RecyMech

Recy Mechs Rule:drive: We may not be too bright but we can lift heavy things. H

Hi Paul, I was measuring 10' over the tin top on the body......I confess I did`nt notice it was a different body in the pics of the restored RAF one on the previous page till I looked again....you're right. I guess it depends on the body height of the headboard then & whether that is demountable. Get an RL or a Militant Mk1......I need to measure up both :cool2::cool2::cool2: H

I don't have a real one to hand to measure Paul & the drawings are all stored away, but upscaling the 1/24th models says it is just over 10 feet. Dropping the 'canopy' on most Mats is not easy though, as many if not all, had tin tops on the body or at least metal quadrant corners fixed to the uprights (I have pics if you want) bit more to it than dropping the top of a Bedford. Getting it in on its side requires a run up at 48mph & a burst tyre (thumbs out of the way when it goes):trustme: Anyway I would have thought a Green Goddess is more up your ally ?. Later.....H

If you get a Mat Paul & need it rolling onto its roof I'm yer man. Would'nt it be too tall for your accomodation though ? Thought you moved to another barn with smaller access ? H

Next project Paul......another Martian....another Pioneer ??:cool2: No I won't be kicking the tyres or leaning over the carb feeding it petrol & waiting for the bang this time.:blush: (Still bearing the emotional scars :cry:) Resin MVs don't bite back;) H

THE HORSE !!! Excellent answer, as a piece of 'kit' that must rank as top dog (or nag). Shall we give it say Cromwells army up to maybe 1930ish as an item used in combat ? Thats a long service reign (rein?) :blush: (must agree on the suggestion that some compo tasted well over 50 years old:rofl:) Like a lot of others I flew to Canada on a VC10....facing the wrong way I recall. Came back on a Hercules though....ears are still drumming to this day (PARDON SPEAK UP) H

Andy, Glad you posted that about the VC10.......I could have sworn I saw one circling over Conningsby last summer (did I say summer ?)....distinctive shape & all that.....but I thought they had all gone a few years back. Clearly not !! SMLE....hmmm......but is the WW1 SMLE enough of a different animal to the No4 to count as 'all one weapon' ?? No B52s in service with the RAF, gonna have to discount that one, sorry Might let you off with the C130 Hercules though, when did we adopt those ?...must have been in the early 60s maybe ? H

The Vickers one is a good'un too. Not sure about the weapon being the same one as introduced in 1888 though. Vickers Medium Machine gun.... Wiki gives it as "1912 to 1968".......still a very good 56 years though. Canberra...57 years not bad ! H

Wonder if the Marines have always had the DUKWs right through since D Day though or was there a gap ?, where they either had no vehicles of that kind, or maybe tried Stalwart & then went back to DUKW. Either way, still impressive that a design that old can hold its own today. I thought of another long lasting design too........the good old .50 cal !! Thats fired a few rounds in its time eh? H

7.62 NATO round......good one, yeah......reckon we can count that As for the Marines DUKWs......well blow me down, you live & learn:bow: Blimey, even if you only took D Day as a start point, that makes the design (if not the individual vehicles) in service for 70 years next year !!!!!!!!! Incredible:wow: H

"The Royal Marines still have some DUKWs in service." You jest with me surely ? :rofl: H

Ferret.....interesting , who has thoughts on its retirement from service date then ? Again, just quoting a Pat Ware book here..."first production contract 1951"......"withdrawn from service 1997"......making 46 years British Army service (not counting foreign operators)...someone may state differently though. Just counting British service mind, so that rules the Cent out, close but no cigar. (then again there might just be the odd tug or ARV working in some establishment somewhere ?) Actually I suppose British mess tins must have remained unchanged since Ceasar was a recruit ? That one probably takes the all time prize ? H

Random thoughts...... Except for maybe a few battleships I was trying to think of another piece of kit that has done 50 years service with UK forces whilst still retaining its basic design. I could`nt think of a single item of uniform, personal kit, weapon system, aircraft, or other vehicle that can lay claim . Land Rover possibly, but then again it has gone through so many changes its a bit of a different animal now I suppose the Cent is a contender maybe...but then not all its service was with the British Harrier must come a close second ? H

OK, fair enough.......I missed Beltring & the cake obviously According to Pat Ware, page 160, B Series Engine in National Service, Trojan was delivered in 1963. :readbook: So if thats correct then 1963 would have been been it 'in service' date. Clearly though its already been covered :blush: , no sweat it was just a passing thought. H

Dunno if this has occurred to anyone yet or been mentioned before....but;- While doing a spot of reading up on FV432....the first batch were delivered under the (then) name Trojan in 1963:cool2: Which means the basic design is 50 years old this year !!!!! Brings a lump to the throat & makes ya feel proud to be British.. Aye'Wot ? Should we bake a collective cake ? Wonder who's got the oldest one in preservation ?? H

Ain't nothing wrong with that sentiment Tootles, nothing at all ! H

Thanks Tootles, Keep em coming if you have......including period BAOR too H

My most recent 'close call' (8 years ago) was actually with a Ferret......so I think some will find the story quite pertinant..... A mate a mine bought a Ferret that had stood for about 10 years. It was driven into the place he bought it from under its own steam, parked up & just sat there. We recovered it with his then toy, a Leyland Martian gun tractor. On getting it back home I joked that "I'll bet it'll start without too much bother". Bet was accepted. We did the usual checks, oil, cleaned the points up, made sure it turned over freely first, had the plugs out, primed the fuel pump for a bit, checked this & that, & decided to plug it into the Martian & give it a brief go. It cranked, we got oil up to the rockers but the 10 year old fuel was not doing much. This is where I stepped in with an old trick that I've used loads of times in the past without incident. I fed the carb with quick splashes of fresh petrol from an aerosol cap whilst cranking......I won the bet....it coughed a bit & ran for a few seconds each time. Flushed with success I fed it a bit more, this time before it had a chance to stop running. The bugger back fired through the carb, igniting the cup of petrol I was holding in a huge fireball.....the splash covered me from the sholders up in burning petrol. I lost most of my hair, most of the skin on the exposed face & neck & all the skin on the right hand & some of the left. Fortunately the burns were only superficial thanks to the quick actions of my mate & a blanket. I made a full recovery in a few months. The same day my son wrote off his Beetle so the wife was not best pleased with her men folk that day. Still ya gotta laugh eh ? H

quote;- "FV433 barrel ie Abbot??" Exactly !

Many many thanks one & all for helping me out on this. I knew I was asking the right folks.:kissoncheek: To sum up then, it seems the Atlas has the 'reach' ok, & according to the (thanks to sirhc) table 'is' officially allowed to lift the nearly 500kg lighter Mk1 pack. Officially not reccomended for lifting the K60 pack it would seem, but at the same time it is actually 'possible' as Carl shows, in a 'push comes to shove' situation. Probably all down to the non lockable & softer suspension of the Stolly I'd guess. As a complete aside....spotted a mis-print in the table...."432 Barrel" ???:nono: Many thanks for your time & input lads. You're all 5 star.:thanx: Howard @ KFS

Cheers Tony, Cheers Andy, looks like I'll have to get the thing ready & then see how it looks before committing. Thanks all. H

Hi Tony,:-D Yes mate got that same book here. Not a great deal of weight in a B80 compared to a full K60 pack though. As I understand it (stand to be corrected) the REME Stolly (FV624) was just a spin off the the RA limber (FV623) with a creep feature on the crane controls & different crew seating arrangment....so, logically, if the RA limber was issued to RA Abbot Regiments then the REME FV624 was as well.....but I believe the Abbot pack is different to the 432 pack, so I'm still not certain a Stolly could cope with a 432 pack lift.:undecided: You know how it is...if I build the diorama with a Stolly lifting a 432 pack & get it wrong, someone is bound to tell me after the event.:banghead: By the left. H

Hi FF You've pretty much followed my train of thought re the suspension on the Stolly.....that was the 'stabilty' part of the query about the Stolly. It being wheeled, etc etc The Stolly crane though is an Atlas & different to the Hiab on the 434, so I was`nt sure about its reach-v-capacity. Being as the crane is centrally mounted in the Stolly hull, whereas the 434 is off to one side. Anyone ever seen it done ???????? H

Af,noon chaps Could anyone confirm please that it is, or is`nt, possible to lift a 432 K60 pack out using an FV623/624 Stolly ? I've lifted many a pack myself with a Leyland Martian (many years ago) & helped the A mechs do it with a 434....but never seen it done with a Stolly. Does it have sufficient lift capacity, stability & reach ??? Reason for asking....the 1/24th scale model 432 master patterns are now approaching completion & when I do one of the test builds I'd like to pose it with the pack in mid air using one of the Stolly kits. A 434 kit is planned in due course, but for now the Stolly is all I have with a crane. Any advice/thoughts on the matter much appreciated.:thanx: TTFN........ Howard @ KFS

Lets face it, we've all teetered on the brink on insanity occasionally......it does'nt stop at ladders I know its live ....but if I'm quick enough....... That house brick should easily be enough to take the weight....... You hold I'll hit it, just keep your head out of the way........ I can slow that shaft down by hand........... I did`nt think the drill bit would bite that quick or the drill have so much torque......... Just flick the starter for me while I feed this belt on......... I thought brakes WERE on.... H