Panzerserra Bunker- Military Scale Models in 1/35 scale

Charioteers of the Circus!!

This is the day, Judah!!

Sorry...I couldn't resist the pun...

History

Ben Hur trailer was the nickname of the World War II U.S. Army G-518 Trailer, 1-ton payload, 2-wheel, cargo, and the Water Buffalo trailer was the G-527 Trailer, 1-ton payload, 2-wheel, water tank, 250 gallon (946 liters) ( U.S. Army Ordnance Corps Supply catalogue designations G-518 and G-527 respectively).

U.S. Army G-518 Trailer, 1-ton payload, 2-wheel, cargo
A very well preserved Ben-Hur trailer

U.S. Army G-518 Trailer, 1-ton payload, 2-wheel, cargo
The Ben-Hur trailer

U.S. Army G-527 Trailer, 1-ton payload, 2-wheel, water tank, 250 gallon
A very well preserved Water Buffalo trailer

U.S. Army G-527 Trailer, 1-ton payload, 2-wheel, water tank, 250 gallon
The Water Buffalo trailer

The one-ton trailers were designed to be towed by vehicles with a capacity of 3⁄4 tons or more, such as the Dodge WC series trucks and jeeps (4x4 and 4x6), as well as 1+1⁄2-ton 4x4 trucks (such as the Chevrolet G506) and 2+1⁄2-ton 6x6 trucks, such as the GMC CCKW 352 and 353 trucks.

Dodge WC-51/52 towing a Ben Hur 1 ton trailer

Dodge WC-51 towing a Ben Hur 1 ton trailer
in a pontoon ferry, crossing a river.
Notice the CCKW 353 and WC-54, just ahead.

Dodge WC51 Dodge with a Ben Hur trailer.
ETO, 1944-45

Dodges WC-51/52 with Ben Hur trailers
Perimeter of 8th FA Battalion - Korean War - feb 1951

Dodges WC-62 6x6 towing Water Buffalo trailers

CCKW with Water Buffalo trailer.
Louisiana Maneuvers, USA - 1941'.

CCKW 353 6x6 trucks towing Ben Hur trailers,
on a steep, dirty road.

US Army CCKW 352 6x6 truck with Ben Hur trailer
rolls across Bailey bridge (what remains of the Alte Brucke (Old Bridge)
over Saar River at Saarbrucken. 21 Mar 1945. Photo Signal Corp.

US Army CCKW 353 6x6 trucks with Ben Hur trailers

Notice the interesting Ben Hur trailer with double wheels
in foreground, being towed by a Dodge WC-52 4x4 and
a CCKW 353 6x6 truck with Ben Hur trailer in background.

US Army CCKW 352 6x6 truck fully loaded,
towing a Ben Hur trailer, at full speed.

Drivers and their trucks (with Ben-Hur trailers) waiting
in a Red Ball Express distribution point. France, 1944.

Ben-Hur trailer waiting be loaded in a
Red Ball Express distribution point. France, 1944.

US Army CCKW 352 6x6 truck towing a Ben Hur trailer
resting under the shade of trees, somewhere in France - 1944.
Notice the Dodge WC-57/57 in the rear of the set.

However, in operational conditions, they were also towed by 1/4-ton Willys MB 4x4 Jeeps and other vehicles, such as the M2 and M3 half-tracks.

A Ben Hur 1 ton. trailer coupled to an Aussie
1/4-ton Willys MB 4x4 Jeep - Lae, New Guinea - 27/08/1944.

American Water Buffalo trailer being towed by a jeep
under muddy conditions. See in backgroud ambulances WC-54
7th Bomber Command - Isley Field, Saipan - 1944

Captured Ben Hur trailer with M2 halftrack being led by a PanzerVI Tiger I
Tunisia, North Africa - 1943

A heavily loaded M3 halftrack with Ben Hur 1 ton trailer
6th Armored and 5th Infantry Divisions of the US Army,
during the offensive on Frankfurt am Main, Germany - March 1945

M3 Halftrack with a Ben Hur 1 ton trailer
Photo from a reenactment event

The G-518 trailers were among the Allies' most built and used models with a total of 259,064 units made.

War time production: Ben Hur 1 ton trailers
being transported by rail cars, somewhere in USA

Ben Hur 1 ton trailer being unloaded from a cargo ship,
in the months following the Normandy Landings in 1944.

After WWII, the Ben Hur trailers were used extensively by the Americans in the Korean War and distributed to Allied nations, continued to see military service in various countries for some time. There's even a record of one being used by the Department of National Defence in Canada into the 1980s, fitted with a welding unit.

Description

The Ben Hur trailer was nicknamed after its major manufacturer, the Ben–Hur Mfg. Co., although there were many other companies that produced it between 1941 and 1945.

Ben Hur 1 ton. trailer being used as post office
US Army Maneuvers in Louisiana, 1941.

A little humor in difficult times...
Another use of the versatile Ben Hur!!

Its primary purpose was to transport general cargo; the Signal Corps modified it to carry several different electric generators.

Variants

K-52 equipped with a PE-95 generator
K-63 equipped with a PE-99 generator
K-63A equipped with a PE-197 generator
V-15 used for the AN/TPQ-2 radar
M24 ammunition trailer (used with M15 multiple GMC - 37mm gun & two .50 MG)
M25 A-load carried a 25 kW generator for the tire repair truck
M25 B-load carried spares and fuel for the tire repair truck
G527 water carrier, nicknamed "Water Buffalo", 250 US gal (946 liters) capacity

Trailers K-52 equipped with a PE-95 generator

T28E1 AA halftrack towing a 1 ton M24 ammunition trailer
captured by German troops in North Africa
February or March, 1943.

Trailer M25 A-load carried a 25 kW generator for the tire repair truck

Trailer M25 B-load carried spares and fuel for the tire repair truck

Production

G-518 trailers were manufactured by over two dozen companies, such as:

American Bantam
Ben Hur Mfg. Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Century Boat Works
Checker Motors Corporation
Covered Wagon Co., Michigan
Dorsey Trailer
Gerstenslager
Henney Motor Company
Hercules Body
Highland Body & Trailer Mfg. Co, Cincinnati
Hobbs Trailer & Equipment Inc, (then) Texas
Hyde,
Keystone RV,
Mifflinburg Body Company, (were in) Pennsylvania
Naburs,
Nash-Kelvinator,
Omaha Standard Body,
Pke,
Queen City,
Redman's Trailers, Connecticut,
Steel Products,
Streich,
Strick Trailers, Indiana
Transportation Equipment Corp, Missouri
Truck Engineering Corporation, Indiana
Willys Overland,
Winter Weiss Defense Trailers, Denver, Colorado

Specs:

Ben Hur G-518 1-ton cargo trailer
Type	1 ton light trailer
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1941- 1945 (WWII)
Used by	United States and Allies in WWII
Production history
Designer	Ben Hur Mfg. Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Designed	1941
Manufacturer	many (see text)
Produced	1941–1945
No. built	259,064 units (G-518 trailers)
Variants	see text
Specifications (G-518 1-ton cargo trailer)
Mass	590 kg (empty) 1.500 kg (off road) 2.000 kg (on road)
Length	3,70 m
Width	1,81 m
Height Cargo transported	1,90 m (canvas top) 1 ton.
Axles Brakes Tires	1 (two wheels) hand (parking only) 2x 7.50 - 20
Maximum speed (towed)	60 km/h

Water Buffalo G-527 250 gal. trailer
Type	250 gal. trailer
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1941- 1945 (WWII)
Used by	United States and Allies in WWII
Production history
Designer	Ben Hur Mfg. Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Designed	1941
Manufacturer	many (see text)
Produced	1941–1945
Specifications (G-250 gal. water trailer)
Mass	680 kg (empty) 1.600 kg (full)
Length	3,47 m
Width	1,81 m
Height Cargo transported	1,57 m liquid: 250 gal. (946 liters)
Axles Brakes Tires	1 (two wheels) hand (parking only) 2x 7.50 - 20
Maximum speed (towed)	60 km/h

The kits

For this double project, the choice was the kits from MiniArt: the G-518 U.S. 1T Cargo Trailer Ben Hur (#35436) and G-527 250 gal Water Trailer "Water Buffalo"(#35458).

G-518 U.S. 1T Cargo Trailer Ben Hur
MiniArt kit 35436 box art

G-527 250 gal. Water Trailer "Water Buffalo"
MiniArt kit 35458 box art

These kits are simply excellent, very well detailed and are light years away from the Jurassic Testors/Italeri Tank trailer kit (#816) from 1981.

An very old relic from the past:
Testors/Italeri Tank and Cargo trailers kit (#816)
Methuselah received one of these kits as a Children's Day gift!!!

But going back to the 21st century, let's start with the Ben-Hur cargo trailer!!

Starting by the booklet... details of the suspension
and PE details....

And already in the first stage, this speaker made a terrible mistake: I glued the PE pieces to the external portion of the sides of the trailer. A total lack of attention, worthy of a crucifixion!!! Look at the detail below, at the red arrows...

Miniart booklet: steps 5 and 6
Notice the PE parts (red arrows):
They are internal!!!

It's a good thing I usually apply a ridiculously small amount of superglue to these little ones, just to avoid tragedies... I will be able to detach the (very delicate) pieces and glue them in their correct positions.

The red arrows point to the arch-shaped pieces that hold
the trailer boom at the chassis, which I will only cut from the
sprues after the glue is completely dry... That was a good tip!!
The green arrows point to my stupidity!!!

How angry!!!

After using the scalpel blade as a small lever, I managed to detach the 4 small pieces and glued them in their respective (and correct) internal positions!

PE parts in their correct positions...What a relief!!
right view

PE parts in their correct positions...What a relief!!
left view

Belly view of the trailer, showing
the handbrake system, completed with a 0.3mm diameter piece of Plastruct.
If you don't have Plastruct stuff, use a stretched sprue...

Trailer - rear view

Here's a small problem: of the 4 arches that support the cover canvas provided in the kit, one of them came broken. I tried to glue the fragments end to end, but the solution seemed extremely fragile to me. I decided to replace the fragile plastic arches by flat metal bars that I got from my Orthodontist colleague (these metal strips carry the colored elastics for dental brackets).

Flat metal bars...
Recycling something disposable for scale modeling.

These flat metal bars are true gems in modeling!!! Ask your orthodontist friend for them!! They are disposable!!!

Flat metal bars (red arrows) bowed in an arch,
replacing the (fragile) plastic arches (green).
Strong as Chuck!!!

The metal arcs (after folding), glued in position...

Wheels ready!!

And the G-518 1-ton cargo trailer ready for painting...
left view

G-518 1-ton cargo trailer ready for painting...
right view

G-518 1-ton cargo trailer ready for painting...
rear view. Notice the pins of the rear door, in position...

And our "Ben-Hur" G-518 1-ton cargo trailer is ready.
A character with a striking look!!!

Well, now that the cargo version is complete, let's tackle the water tank version: the famous Water Buffalo.

Chassis, tank and wheels... Very good details!!!

MiniArt REALLY did a great job with
these little trailers!!!

Soooo cute!!!

One of the "U" clamps that support the kit's boom fractured (beyond repair) when being removed from the sprue. I replaced the part with a copper wire of similar thickness (red arrows, below). It was perfect...

Notice the copper clamp and the hand brake
parts glued in position...

The safety chains (with hooks) on the trailer's boom end
are a bit tricky to build, but with fine tweezers and steady hands,
it all fits together... Note the water hose in the foreground...

Notice the details...butterfly screws, taps, hand pump...
The small tank trailer is full of details...

With both trailers ready, let's paint. First, a black primer and then, the good old Olive-drab!!

The two trailers installed on my Ripley powerloader...
I think you understand why I call this stand as Ripley powerloader!!!

Get away from her, you Bitch!!!
Ellen Ripley in his powerful powewrloader

The Ripley powerloader doing your job...

Color tones in Olive drab...

And the wheel and tire sets under painting...

My client requested generic markings so that he could use the trailers with any of the vehicles in his collection, which was done. And after the standard steps of applying decals and finishing, the trailers were ready. First, the U.S. Army G-518 Trailer, 1-ton payload, 2-wheel, cargo, AKA Ben-Hur trailer.