Jessie The Jeep

Anyway, "Post War Vehicle" owners must love WW2 as they define themselves by WW2, otherwise, they would just be "War Vehicles" :-D Come on Jack, spill the beans, before we have to send the rough lads from up north down to the back of beyond to sort you out!!! Steve

So Jack, did you just go out and buy Upottery airfield???

Didn't NASA land two of those on Mars a while back???

And all in a nice central location ;-)

In that case, I don't think I'll be interested!!! Steve

You've bought a new toy?? You've bought US a new toy???? You've got us all a Roadsure girl?? Steve

I think that's great!! Love the bombs dripping out of the bottle!!! Steve

Trouble is, they are made to fit the quirkiness of this jeep, so it's not 100% sure they will fit easily to another jeep. Plus, can I really be bothered with the hastle again!!!! Steve

I found bits of B-17 "Hang The Expense", at the crash site on its home base. The pilot aborted the take off after a mechanical failure ( tail wheel lock ) and then couldn't keep the speeding bomber straight on the runway. It crashed through two oak trees and ended up embedded in a barn. Most was scrapped at the time, but a few small parts ended up in the ditch along the edge of the field. In 1994, the ditch was cleared out and dumped onto the field, ready to be ploughed in. The parts of aluminium and plexiglass were just lying on the top of the field! This was the B-17 that I modelled in 1/6 scale, and one twisted piece of aluminium about 2 x 3 inches, from the original plane, is mounted in the bombardiers compartment, so it still flies, 60 + years on. The remaining parts were made into a small display that goes with the B-17 when that is on show. I'll post some pictures later. Steve

Had a bit more struggle with the left door today. The left hand side of the jeep is welded on sloping inwards, and this messed up the alignment of the door in the hole and the kink in the door. I spent quite some time tweaking it to get it all to line up ok. Now most panels have one of two coats of paint on, and all work has stopped until they harden off. Steve

MAC's are great pieces of technology, but they'll never take the place of the computer. :evil: ;-) Steve

Does the tour of the airfields start on Friday 29th, or is that just the day for people to arrive and set up camp? Steve

Yes, it is very much like the 100th BG Jeep I copied the markings from. I'm convinced now that the 100th jeep also has wooden or metal sides. You can see a sharp vertical edge to the side at the rear of the jeep, suggesting strongly that it isn't canvas, and the area where the arrow is pointing doesn't show any signs of wrinkles. Steve

Here's the first image that Matt sent me that inspired me to make the wooden sides. He also sent this one which has a slightly different design and looks all thin metal sheet construction.

This is as far as I've got. Both rear panels are made and fitted. Both doors are made and hinged. The next job is to add the glazing and the door catches. Here's the inside view of the right side. I made the door window larger than the original to give a better view of todays frantic traffic. and the door in the open position, which allows plenty of room to get in. The roof canvas overlaps the door and side panel so that any rain drains down the outside. Matt, feel free to post the original photo you sent me that I based this version on. More pics to follow once I have the glazing in and catches done. Steve

Here is the right side fitted, less glazing. The rear panel rests on the top edge of the body tub and is held in place by three small bolts, one through the top of each bow, and one through the front bow holder. The door is hinged from this panel and catches on the front of the door will hold it closed. I need to make a small panel to fit on the rear to fill the slight gap between the side and the canvas rear. This part and the door will fold flat against the rear panel so that each side can be stored flat when not in use.

The doors took much measurement and paper templates to get the correct shape around the kink in the side panel of the jeep. The inside edge around the window was painted prior to fitting the windows so there wouldn't be bare wood showing.

Finally time to reveal all! The picture Matt sent me was an airbase jeep that had been modified to give it a semi-hard winter enclosure. After studying a photo of the jeep I based my jeep on, it also had a similar semi-hard winter enclosure. Both examples had wooden side panels that fitted inside the existing canvas roof. This seemed like a great way to have an authentic winter enclosure at a fraction of the price of a canvas winter kit. Hence my trip to B&Q for the ply and PSE. The first two pictures show the right rear panel and beginings of the right door. The white colour on the rear panel is PVA to prime and seal the wood prior to painting.

After the aborted attempt to drop the "Gunnerside" team into Norway on Jan 23rd '43, a successful drop was made on Feb 16th '43, and so began the war against Deuterium Oxide ( Heavy Water ). Steve

Perhaps we could have a dart board with Jacks face on instead?? Steve

Well Jessie No1 is made from original French AND American metal ( not far eastern reproduction metal :rofl: ), and who knows whether the French steel was new or recycled, and from what ( ;-) ), but the wood for the secret project; that came from B&Q, so who knows where it grew up? :dunno: To be truely authentic, I did look around for some packing crates to use, but couldn't find any, so B&Q was the next best thing. Things are coming along well, and I may have some pictures for you soon. Steve

I think the 100th museum sells 100th embroidered patches for about £5.00 or there abouts. Contact them here 100th Museum Steve

You should get some scraps of leather and practice with the dye by making squadron and group patches. Here's a few I've done over the years. The stuff I use is by Dylon, and is the Shoe and Accessory Colour. http://www.sacarr.co.uk/a2art/af/100bg.jpg[/img] http://www.sacarr.co.uk/a2art/af/534bs.jpg[/img] http://www.sacarr.co.uk/a2art/af/383fs.jpg[/img] http://www.sacarr.co.uk/a2art/af/500bs.jpg[/img] http://www.sacarr.co.uk/a2art/af/31tcs.jpg[/img] http://www.sacarr.co.uk/a2art/af/422nfs.jpg[/img] Steve

"Picadilly Lily" was another 100th Bomb Group B-17. The writing style looks like it was from that aircraft . I don't know if any other aircraft used the name, but it is highly likely. What paints are you using? I've used enamels and also more recently leather dye. The dye is flexible and resists cracking, the enamels tend to have a more dense pigment, but crack fairly quickly, depending on how soft the leather is. I've also used a combination of both, giving an undercoat of dye and a top coat of enamels. Steve

"Hi Ho Silver" is a copy of a wartime A-2 flying jacket. The B-17 the jacket art is copied from was in the 91st Bomb Group based at Bassingborne. http://www.sacarr.co.uk/a2art/jackets/hihosilver.jpg[/img] ----- This jacket has the famous Leaping Tiger emblem of the American Volunteer Group, the "Flying Tigers". This was copied from an original wartime jacket. http://www.sacarr.co.uk/a2art/jackets/tiger2.jpg[/img] ----- "Woolaroc" is a jacket based on a 92nd BG B-17 lost during December 1943. One of the missing crewmen is honored on the back of the jacket. http://www.sacarr.co.uk/a2art/jackets/woolaroc.jpg[/img] ----- Other examples can be found HERE Steve