Gustaf

Yes, they are original except for the Italian trousers (they date from the 1930s), the French boots (they are m1917, but were made during the Viet Nam War in the mid 50s) and the trousers on the Early Austrian uniform (they are movie company made, but correct) Best Gus

Thanks Guys, this forum and its members are largely responsible for me doing this project. I thought that this would be a good back drop for my WWI uniforms when setting up public displays. Best Gus

The thread on Ford ambulances a few years ago go me motivated to build a replica for my self. I had been looking for an original for years, and traced one as recently as the 1970s, but ran into an uncooperative person whos hands it passed through. This is mine, not quite finished, built on a 1919 Ford chassis. Best Gus

Hey Plastic Constructor Dave's (shellshocked) ambulance replica has been finished for some time, it has been used as a basis for a new model by Squadron, and the only thing I can see that is wrong with it is that it is parked in his garage and not mine. Best gus

This was part of an exchange of military forces early in the war, when the Bolshiviks took over, they traveled east, and escaped through the United States to return to Western Europe. Best Gus

You probably would not guess the most common usage of wire cutters at present. Nearly every crop dusting aircraft is equiped with wire cutters. We had a pilot in the area that severed a power line while spraying a field, the wire cut a rather large hole in one wing, he patched the wing with duct tape and finished the job. He did not bother calling the power company to let them know where the wire was cut, and they gave him a bit of a lecture about that when they found out what had caused the outage. Best Gus

WWI stuff is not beginning to go up, it has sky rocketed in the past 5-10 years, for example, a German helmet that could have ben purchased for less than $100 US can cost up wards of $1,000 now. In the US we saw a similar inflation of historical items in the late 1950s as we approched the centenial of the US Civil War (War between the States for those who live in the South). Many said that prices would fall after the centenial passed, but they were wrong, I suspect that the same will hold true for WWI items. 40 grand seems like a crazy price, I hope to assemble something similar for under 6 grand, I thought it would make a nice backdrop for my display. Best Gus

This example sold for $40,700 US, that is over double the top estimate, of course being US$s, it is not like it is real money:) BEst Gus

This is a reproduction, and they expect to get $15,000 to $20,000 for it. Shellshock is well on the way to having an example as good as this one. Best Gus

It is interesting the Military weight limits (at least WWII and later) were set very low, for example a 2½ ton truck would only be allowed to haul 2½ tons, but on the farm, such a truck would be loaded with 12 to 15 tons, the maximum payload for a 2 ton truck is around 10 tons, the jeep is the only vehicle that seems to be excepted, as it has a ¼ ton rating, and one often sees photos of 4 or more soldiers with gear in them (it does not take long to top the 500 lb rating of the jeep with 3 healthy soldiers). I do not believe that road conditions could be considered a factor, as fields and farm roads are not very smooth. Best Gus

Thanks Guys, I have been trying to remember the name of that movie for years, I knew that it was based on the Lady be good after reading the book, now it will be interesting to see if the script can be traced bacward to see who contributed the story, it had to be one of the people who helped recover the bodies. Best Gus

Is is possible that we have some Hungarian members here?

It is odd the differences in what is allowed in different countries, we are not allowed to have the right side plate on a Browning .30 or .50, but we can have all the other parts, which is cool, as the only thng the right side plated does is keep the charging handle from falling out,

Hey doug, This film has been in the wings for over a decade, when is Mr. Jackson going to stop fooling around with those fantasy films and do a good one:) I am looking forward to seeing his production. Gus

Another note on oil quality, it was not uncommon to use crude oil in the crankcase of farm tractors in the early years, the heat of the engine would cause the oil to crack, and the lighter distilate could be drained off the top before starting and used as fuel. Best Gus

Great story, I would suggest that you might look into lining the cast iron brake shoe with kevlar, it should be easy to do, and would be very durable. Best Gus

That would explain why the post card and Le Miroir photo passed censor, I knew nothing about this "tank" and figured that it was one tha tCaterpillar had slapped together to try to get a lucrative government contract, but it does look like the movie "tank" inspired the postcard. Thanks for the information. Best Gus

Odd, on this side of the pond the price of batteries has dropped the past year, I just picked up a 12 volt for my Ford pickup from a local supplier for $69US, and the last 6volt that I bought for a GPW was less than the 12 volt by a few pennys. Scrap prices here are in the toilet since the stocke market fall, which is a good thing as scrappers are not out cutting our machinery apart after dark like they were a couple of years ago. The best batterie I instaled in my 42 GPW had an Everready lable one, and it lived up to the name, I have removed the generator when I replaced the batterie (I do not remember why) and after dropping the new batterie in the jeep, my wife and I hopped in the jeep and drove to meet friends about 70 miles away, we returned after dark and ran with the head lights on the whole way, stopping several time on the way, never having any problem restarting, and the next day, I popped the hood, and found that I had forgotten to reattache the leads to the generator. Best Gus

Remove the pincers, and reduce the number of gunports, and you have a fairly good rendition of an actual tank, shown here on the April 1917 edition of the French publication of Le Miroir. Unfortunatly, there is no more information on this tank produced by the caterpillar compamy. Best Gus

Here are a couple of photos of an FWD running gear we have at our local museum in Idaho, it was converted to a trailer at one time, sadly, there is nothing more than the frame, front and real axel (rear axel is missint the pinion shaft) one tyre is missing but theothers seem to be fairly sound, but worn. Best Gus

Hi All, Thanks for the welcomes to the forum, I am a collector of WWI uniforms, weapons and equipment, I have been wanting to acquire a WWI vintage vehicle for some time (I missed a Liberty Truck by that much) and have decieded to try to put a Ford T together. I have driven a 1942 GPW since I was a kid. I am a farmer in southern Idaho in the colonies. Best wishes Gus