Canadians!!
Now, the object of our project is this Canadian girl: Otter Mark I Light Reconnaissance Car.
 |
| Otter Mark I Light Reconnaissance Car |
History:
The Otter Light Reconnaissance Car (known officially by the British as "Car, Light Reconnaissance, Canadian GM Mark I") was a light armoured car produced by Canada during the Second World War for British and Commonwealth.
 |
| Line of five Otters in the winter. |
The Otter Light Reconnaissance Car (LRC) was developed by General Motors Canada to meet the demand for this type of armoured car. The design followed the layout of the British Humber Mark III LRC.
The Otter was based on the Chevrolet C15 Canadian Military Pattern truck chassis and used many standard GM components.
 |
| Humber Light Reconnaissance Car Mark III |
 |
| Chevrolet C15 CMP truck |
The Otter was designed in 1942 nd experiments began on a prototype immediately. Although of simple and rugged design, it did not compare as favourably as was hoped. It was considered under-powered, and the driver's visibility was poor, with the visors open or closed.
Despite these shortcomings, General Motors pressed ahead with production. The pilot model had pistol ports, extended turret armour and a different vision port for the driver. After testing, the spare tire mount was repositioned to a less obtrusive location, the pistol ports were omitted and vision ports were changed for production vehicles.
 |
| Otter's driver station |
 |
| Otter turretless. Notice the spare wheel position |
The armament consisted of a hull-mounted Boys anti-tank rifle and a Bren light machine gun in a small open-topped turret.
Although it used a more powerful engine than the Humber, it was larger and heavier (by a ton); overall performance was less than the Humber but still acceptable. Despite its problems, it was a popular vehicle with the troops, mainly because of its reliable mechanical components and its ease of maintenance.
 |
| Otter LRC showing their weapons |
Between 1942 and 1945, 1761 units were produced in Oshawa, Ontario, though fewer than 1.000 were delivered overseas.
 |
| Otter in Athens, Greece - 1943 Notice the spare wheel in low position |
It saw service with the British Army in the latter stages of the North African campaign, and with both the British and Canadian armies. all through the' Italian campaign and in limited numbers in North-West-Europe after D-Day in June 1944.
ln the Canadian Army, it was used by Divisional Reconnaissance Regiments (e.g. the Princess Louise Dragoon Guards in Italy) as well as by Royal Canadian Engineer Field Squadrons and Royal Canadian Army Service Corps Transport Companies. It remained in Canadian service in the early post-war years.
 |
| Otter at the gates of Xanten, near of Rhine river Germany -March, 1945. |
 |
| Damaged Otters of Princess Louise Dragoon Guards In the fields of Italy, 1943. |
 |
| Otter of the 11th Field Company, RCE 2nd Canadian Infantry Division May-sur-Orne, France - Oct. 1944. |
 |
| Otter of the 11th Field Company, RCE - 2nd Canadian Infantry Division May-sur-Orne, France - Oct. 1944. See actual pic above |
 |
| Otter of the British 23rd Armoured Brigade crossing a Bailey bridge over the Volturno river at Grazzanise Italy, October 1943 - see color profile below |
 |
| Otter of the British 23rd Armoured Brigade Volturno River - Italy, Octuber 1943 |
It was also employed by the South African Army and the British RAF Regiment. Some RAF regiment vehicles used aircraft armament such as 20mm cannon and 0.303 Browning machine guns.
After the war the Otter was used by the Jordanian Army and Dutch Army during the Indonesian Revolution.
Specs: |
| Otter of the armoured detachment of No. 2771 Field Squadron RAF Regiment, at Prkos airfield, Yugoslavia.- 1945 |
 |
| Former Jordanian Otter captured by the Haganah from the Arab Liberation Army in 1948. |
| Otter Light Reconnaissance Car | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer Production Weight(empty) Weight (load) | GM of Canada and Hamilton Bridge Company 1942-45. 1.761 units 4.404 Kg 4.976 Kg |
| Length | 4.496 mm |
| Width | 2.159 mm |
| Height Wheelbase Wheel tread Drive | 2.438 mm 2.578 mm 1.803 mm 4x4 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Armour | up to 12 mm |
Main armament
| .55 in Boys anti-tank rifle |
Secondary armament
| 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Bren light machine gun |
| Engine Transmission Tire size | GMC 6 cyl. gasoline 106 hp (79 kW) @ 3000 rpm Manual 4 fwd/1 rev. 9.00 x 16 |
| Power/weight | 24.1 hp/tonne |
| Suspension Fuel capacity Range Elec. Volt. Radio | 4 x 4 wheel, leaf spring 121 liters 418 Km 12 V N° 19 W/T |
| Speed | 75 km/h |
The kit:
For this project, I'll use the IBG Models Otter Light Reconnaissance Car (#35019), in 1/35 scale.
 |
| IBG Models 35019 kit. |
Starting by the kit in my workbench: Instructions!
 |
| See in pdf here!! |
 |
| Very well packaged!! |
Big surprise: Two complete aditional sets of wheels, with 2 different sizes, for my box of spare parts. Thank you, miss IBG !!! According Jiří Zahradník ,the wheels in the instruction (N tires) are wrong - I'll need the smaller one: 9.00 x 16 (the sprue M) Thanks a lot, Jiří !! see below:
 |
| 9.00 x 16 tires, like the specs. Use the wheels of M sprue, not the N!! |
 |
| Big surprise: Two sets of additional spare wheels. I love you, IBG!!! |
As in the previous project (Ford DAF PAG-trekker), the kit comes with a super-detailed engine. But how it will be virtually invisible within the nose (which will be closed), I decided to mold and casting only the lower and visible portion of the engine. I will keep the excellent 6-cylinder engine for future projects in scratch. I really hate the waste!!
 |
| Using dental hydrocolloid reversible. Molding the lower parts of the engine |
 |
| Dental acrylic poured into the mold of hydrocolloid |
 |
| And the lower engine is ready. |
 |
| Chassis in alignment under metal parts with squared walls. |
 |
| Turret seat and rear panel |
 |
| Chassis perfectly aligned |
 |
| Perfect!! |
 |
| The half-engine in position. Do not be offended. In the end, everything will be OK !! |
 |
| close-up |
 |
| Wheel alignment. 90 degrees!! |
 |
| Turret installed in the roof... |
 |
| With shoes!!! |
 |
| Notice the exhaust pipe adapted in the engine... |
 |
| Starting the body... |
 |
| Body glued to chassis... |
 |
| The half-engine tip works !!! |
 |
| Next steps: painting the interior. |
 |
| The front hatches... |
 |
| Filling a large gap between the snout and the hull ... |
Finally, it's time to paint the interior of the Otter.
 |
| Preparing the interior... |
 |
| Closing the roof. Notice the external rear mirrors in metal. |
 |
| Starting the external painting.... OD from Vallejo. |
As usual, for my markings I like to drawing a profile: My girl belongs to 11st Field Company Royal Canadian Engineers of 2nd Canadian Infantry Division - Head Quarters Platoon, 2nd. Platoon, in duties at May-Sur-Orne, Normandy, France, in August, 1944. Notice the front wheel in the snout of my girl: As the kit provides two spare tires, I wanted to use them. If I were crew of this vehicle in front and could carry a spare wheel, I assure you that I carry ... No doubt !!
 |
| Painting the rollbeds... |
I was almost forgetting: You remember the molding of the bottom of the engine ?? Once the engine painted, here's the final result. I think it was worth the use of acrylic copy because the final results are very good. and I won a brand new engine for my scrap box ...
 |
| The copy of the engine unpainted ... |
 |
| ...and after painting. I think it's worth it!!! IMHO!! |
And the Girl was ready for action: Otter Mark I Light Reconnaissance Car from 11st Field Company Royal Canadian Engineers of 2nd Canadian Infantry Division - Head Quarters Platoon, 2nd. Platoon, in duties at May-Sur-Orne, Normandy, France, in August, 1944.
 |
| Otter Mark I Light Reconnaissance Car -11st Field Company RCE 2nd Canadian Infantry Division - Head Quarters Platoon, 2nd. Platoon May-Sur-Orne, Normandy - France, in August, 1944. |
 |
| Otter Mark I LRC with Kojak, and Rover, the dog. |
 |
| M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo 76mm with Otter Mark I LRC in size comparison. The canadian girl is little!!! |
 |
| Two Canadians girls side by side: Chevrolet CMP CT15AA Armored Ambulance and Otter Mark I Light Reconnaissance Car |
 |
| Otter Mark I Light Reconnaissance Car -11st Field Company RCE 2nd Canadian Infantry Division Head Quarters Platoon, 2nd. Platoon May-Sur-Orne, Normandy - France, in August, 1944. |
Lads...see you again, soon!!
