When the U.S. Army decided to upscale the size of an infantry squad from eight men to twelve the very good Dodge WC51 suddenly became too small. Dodge’s answer was to add on another four feet and another powered axle to create the WC62 and WC63, the latter having the addition of a powered winch on the front. Unfortunately increasing a vehicle’s weight by 50% but not increasing it’s power results in a sluggish vehicle and so, though the WC63 was certainly a very nice looker, it found itself relegated to a gun tractor for the 57mm gun as well as a general purpose hauler. Luckily the war finished not long after they entered use and the U.S. then managed to offload them to the French so you’ll see these in French Indochina as well.
This kit was originally produced by Skybow and now by AFV Club and can be made up as either the WC62 without a winch, the WC63 with the winch, or the WC63MG with the winch and the .50cal Machine Gun. It comes in a sturdy tray and lid style box that contains the six large and five small olive green sprues as well as a clear sprue, a length of cotton for the winch cable, the sheet of decals, and the hinged booklet style instructions.
The mouldings are all excellent throughout with no flashing present anywhere. The level of detail is very high with quite a large number of parts, some of them very fine and delicate, and all sharp and clear. The woodgrain moulding on the wooden deck parts are particularly nice.
The chassis is fully detailed and includes the gas tank and transmission which are both beautifully made. The suspension set up is also very good as are the axles and differentials. You get a very nicely made complete engine that builds up from twenty three parts and just cries out to be displayed. It also includes the battery which is something that frequently gets overlooked when kit manufacturers add an engine.
The wheels and tyres are all moulded in plastic as a complete tyre and outer wheel with a separate piece for the inner wheel. The tread detail is perfect and the only thing missing is the manufacturers name on the tyres, though this is likely to be more due to copyright issues than a manufacturing oversight.
The hood and the interior of the driver’s cab is also very well detailed with a good looking dashboard and well moulded pedals and levers. The hood is made so that is can be modelled either closed up or opened with interior detail of all the hood panels included. This is a good move as it allows you to make the most of that engine and put it out on display.
The rear bed is made up of the base, the sides and then the interior wooden floorboards and seating which all has a beautiful delicate woodgrain effect, so care should be taken with the painting to go lightly so as not to obscure this. The tools all have very fine moulded on straps which could use a buckle and tongue added but otherwise are very well made with the spade being suitably thin. You have the option of adding a full tilt cover though there are no bows included in the kit so you’ll need to add these yourself if you want to put the cover on, or if indeed you want to display it with the bows installed but without the cover on.
The gun mount is made up of three separate rings which results in it looking as good as any that I’ve seen. The Browning M2 .50 cal Machine Gun is also very well made as is it’s mount. Unfortunately though the ammo tin appears to be a post war M2A1 rather than a wartime M2 so it will need to either be replaced or have the hinge and ribbing detail added for a WWII setting. The D40733 mount is also moulded as part of the gun so it lacks the proper deffinition underneath. It’s also missing the pin retainers and chain but lets not get picky, those would be really hard to mould in plastic in 1/35 scale.
Decals and a paint guide are included for three vehicles – First Army 3549 Truck Company Truck Number 183 ( WC62 ) : 3rd Army 12th U.S. Corps 87th “Golden Acorn” Infantry Division 336 Field Artillery Battalion Company C 32 Vehicle in convoy ( WC63MG ) : Prototype vehicle dubbed “Big Shot” in publicity material ( WC62 ).
This is a very good kit of a very good looking truck. It’s made well, goes together well, and looks mighty fine to boot. Lesser known than the more widely used GMC “deuce and a half” but definitely worth its place on anyone’s model shelf.
Click thumbnails for larger images.
