[Big D]

Gidday all,

I’m a recent purchaser of a bren gun carrier and I’m wondering if anyone on the forum can help me out with a wee project I have in mind.

I want to get a replica Lewis machine gun made up to add to the carrier in its anti-aircraft mode on the engine cowling.

First, a bit of background to the carrier I have. I’ve been a big carrier fan for a long time but it seems it is only later in life when one can afford one.
I’d also been a watcher on these forums for some time trying to pick up tips and generally just boosting the knowledge. I must say the forums have been an amazing resource.

I’d been looking for a carrier in New Zealand for some time but the best I was offered was a hull and a piece of track. I felt though that I just didn’t have the expertise required to do such a restoration so I decided if I could I would keep an eye out for ‘a runner’.

I found that was easier said than done though and anyone I spoke to in NZ with a carrier didn’t want to part with it. I eventually had to cast the net a bit wider and on a recent trip to Australia I looked at two carriers that were for sale. I ended up returning a couple of months later to buy one of them and ship it back home to NZ.

As you guys say, ‘Border raiding on a major scale’ but rest assured it is going to a good home and hopefully it won’t put you off giving a kiwi some help!

A lot of you guys will probably be familiar with this carrier as it was at Corowa 2005. I've attached some pictures.

This carrier was restored by Trevor Jones who passed away a couple of years ago and thus the carrier was eventually put up for sale. Trevor did a fantastic job on the restoration of the carrier and it was easily the best carrier I had seen on either side of the Tasman.

One of the features he did add was a replica Vickers MG, and being a firearms collector as well I can tell you it looks damn good, and very similar to the real thing. Trevor also did up some rough sketches of a Lewis MG but passed away before he could get the Lewis made. I’d now like to finish the carrier off by getting a replica Lewis built and added to it.

I was wondering if anyone else has done the same thing and built a replica Lewis. If so, would you have any plans or drawings that I could purchase or borrow to get this project going.

I saw on the Corowa 2005 DVD that there was at least one carrier there with a Lewis MG on it. Whether that was a replica, or an actual deactivated unit, I am not sure. Getting my hands on a real Lewis gun over here to use as the baiss of the plans is nigh impossible. I am only aware of three Lewis guns in the country and one sold at an auction recently for just under $20,000.

Any assistance that is offered would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Darryl