ferretfixer

Excellent news on the Cent Andy! It is an important EARLY variant Too. Can you elucidate on where/who is restoring it? I restored a few Rifles for that Museum Free Gratis as I couldnt bear to see examples with missing componants & rusting away from lack of care & Knowledge. They also had a Ferret MK2/3 sitting inside on the front ramparts. I watched it gradully rust & rot to the point of a wing falling off & everything hatchwise seize up! It had the scarce external fire extinguisher handles on it too. BOTH sets of smoke dischargers uncut. Such a shame, as the Cent & Ferret were restored & driven into position originaly. I offererd to mantain the Ferret for them years back when I lived in Eastbourne. But they werent interested! Can you belive that! Museums..........:??? Mike :cry:

Martin, Not for £2.50 a day BUT: But you probably WOULD get Toilets that work, Running Water for handbasins, NON overflowing rubbish Bins & Sensibly priced food! :cool2: All of the above mentioned by me, I now have as personal facilities for my own convienience. I probably wouldnt have bothered if I hadnt' had the 'Expierience' of this years W&P! The thing that made the show for me personaly, was the friendliness of other MV owners towards me. Total sociability & 'Kindered spirits' if you like. :thumbsup: In fact, some of the badly missed Cameraderie, I have not expirienced since being in the Army! (a BIT like communicating with SOME members on this site!) :coffee: MIKE

Very true Lee, I inspected & repaired thousands of these too! Although this Rifle has a Lee (Enflield) Type action. It's not a Look-a-likee of an H&K, M.16, AK47, SLR Etc. Which I think this thread was generally following. :-D By the way, how's the 25 Pdr comming along! Ive' got a look a like of one of those too, but it only fires matchsticks! Regards:Mike. :thumbsup:

Hello Paul, I used to live in Lewes a few years back. I also used to go into Brighton on a Saturday to go to the Street Market in Upper Gardiner St looking for treasures! I always liked walking around Brighton, especially the seafront & on the Pier. I have say (Ashamedly!) I never acually noticed the pillbox. Or cannot actually recall it there. There are a good deal still left in the countryside going from Lewes to Newhaven. But it is left open as a matter of time before councils decide they want rid of these historical defences for ever. And then a bit more of our fairly recent History is erased forever! :??? Looking at your picture, :???would it not be easier when the building is demolished all round this box. To cut all around the base :???& lift the whole thing with strops through the Gunport & rear doorway/ entry point! This could then be loaded easily with a hydraulic Hiab/ Atlas crane onto the back of a an HGV. Just a thought. Access may be visible once the house is demolished. (It's more than likely inside at the rear) they usually bricked up the doorways to prevent people entering them. You could wack out the bricks with a slegehammer! I wish you well with your brave venture. :thumbsup: Mike.

Tony,Were you aware, that THE No:4 was also made in .22 LR? It's called a number 7. Originaly made for the R.A.F I belive & magazine fed. There is a company in germany that is making these .22 clones. IE: H&K MP5 semi-Auto's. They get Metal bodied Airsoft Guns and graft thier internals into them. I know that Star make a metal bodied SLR.............:whistle: Be in no doubt though, IF, you modify or manufacture a similar item. It WILL have to be UK proofed & put onto an F.A.C! MIKE. :coffee:

It's about time a lookalike .22" version was manufactured. They do clones of MP.5's & M.16's, AK47's ETc. There was a conversion kit for slipping in a fullbore 7.62mm Rifle but this will not count as you cannot covert 'down' to a lower catergory of Firearm. You can convert up though! I examined a .22" Prototype SLR once at a Military Auctioneers where my Father was the Firearms cataloguer. Very interesting, made from the word go as a .22" and NOT coverted. It went for fifty quid, which was cheap, though in the seventies worth about £120 buying power today.Shame I was too young to have a Licence then! Mike

Definitve information The first Bayonet is a Remington P.14 or P.17 (It fits both rifles) US manufactured bayonet in a British S.M.L.E Scabbard. (The US original version had a looped hook at the rear) The rifles profile is identical except the P.14 is .303" & the P.17 is .30-06". The second is a British SLR L1A3 & The third is the same variant that has been chrome plated. This was not an uncommon practice for parades & Cerimonial Occassions. (Though Totaly unofficial) I myself inspected & repaired many thousands of these bayonets as well as the later L1A4 versions which had a stronger improved profile Crossguard. The SLR bayonets are common, though increasing in value (What isnt these days!) About £40 for a good specimin now. I hope this is of some use to you. Mike :tup::

You might want to pay for the Beret you ordered first James! :nono: STILL waiting! :cool2: Mike.....:???

You have the right to bare arms written in your constitution. Nothing like that ever existed in the UK Mark, Thats because we live in a free country?? (As long as you shut up & do as your told. AND, put your hand in your pocket & cough up when told to do so..... AND, smile whilst doing it!!!!) :??? Mike. :coffee:

You can tell it's not original, it's Right Hand Drive!!...............:rofl: But seriously, that's A lot of Money for this vehicle WITHOUT all the Weapons & Accessories! Why did they list it with all the gear if it isnt included in the sale? :??? Probably, because they thought a possible over excited potential buyer might just see the photo & Not read the listing discription! You would be amazed at how many people do. I sell a fair bit on Evilbay & the amount of moronic questions that get asked, when the answer is VERY CLEARLY in the discription! Mike It never ceases to amaze me how many morons are out there! :confused:

Im curious, How doe's a DE-ACTIVATED SLR sound when it's 'firing'?......:??? (Er....Click?)

I sold mine to JC Militaria. He is so expensive to buy from, he may well still have it! Mike.:shake:

I never noticed your rear :rofl::rofl: Thats probably because it was in a different mag,..Razzle, wasnt it!! :-D

Not quite correct Sir, Certainly not ALL Slrs, LMG's & Sterlings were cut up. A HELL of a lot of SLR's were sold onto the Civvy Market, Quite a few LMG's (I know whos got them, dont bother asking prices. They start at £1,200 each Live!) A lot were given to the Sierra Leone defence force after the conflict there. (Sore point there, a Friend of my Father who is also an RFD. Bought 6,000 SLR's from the MOD along with other various weapons. Six months free storage ar Donnington. They cost £5 per Rifle. He paid, & then a few weeks later applied for an export permit. This was refused dispite much lobbying & resonable appeals. He then was forced to sell them back to the MOD at a £1 each as he did not have secure storage of a large enough capacity to store all the Weapons after the six months ran out. A lot of the Rifles he sold back to the MOD were the ones given to Sierra Leone. Good old British Government, Eh???? I have to date, NEVER seen an EX-British Army SMG on the market. All the ones out there are ex-Sterling Comercials, Foriegn Goverment sell offs (Mainly New Zealand) But NEVER, offiically any Ex British Army L2A3 SMG's. As a Former Service Armourer & someone who worken in Weapon manufacturing for 11 years afterwards in the Defence industry. I can state this as expirenced fact. I would imagaine from from my Service time served & Locations visited. A lot of each were put into preservation for War Reserve. I know of Two massive locations in London where there are litterally thousands of each type. (Obviously, I cannot reveal where!!) Mike. :coffee:

4 WFR is a T.A unit (Worcester & sherwood Foresters) HQ SPT Wp Sc is the Netheravon support wing for the School of Infantry at Warminster. (I was one of the school Armourers there for 3 years!) This was an attachment from 27 Command Wksps. Warminster Suport Group is the MT at the School of Inf. Hope this is of some help to you. Mike. :thumbsup:

NEVER seen those rods used with this variant mount. Paint colour means nothing. These MAY be for use with another type of vehicle But, not on a Landrover series. I used to work on these mounts in Service. And also later in Defense product manufacturing. NEVER encountered on a L/R, Sorry. mike. :coffee:

OOPS, Forgot about the two Looped brackets. I dont know what these are for though. they MAY well be for a canvas strap that holds a small row of Ammo boxes inside the vehicle possibly. Mike.

As an Armourer,I have handled & worked on a lot of these mounts. The bits left over are nothing do do with this mount. The cocking handle extention is for internal AFV use & the two tubeular bars are steady bars for the SA80 mount used on the rear bulhead in Landrovers. Mike.

Mark, Though not as nice as a certain 101 I know of!.......:cool2: (NO, not yours!) :-D

Oh Dear Neil, Sorry to hear that Mate. Sounds like you've been dealt a 'Buy one, get one free' deal.:-( Keep your chin up Bud, you know tthe Medico's will get you through it. Boring though it might be, :)try not to overdo things. Very Best Wishes for a speedy recovery. :thumbsup: Mike.

PERHAPS, we should be looking forward, & supporting MM as the replacement for Beltring?..................:cool2: I am NOT connected with MM in ANY way. Mike. :coffee:

Chris, I went in with a mate of mine who had made an arrangment with Rex. All perfectly legit! Mike

Fair enough Markey! I didnt know they were regular fulltimers! It just looked a bit much with (eventualy) three pumps & six hundered hoses all flushing away!!!:-D H&S is, I am aware, an important issue. I guess better safe than sorry, excellent choice on banning NON essential siren usage!! The Chopper noise didnt bother me at all. Im sure Heliops enjoyed it all! :cool2: As regards BBQ's, well, some people cannot function on common sense! I enjoyed what i saw of the show. but as I said, I was tied to the stall. So, couldnt get away to enjoy all of it & link up with more of the forum buddies! :-( A very valid comment was the lack of running water in the toilets in Americas field though. health & Safety = Health & Hygine!!! Toilets there wernt too bad when I 'attended'.BUT, i have my own now & am actively seeking a shower tent & equipment, so I am totally inependant next year! Mike.

my Stall was about eighty yards from this vehicle. I was informed that it was intended to have something inside smouldering to produce black smoke. It was representitive of Kosovo/ Bosnia in a 'troubled Incident'. Unfortunately, it got out of hand a little & went up. What amusesd me, was the eventual overkill of 'Fire engine Re-Enactors' who turned up to put the fire out. There must have been at least six or seven hoses trained on it & continued to be soaked for about 15 minuites. we thought they were going to wash it into the nearby stream! Still, with an actual fire to tackle & the fact that some of these engines /pumps only get out about once a year. I suppose it's also the answer as to why they had to constantly sound thier sirens as much as they could at the slightest oppertunity!! :whistle: (ALL ROUND THE SHOWGROUND!)

Going back to Chris's original thread as to originality. I saw some amazingly non original & TOTALLY incorrect vehicles at Beltring pass my stall.. I think if Chris had seen any of these, I can picture him with the vein bulging in the side of his neck, & scarlet in the face!!:argh: After viewing some of these passing 'Examples',I am left with the thought. 'If I see this and it makes me uncomfortable, what do members of the public think?'. I am talking here about blatetent non originality, such as bright green & black gloss cammo paint finish. MG's on made up mounts that would NEVER have armed certain softskins vehicles. FAR too many antennas on one vehicle Etc. NOT, subtle convinience & safety improvements Etc. mike.