya RAF Dark Green and black for the tracks with silver highlights. I enjoy basing my models on real life vehicles and this Water Buffalo is no different. I marked mine in the colours of 2 Charlie, 5th Assault Regiment Royal Engineers (ARRE), 79th Armoured Division. The picture below shows this Buffalo carrying troops of 9th Canadian Brigade (and with only three regiments in the brigade there’s a pretty good chance they are North Novas).
With the decals on I did a black wash over the entire vehicle and when dry I weathered it with Vallejo Tan-Earth. Every single picture I have seen of Buffalos shows them covered in mud so I thought I’d give dirtying a shot and I’m quite happy with the result (so happy in fact that I have gone back and started to do the same with all the other armoured vehicles).
Now to you my generous readers, as you can see in the picture, 2 Charlie has a rope with an anchor on the front deck. I have the rope but cannot seem to find an anchor that fits (I’m guessing around 10mm). If any of you know a shop that sells them would you please comment below as it would be greatly appreciated!
Final Thoughts: While you don’t see many of these models out on the tables, the LVT-4 played a critical role in Late War operations in NWE. For that reason and also that it is a simple and easy kit to build I recommend getting it. It did come with two small decal sheets, one USA and one British, and as with the Humber, this is the only real gripe I have. The 79th Armoured Division was the only British Unit that operated the Buffalo in the ETO but the British decal sheet didn’t have a single div marker (inversed triangle with the bull’s head) on it. Luckily I’d ordered the 79th Armoured Division decal sheet from Warlord for my AVRE but even just two div markers on the Buffalo decal pack would go a long way… or maybe I’m just picky with representing units and their kit properly. However, as I said mentioned above, if you do find yourself with a LVT-4, get the Rubicon 20mm Polsten, it’s awesome! I’ve also heard rumours out there that there is a Rubicon LVT-4 as well, I think a side by side comparison is a good enough reason to order one.