'Reconnaissance' by StuartL: Guards Armoured Division Recce Carrier

My entry for the Reconnaissance bonus round is a (slightly) converted Bren Carrier from the British Guards Armoured Division from late WW2. The conversion is the removal of the Bren in the front passenger position and the addition of a heavier .50cal machine gun on a pintle mount. I've always loved the Bren Carrier, it is such a quirky little vehicle. As a kid, my local museum (The Durham Light Infantry Museum, sadly now closed I believe)  had a Bren Carrier that you could climb in/on, even as a 10 year old I thought it was a cramped fit. The thought of soldiers zipping around a battlefield in one of those things is quite scary.

The Bren was one of the most common AFV's during WW2 and were used for just about every role going. The 1st Battalion of the Grenadier Guards were the Motor Battalion for 5 Guards Armoured Brigade and provided infantry support for the tanks of the brigade. The British never made much use out of the pintle mounted .50 calibre machine guns provided with the Shermans, regarding them as too risky for use by the tank commander, so the crews removed them. In some cases, these spare guns made it into the hands of the Motor Battalion in the brigade. Carrier crews tried all sorts of upgrades to their on board weapons, though they were all unofficial.

I haven't seen any direct evidence for a .50 Cal being used by the Guards, though there are pictures online of Canadian and New Zealand carriers so equipped. Supposedly the motor battalions in other brigades also upgraded where they could, so I can see no particular reason why the Guards should be different.

The model itself is a Tamiya 1/48 scale plastic kit, painted with Vallejo products and weathering effects. All of the decals came with the kit. The .50 cal comes from a Sherman kit (appropriately) and there are a couple of pieces of stowage that are from a Tamiya accessory sprue.

I'm not sure how many points this should be, it's not a big vehicle after all.