andym

Absolutely. It's the question of whether they will grant an Explosives Licence for manufacturing blanks rather than just storing them. That's why I'm interested in knowing what others have done. Andy

Thanks to all who helped with this - I received a telephone call this morning from the local firearms officer, who tells me they have agreed to grant my FAC. However, I've got another question. They have questioned my intention to load my own blanks as they believe the quantity of propellant involved would require an explosives manufacturing licence, which wouldn't normally be granted for private premises even for black powder. Does anyone who loads their own blanks or charges have any advice? Andy

There's no "P" involvement, it's simply a matter of money, no more, no less. The MOD is flat broke and cannot afford to support what it's already got, never mind running museums. In these recession-ridden times there's precious little private money around either. Most people fail to realise that obtaining ships, aircraft or tanks is the easy part, paying for the continued upkeep is the difficult bit. How many museums have you been round recently that look as they could do with a substantial cash injection? Most millennium-funded ones I've seen are looking decidedly shabby these days. Andy

The date of 1956 would imply something like a 4.5" Mk.5 or Mk.6, but they had sliding breech blocks. Could be a BL 15" Mk.1 but they were out of service by 1959? Andy

They'll all be on eBay next ... :-) Andy

What's with the very RF-looking piece of co-ax coming from the connector on the right-hand side? Andy

Complete chaos on trains in and out of Waterloo today, apparently caused by "extreme weather at Woking". What?!! Andy

I can't say definitively but I'm pretty sure that an IBRA allows you to use a Larkspur intercom without a radio fitted. As the Clansman radios don't provide intercom that would seem logical. It was installed in the Abbot for just that purpose and I think there are Abbot owners using the intercom without a working Clansman radio. Unfortunately my Abbot isn't yet at a sufficiently advanced stage to confirm. Andy

That sounds very similar to the Abbot, which was updated to Clansman by cobbling a PRC351/2 on the existing Larkspur harness using an IBRA box. The Wireless Set No. 19 group at www.royalsignals.org.uk have several Larkspur and other manuals which may help? Andy

Jim - PM sent. And I forgot, you have to rotate the outer sleeve on the quick release fittings before you can slide them enough to open. Andy

Which threads do you mean? The ones on the end of the pipe fittings? They're all standard UNF as far as I'm aware. What's the army registration number of your Abbot, out of interest? Andy (currently rebuilding 08EB10)

Free underseal, too! :-) Andy

I spent most of yesterday in the turret of an Abbot parked outside. I was quite surprised how bad the weather was when I came to go home! Andy

eBay says "1,334 results found for 6v bulbs" ... Andy [h=1][/h]

The FV432 manual shows a fairlead assembly that forms the entire lower part of a shortened rear door rather than just a bracket, so it's not FV432. Are there any numbers or other markings on it? Andy

Don't worry, the real one is exactly the same! :-) Andy

Will do! Andy

Nik - Is this a fictional expedition or a real one? And where is it going? (Just that if it was somewhere cold, I'd avoid conventional wet lead-acid batteries if possible). Andy

I'm around this weekend but then probably not again until Christmas, I'm afraid. Andy

Welcome aboard! A chat with ChasSomT of this parish should provide pics or info on FV439s ... Andy

Just outside Launceston, I'll be around over Christmas if that helps! Andy

Today at around 1730, an FV432 (I'm assuming a Bulldog) driving through Emsworth. I'm intrigued as (a) it didn't seem an obvious place for one to be, and (b) it's the first time I've ever seen one on the public road after dark. Andy

I've got a couple of vehicles in bits on the Devon/Cornwall border if that helps, but I'm only usually down at weekends. Andy

Because I've had a couple of recent requests for these and the original links are dead, I've just uploaded them to Rapidshare. The links are as follows: README: https://rapidshare.com/files/2471599182/README 2350-T-250.zip: https://rapidshare.com/files/501698082/2350-T-250.zip 2350-T-251.zip: https://rapidshare.com/files/1692511883/2350-T-251.zip 2350-T-252.zip: https://rapidshare.com/files/595499107/2350-T-252.zip 2350-T-253.zip: https://rapidshare.com/files/1556058018/2350-T-253.zip 2350-T-254.zip: https://rapidshare.com/files/1063168189/2350-T-254.zip Everyone will need 2350-T-250, the others will depend on which FV430 you've got - see the first post in this thread or the README file. I hope that helps! Andy

Wrong link, methinks? Andy