1/35 Saracen 'Special Water Dispenser' Conversion Kit

5% of each sale will be donated to The Felix Fund, helping assist with the well-being of individuals within the Explosive Ordnance Disposal community.

The contents of this kit contains parts for converting the 1/35 Airfix Saracen Mk5 into the 'Special Water Dispenser' variant.

Having a long and diverse service life, the Alvis Saracen has taken many forms throughout it’s career with one such role being crowd control. The ‘Special Water Dispenser’ variant was developed in the early-mid 1970s for this very purpose. However, the system developed was found to be far too powerful for this duty and so eventually found it’s main home with Explosive Ordnance Disposal units in Northern Ireland where it’s water cannons proved useful in the destruction and suppression of various improvised explosives.

The vehicles specified in this kit’s marking schemes all started life as standard Saracens in 1972. In 1976 however they were transferred to the Military Vehicles & Engineering Establishment, Chertsey in Surrey. There they were converted in SWDs.

By 1979 they had been issued to 321 EOD in Northern Ireland where they would see service before being transferred to Ludgershall Vehicle Depot, England in the mid-late 1980s for disposal.

Each conversion kit includes;

• 1x decal set
• 1x turret
• 1x turret hatch - open
• 1x turret hatch - closed
• 2x turret vision blocks
• 2x nitrogen tank racks
• 1x RFC cowling
• 1x RFC 'beehive' bonnet
• 1x windshield
• 1x mini cannon
• 1x mini cannon mount
• 1x mini cannon pipe - L-section
• 1x mini cannon pipe - straight
• 3x mini cannon pipe brackets
• 1x mini cannon connection
• 4x mesh light guards
• 1x flashing light unit
• 1x rear number plate
• 2x rear reflectors

Special thanks to Tony Scarrott and Mike Ashford-Smith for their invaluable assistance in the research for this project. Without them it would not have been possible to produce such a kit.