Old Git

what a photograph that would make. It would also make a truly fantastic poster for the workshop wall!

Thanks for that Rick, I'd completely forgotten about Toadman's pictures which is weird because I was using a couple of his pictures of the ball mount as a reference and hadn't remembered where I'd gotten them from. I've just nipped back there and picked up a couple of very nice pics of the MG cradle on the back of the Mantlet. Good eye there mate! Thanks also for the description of the gun mounting process and it's exactly how I'd pictured it would work. I just have to make the MG cradle now and add them to the ball mount and the Mantlet. Incidentally, does anyone know where the Jacques Littlefield Comet ended up?

Ha Ha, that is awesome, I suppose it's a recce vehicle or a 'shoot n scoot'.

Anyone got any nice close-up pictures of the Besa MG Cradle, I'm especially interested in the operation of the recoil bolt for retaining the Besa. I think I've got most of the drawings now, picked up a good one in the book on the Czech brigade, and I understand how it all works, I just want to see a good picture to confirm it all. So, if any one has got any I'd love to see them. I've also worked out the Gimbal mount for the Hull machine gunner (helps if one actually reads the text rather than just stare at the pretty pictures). From the drawings I have I can see that a Besa Cradle is attached to the back of the Gimbal and actually set into a recess before being bolted in place? I presume the splash guard is then welded to front portion of the cradle itself, is that correct?

Very, very nice!! And dear old Ajax in the background as well. It would be nice to see both the old girls together! I read somewhere, can't remember where, that they discovered in the field that the return rollers where hardly necessary on the Comet. Anyone else read that or can add a comment on that?

Terrible news indeed, I hope he is being treated well and will soon be back home with his family.

As per the subject line, I've been contacted by a friend who is selling off various lengths of model HGB? In case you're not familiar with HGB, it is post-war, 1953 onwards, looks a lot like Bailey but a little bigger. Would make a wonderful display piece for events and shows! See my thread on OSUK for more details... http://www.onesixth.co.uk/vb4forum/showthread.php?5803-Anyone-interested-in-a-model-HGB-set-Additional-info-and-clarification-added

A stunningly beautiful restoration! Well done chap, very well done indeed!

it came out well, great job!!!

Has anyone got any good photographs of a disassembled No- 21 mount for a Besa? The best picture I have found is below but I really want to know how the red-primer-ed circular contraption, bolted to the back of the Gimbal, is constructed and how it connects to the gimbal. From what I can see there appears to be a secondary plate which bolt directly to the back of the gimbal, there's also a tube to hold the periscope and which aligns with a circular hole in the gimbal for accepting the periscope. There appears to be a channel between these plates for holding the besa but I'd like a much better view of it all before I go ahead and try to recreate it. So if anyone has better pics of connecting areas of these plates I'd be very grateful for a sight of them?

I appreciate all of it Rick, I have learned so much from this site, it's an absolute gold mine of information here! We modellers tend to use line drawings and walk-around photo-shoots of existing vehicles but they only tell part of the story and, as you chaps well know, paint covers a multitude. But watching the tear down and rebuild of a vehicle lets me see absolutely everything and explains why things operate as they do, and what looks like a couple of broken lines on a drawing actually becomes a real part when I see it pulled apart. If my parts look good it's because I've got absolutely stunning reference pics and information from this site and it's amazingly helpful members! Interestingly enough I started life as a Mech Engineer before going off to University and then ending up in the Computer Industry. So it's rather nice to come full circle and find myself back at the engineering end, even if it is only in 1/6th scale! BTW, has anyone got any really good close-up pics of the 'G-Clamp' type affairs that hold the Cowl down at the back of the Cromwell? Thanks for the comments Paul, but 3D printing makes me look better than I actually am! Re the pic from the manual, the main gear wheel has a protrusion on the other side which means it needed to be rested on something elsewise it would not have set flat on the ground. But yes, a different, less polished era. Still we seemed to achieve much more when we were concerned more with what we were doing rather than how it was presented. Oops, there you go, you've set me off. Now I'm going to get all misty-eyed thinking about the Empire!

Sadly I know all of this already, I've even modelled the oil tank for lubing the bearings, but as I was in a hurry, and the memory was failing, I thought I'd just call them torsion bars and hope nobody noticed:-D "And I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for those meddling kids" (Scooby Doo in case you can't remember). Sadly it wasn't well known to me and I had to figure it out myself based on the size of the wheels. Gratifying to know I got it right though! Here's a few progress shots, a bit of artistic licence here and there but in the main it's the nearly 100%

No, I didn't think there would be, LOL :blush: I suppose what I was really trying to ask was if there was some staggering between the sprocket rings and the road wheel tyres to allow them to 'pass' each other at close proximities. As I say I've been going over the drawings and I'm pretty sure I have all the locations for everything correct and I'm also sure that I've got everything scaled to the correct size. But I've obviously missed something somewhere. I can workaround the problem by resizing the bell cranks / swings arms on which the road wheels are mounted, although I'm pretty sure I've scaled those correctly too (unless there was a different sized bell crank for the fifth road wheel? Do you know what is the actual clearance between the sprocket ring and the tyre of the fifth road wheel? If the wheels are 31.6" diameters then the clearance between the sprocket ring and tyres must be just a few inches? Also, what is the distance between centres on the bell cranks (i.e between the centre of torsion bars and the axle mountings for the road wheels)? By my calcs it's 482.4mm (or just under 19" in old money). I don't suppose any of you stopped to take that measurement when you were assembling the old girl :-D EDIT: been doing a bit of farting about and have come to the conclusion that the clearance between the fifth road wheel and the sprocket ring is just over 1 3/4" , approximately... and at my scale that's a whole 7.5 mm.

I'm playing around with the location of the sprocket and running gear on my 1/6trh scale model and it strikes me that I've got the fifth road wheel too close to the sprocket because it rubs a little with the sprocket teeth when the road springs are fully compressed. I've been poring over drawings trying to figure out what I've done wrong but these pics would seem to indicate that the final road wheel and the sprocket are very, very tight. Is there an issue with the road wheel coming too close to the sprocket ring on the Cromwell? Rgds Pete

Cromwell's must be the sexiest tank's ever, look at that rear end!!!! Thanks Rick, I had a feeling the Cowl replaced the mesh as I can't see how both would fit together, but it's always wisest to ask!

On some of the Cromwell's I've seen in museum's there has been a mesh grill covering the louvres on the back of the tank, obviously to stop detritus from being sucked, or falling, into the engine. Were these kept in place when the Normandy Cowl was fitted or did they do away with them in lieu of the Normandy Cowl? Rgds Pete

Your welcome mate. For the record though, I merely took the earlier-posted version and re-sized & re-coloured it in Adobe Photoshop Elements. Glad it worked out well enough for you to use though! Don't forget to post some nice pics when you've got her all gussied-up!

Try this one..

Interestingly enough a quick Google has turned up the following site which lists US registration codes and it seems to indicate that the Dodge behind dear old David Niven is, in fact, a WC56. Doesn't look like a WC56 to me! http://www.wc57.com/model%20id%20spec.html

Thanks for those Tony, I'm pretty sure the WC 56/57 must have been used in NWE just got to keep my eyes open for a pic on one in use!

Anyone care to hazard a guess what vehicle this is in the background, behind the jeep. It looks like a Dodge weapons carrier to me although I'm no expert on the matter! Copyright IWM, HU 99822 Lieutenant-Colonel David Niven, the film actor, smiles for the photographer while sitting in a commandeered Citroen car with a Royal Engineers officer, during his service with Phantom GHQ Liaison Regiment in France.

I think there's enough photographic evidence to prove their use by British troops in both Italy and the Far East (see pics of Mountbatten below) but it's Normandy to Berlin that I'm interested in and I've yet to see a pic of one in use by our lads in NWE. But, given that we were using them in other theatres, then I'm inclined to believe we must have had some for use in NWE. Then again, the Yanks took up a lot of the supply slack in those other theatres so that could explain their use amongst our lads in those AO's. I've picked up a 1/6th scale model of a Dodge command car which I'd like to make use of in a British role somewhere in NWE. It's currently marked up as Patton's ride but I'm inclined to think it'll look much better in British service, possibly with the RE so it can go with my Bailey Bridge!

Just wondering if anyone has any info on the use of the Dodge Command car (WC 56/57) by British forces during WWII. I'm pretty sure they were used by our chaps in the Far East and in Italy but did they see much use with British elements in NWE? This looks like either a 56 or 57 in British use in Italy... THE INAUGURATION OF NEW REGENTS FOR SAN MARINO, ITALY, 1 OCTOBER 1944. © IWM (TR 2386)IWM Non Commercial Licence

JoelH, thanks for that info, you're a star mate. So, it's American kit...that explains a lot! That document you linked me to is wonderful thanks for that also! Rgds Pete

Did your Mum not teach to you to never answer a question with a question!:undecided: So, getting back on topic, does anyone know what the official name of this welder was?