FV601 (R.I.P.)

Something to discuss when we have recovered from this one Jack ;-) :sleep: :sleep: :sleep: Just to let all know planning is already underway for next year with improvements and some possible features ..........mum's the word at the moment though :whistle: Once again, if any who attended have comments either good or bad please let me know by PM and we will try to act on them if its in our power to do so. It is our hope to build on the good work already in place and your input is appreciated. Great pictures by the way guys and who knows Jack, maybe there might be a picture of your Jimmy at next years bash :naughty:

Not sure if he is on the Forum but he is a member of NT IMPS and I can possibly pass on any correspondence you wish to make Joris :-D

Permission granted Mon Capitan :-D On the proviso that you attempt to make it to next years bash ;-)

Nice pictures Brian Thanks for posting them

Sorry I missed you today Karl but then we were rather busy as I am sure you will agree. Any comments negative or positive are welcome. If we can act on them we will as it only improves the show for us all.

There was one at Beltring in 2003 ......havent seen it there since though :dunno:

Having just got back in from what can only be described as an Excellent show, I thought I had better get fingers to keyboard before my memory fails. We had been anxious the preceeding week as we prepared for the upcoming weekend as the weather report was not going to be in our favour but being the diehards we are we carried on. Well we were not let down in any way whatsoever as the weather could not have been any better for the entire weekend. Friday saw the arrival of both stallholders and MV's from around 10.00 am and it just got better from then on. Vehicles were arriving then steadilly up until around 10.30 pm and their owners availed themselves of the refreshments on offer ;-) settling down at a reasonable time to ready themselves for the rest of the weekend. Saturday morning rolled round and the work then begun in earnest with more vehicles arriving throughout the morning both before the public arrived and after. In all we had approximately 104 MV's on display with the mix being both WW2 and Post war so the public had a great variety to drool over with an excellent display of "Pinkies" proving to be very popular indeed. The work done by Lee in the main on the preparation of the trench system for the German and Croation re-enactors was excellent and the bare bones trench we handed over to the Vickers Machine Gun Society was transformed by their hard work into an amazing representation of a WW1 trench. For those of you who attended last years show you will remember the appalling weather we had to endure, not so this year, it was really good with just the right amount of wind to keep one comfortable. Arena events were the highlight of the show for the public with the whole thing being kicked off by the Garrison Living History team and their firepower demonstration of the 25 pounder field gun, a real crowd pleaser involving both the adults and children there. Next followed a Vehicle parade with over 20 vehicles running round the arena, this in itself gave me a headache as I was commentating the whole affair (note to self, brush up on vehicle history for next year) and at times was stuck for what to say but we managed to get a few laughs as well as keep the public's interest throughout. We followed this up with a "Fire and Effect" display with 4 different types of weapon. First to show was the Bazooka with and extremely effective hit on some oil drums resulting in one drum being stacked on top of another (we didnt plan it that way honestly). Then came the Rarden in Lee's Fox with once again a great end effect, the Mobat was fired next with a audible gasp from the crowd as they saw just how much of the blast came from the rear of the gun. Finally the Saladin main gun was fired with another great end effect which drew applause from the public. Another short vehicle parade was on next as time was drawing on which saw around 25 vehicles in the arena running round much to the publics delight. The final display of the day went once again to the Garrison group and their 25 pounder. When we eventually sat down on the Saturday evening we all agreed what a good day it had been and then prepared ourselves for the Sunday. Sunday started much the same as Saturday with even more vehicles arriving from even further away places in particular the Diamond T and the Martian that came all the way from Suffolk and the public queueing to get in before opening time. Arena events were similar to the Saturday with the exception that we had the "Achilles" in the arena for both the "fire and effect" displays and the vehicle parade. And what a vehicle parade, we had 32 vehicles in the arena at one time ranging from Jeeps and Dodges through to 432's and a M1113 APC, Ferrets Saracen, Stalwart, Fox and Saladin with a short talk being given by each owner about their vehicle. The public were more than entertained. Final display of the day went once again to the 25 pounder with the only calamity being the generator powering the PA system deciding to run out of petrol during their commentary. Comments made to me from the public as I was in the arena were really favourable and expressed their enjoyment of the spectacle we had provided for them, so hopefully we are on the right track. I would like to thank on behalf of Essex Armour and Softskins MV Group all of the MV owners and re-enactors who attended as without your participation the show would not have been the success it has proved to be. We as organisers can only provide the venue and setup, it is your passion for your vehicles and pastime that make it all worthwhile. Special thanks go to the Aveley MV Group for their assistance throughout the weekend as always, well done again you guys. Additional thanks go to the North London Barmy Army and Medway Military Vehicle Group for their continued support both last year and this. It was good to see many Forum members in attendance with some great pictures taken by both Snapper and John Blackman, Also good to meet Kyle ( bring your marigolds next time mate as you are on washup duty permanantly :whistle:) David was good to see you again, Brian, hope we didnt put you off your upcoming purchase ;-), Karl , shame you could only do the Saturday mate and the many others who made themselves known to us. Thanks again to you all for making this weekend a great success and please forgive me if I have forgotten anyone. See you all again next year same time, same place :-D PICTURES TO FOLLOW

I used to have that problem as well mate. Solution ...................give em a door key :whistle:

Look forward to seeing you on Saturday Paul ;-)

You need to be there before 10 am Karl as the public will be coming in by then. Late arrivals are not too bad but you might experience a delay in getting to the exhibition area due to public's vehicles. See you Saturday ;-)

Last picture looks like a bore inspection rig Rods in first picture look similar to a Browning pistol cleaning rod and it would look like you have some headspace guages there as well wether they are .30 or .50 its hard to tell unless handling them. Second picture would seem to have specific tools for an armourer for various weapons again hard to tell what weapons they would be for unless handling them. As they are mostly labelled I am pretty sure Clive might be able to help with a more definative description if you manage to supply him with the relevant part numbers.

Would love one Chris but would have to have it on easy payments at the moment :whistle: If you dont mind me asking, How much? PM me and I will see if I can do anything if its cheap enough.

Karl and Jack You can let your mate's know that there should be markings on the breech/main body of the gun and also on the bolt. There are possibly several marks on the main body as some proof houses mark where every bit of deactivation work has been carried out, so all in all there is no hard and fast rule as to position. The example pictures are from my old spec M1 Carbine and show the mark on the bolt and on the body near the rear sight. http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e211/Daemon1/MVC-415S.jpg[/img] http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e211/Daemon1/MVC-416S.jpg[/img] Hope this helps your mate's out

Can we Essex lads assume you will be bringing the Womble outfit as well Richard :dunno: Or is that one of the things on your list of fetishes :whistle: Oh Oh Oh .......................I feel an Ode coming on Underground, overground, Wombling free The Womble of the Nuclear Bunker is he making good use of the things that he finds leaving a flourescent trail behind Richard Bulgaria, he can remember a time when he thought Kent was first in line. But then he got the call and said "sod it all" Moving to Essex and living in harmoneeeeeeeeeee. Speaking of fetishes, he has em all You should see what he does with a bat and a ball :roll: But he has promised to leave them behind Cos Essex girls aren't into fetishes of any kind ;-) Sorry Richard .......................could'nt resist :whistle:

Good to have you back Richard, fear not mate fate has a way of kicking back when things like that happen. Its good to know you have got past the worst of it and on the way forward. Keep it up mate.

Thank you very much guys......good to know I wont be getting the bumps :whistle: And Mark ..............despite rumours to the contrary ...........Good Queen Bess was not the ruling monarch when I was in service :evil:

Well take your pick The last two years at Beltring has seen the Saladin in this pose 2005 it was stripped down on the Friday afternoon after springing a leak in a hydraulic pipe 2006 it was in that condition after the dual power control valve had failed at a show the week previous and the only time I had to carry out the repair was at Beltring. Unfortunately I was unable to get the part needed and I had to put it all back together and low loader it home. However when the old girl is up and running she does a mean turn in the arena. Oh and yes I've hugged it, kicked it, swore at it, stroked it and its only bitten me back twice

Dave you are quite right to point this out. In fact most of the MV's on the scene are in better / safer condition than most civilian vehicles as we tend to spend more time on them making them so. The main cause of accidents is human error so it would not matter if one was in an MV or a civilian vehicle if the dice falls against you. As of yet I have not seen an MV leap into the path of an oncoming crash without a driver being at the wheel / tillers.

Most of us are indeed good and safe drivers Marty, but as we all know there's that old adage. S H I T E HAPPENS I do hope that all involved are not that badly injured and they get on the mend quickly.

Really good to hear you all had a great time and the pictures so far look good. Did'nt see any PINK CUSHIONS though :whistle: Once again sorry we could'nt make it but am looking forward to the next one arranged.

Good for me too ( If I wake up that is :whistle:)

I agree wholeheartedly Ian Thats a cracker, I nearly wet myself :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

And now for the bad news :? Ian, Steve and myself will not be able to make it this weekend, as due to our own show being in a fortnight's time we have found that we have not got the freetime we thought we had. :cry: Sorry for letting you know so late for this one ( and believe me we are really pee'd off as we were looking forward to it.) But as we are sure you will understand we are just running out of time to get everything done. Count us in for the next one and we will endeavour to be there come rain or shine.

Will check with Ian and Steve and get back to you Neil

Just cos you dont like having to help me lift that last bit of armour back on :evil: :evil: