andym

Never mind the FV432s, how about some FV433s? :-) Andy

The original downloads were on Oron which has now gone kaput, but send me a PM and I'll see what I can do! Andy

I'm quietly hopeful but don't want to jinx anything! Andy

In my humble opinion it's good (certainly better than the last attempt!) but not brilliant. Thirty minutes trimmed from the middle would have helped things. Definitely worth watching though. Andy

The V5 may help? Bob Grundy had the V5 for mine, together with some other paperwork that allowed me to trace every civilian owner. Can't remember if I'm the fifth or sixth, it belonged to the North London Barmy Army at one stage! Andy

Welcome aboard - FV430s are quite enough for me at the moment but I'd love a Chieftain later on. I can't see the pics either, it just says invalid attachment. :-( Andy

What's the APC bottom left that looks a bit like an FV432 but isn't? Andy

Would that be water, then? ;-) Andy

It's not listed on the old Project X Abbot database, unfortunately. Andy

On again tonight at 2230 for those who missed it first time round. Andy

There's one just behind the Scorpion. Shame the VRN isn't visible. Andy

Don't forget that K3's original engine was a Rolls-Royce "R", not a Merlin. The "R" produced 2350 hp at 3200 rpm. Andy

It's good to see some proper photos of the inside. Someone seems to have stolen your breech block and LBM, presumably as part of the deactivation. And you've got the same bit of chocolate block hanging from the roof that I've got - must have been a "standard" fit! Andy

BITE = Built-In Test Equipment, if that helps? Andy

08EB10 is currently owned by yours truly, so any photos or other info would be greatly appreciated! Andy

I've already looked that one up! The old Abbot Database shows it as in private hands and "Clive requires REME manuals to finish this Abbot". There's a photo of it sitting alongside some other vehicles somewhere that looks suspiciously like the REME museum at Borden, so landyandy and friends may know more? Andy

The book says 16,143kg unladen. Andy

The one in colour moving through the trees on its own looks like 10FD54 but the angle isn't clever so the first two digits may be wrong. Andy

I've just found that the Bluebird Supporters Club site says K4 had a gearbox reduction of 2.85:1 on a crankshaft speed of 3150 rpm. That gearbox was apparently taken out of K3. Andy

Some nice Abbots in DBG too .... :-) Andy

I've got some of the original aluminium flame-resisting paint, courtesy of Clive Elliott. Way past the end of its shelf life but amazingly still usable after being left upside-down for a month followed by half an hour with an electric paint stirrer. Nothing else I've tried has quite the same finish. However I've only got enough to use where it can be seen such as interiors, so I'm experimenting with a substitute for the Abbot's engine bay. Smooth Hammerite looks quite reasonable when brushed, there are a few brush marks but I expect them to go after a second coat. Andy

I don't think their 'R' is in running condition, or ever likely to be. Mind you, I had to find that out by Googling as their website is uninformative to say the least. I'm also not convinced about some of their technical information - a propeller speed of 9500 rpm? At that speed it would just cavitate itself to pieces. I think they mean a 3:1 gear down from crankshaft speed, not gear up! Andy

The designation "FV436" has been used on a number of different FV430 variants including Green Archer (prototype only), Cymbeline and the Armoured Staff Command Vehicle. And there's probably Wavell in there somewhere as well. So when someone says that "FV436 was in service from X to Y" make sure they're talking about the right FV436! :-0 Andy

I had my Abbot, which is both steel and aluminium, blasted and sprayed by K Blasting from Brixham (who I thoroughly recommend by the way, as they have MVs of their own). It's very messy and I wouldn't suggest doing it to a complete vehicle where the interior is already finished. No matter how well you mask and cover, an amazing amount of grit will still get in. I took a deliberate decision to blast and paint the exterior before starting on the interior as that way the grit that gets inside isn't really an issue. For reference, it took them about four hours to blast the Abbot. For smaller components off the vehicle I use a "Machine Mart" type blasting gun on a compressor, but there's no way it could do the job a proper blasting setup can. You've only got to look at the difference in size of compressor and hose! Andy

Ok, not really Naval, but it is powered by a Meteor "borrowed" from a Cromwell ... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19960892 Andy