Tony M

Result! I'd like to thank Bruce for allowing me to crawl all over his fv439 (before it's sold) & take close onto 350 photos with loads of measurements. Top bloke & he took me for a run out on his other 432 (he drove lol). Shame the 439 is gunna be debagged & turned back into an APC. Again thanks Bruce. Tony

Comin' on just great. I remember gettin' 'kit kat ar*#' sittin' on those seats lol I take it you'll be taking it to perth? Hopefully after Tuesday I'll have all the info I need to complete my project as soon as KFS's 432 comes out. Tony M

Get a grip man! Don't want any excuses at Perth, you can't build a flat bed like that & mess up on the seats? lol You've got just over a week to get it sorted. lol I'm not blowin' ya trumpet..............not just yet anyway lol Tony

First temporary picture from KFS's fv432, master pattern only. So I've got to go from this................. to this..............Ptarmigan Triffid Radio fv439. I wish me luck! lol

Hi I'm helping you & I need help? lol I've only a few pics of the interior & they are of the SAS MC & Triffid Radio Relay. I was given loads of pics from the SAS MC of the genny housing & gennies & a few measurements. Private message me your email & I'll forward ya what I'v got. As for 'not' being let loose on the 439, I really need measurements & more pics inside & outside. Ideally I need to be let loose all over a Ptarmigan Triffid Radio Relay FV439, for pics & measurements so I've got a good understanding for when I start my project. Without the info, I won't be able to complete it? Maybe Armourgeddon have to deal with Health & Safety, that's why you wasn't allowed to climb on it? Tony M

That'll look mint when the paint's on. Will you be puttin' a canopy on, or keepin' it open back? Tony

Looking good, I bet you've lost count on how many parts are just on that bed alone? lol. You still goin' to the Perth show at the end of this month? Tony M

Thanks Chas Got a load of pics for the gennys & housing..... Much appreciated Tony M

If it's a Radio Relay version, bring it on, I'm more than happy to arrange something & travel. Can you private message on here? If you can, drop me some contact details. regards Tony M

Nige With the amount of hours of labour that is going to be put into this project, if I was to charge, per hour, I could afford a 'real' fv439 lol, that's a thought........... I'll buy a real one, take some photos, post em up on here & say "look what I've built" lol Tony M

Cheers H Still, ya a bugger lol. I've got the fiber optics & leds. Once I start on the Triffids I can work out what I need to do & once your kit is out I can then work out where it's all gunna go? No damn pressure! lol Tony M

Nige By the sound of it, there's enough detail on KFS's 432 without what I'm going to add to it & that comes with instructions, looking forward to it tho but, like yourself, I'm relying on other people for the relevent info for me to complete the project. I'll just keep plodding along eh lol Tony

Scam 12 mast On the Ptarmigan comms wagon, I built the mast from evergreen & brass....... & as you see it's prominently from evergreen. On the fv439 I decided to add more detail to the mast & there are 70 separate parts of which only 13 are evergreen... The rest are brass & are soldered together.... On these masts, there are moveable carrying handles & moveable handles that are for doing 'swings' for the directional antenna...... The mast can still be extended but the sections will be kept in the closed position when on the 439...... Tony M

Henshaw Garage, A69 Every now & then, they'll be an ex mil veh appears, then gets sold on.....

Must be a fashion statement with the Mats? lol

I should have recognised that as there was a Humber 1-ton Radio Truck lol. Looks so different in that state.......

Allendale, Northumberland & next to the AEC....... Don't know if it's ex mil but it ended up on comms...... Tony M

I thought the tin foil was a bit thin but now you've mentioned the trays, that's ideal. Detail's comin' on with your tank now you've added the pipe work & you say my project was detailed? lol Tony M

They've both been in the same loctaion (behind a hotel in the car park) for years & I've asked who owns them, no one knows? As for the landie...... I didn't get under the hood but there are a few ex mil gear in the back: old style sleeping bag, jerry cans, water carriers, chair & a couple of other bits n pieces, all ex brit mil. It wouldn't add up for the landie to go from mil to civvy (then lump conversion) & then throw some ex brit mil gear in the back & leave it standing to rot? Bit of a mooch me thinks, covert that is lol Tony M

At Chollerford, near Hexham, Northumberland. Taken a few weeks ago..... a sorry looking left hooker, airportable... Gear lever & high/low ratio 4wd levers, but what's the other lever on the tunnel? No visible signs of a winch, pto or external shaft drive? Got me head under the hood today....... Maybe this should answer the question if the lump had been changed? Also at the same location, taken this week.... Tony M

I thought mine was bad lol. It's more like a 'den', all you want now is a hamster wheel & Sippy Bottle, filled with your choice of refreshments? lol Tony M

Nige Perth Model Show is a 161 mile treck from me, It's in April, you never know? lol. If I decide to go, I'll let you know & I'll bring project P with me? Tony M

Thanks for the feedback peeps, much appreciated. H, you mentioned on the 439 how it got 'warm' will all that equipment humming away......... well, the Ptarmigan comms wagon had a 'heater'..... You can only see it from this angle on the model, even has the grill if you look closely & I removed the sky light to get a better picture. Sits next to the SLR rifle rack, which was a complete waste of time as the Rifle 5.56 (more commonly known as The SA80) came out as Ptarmigan did......... Here's another couple of close ups: From near to far: Quad cable, jerry can holder (repositioned from under the wagon) Arctic batteries & the back of the PCU Gould in the distance...... Here we've got the near side genny, 1 jerry can in place hooked up to the genny. Another Scam 12 mast with the cam poles next to that. The gennies were slid out using the wheel brace on the red nut & the genny cradle would move via the worm drive..... & here's the TACE, SHF & SEOW units & RF lever selector just to the right (under the bulletin board).

I thought this is a logical step for my next project from the Ptarmigan comms wagon. KFS will be bringing out the FV432 in the not too distant future so a major conversion is in order, however....... There's 3 variations of the 439 (Which is the Signals variant), Triffid/Radio Relay being one of them but I've never seen one in the flesh & as I have to research what the 439 looked like I've noticed that there are subtle differencies between the Radio Relay range, so any comments about 'this wasn't there' or 'that was here' would all be all technically correct to what ever 439 they know or came across. I would like to get to see a Triffid/Radio Relay FV439 in the flesh for photos & measurements, so if anyone knows of one in or near the north of England, I would be most grateful for any help. Some of the comms kit is the same as the Ptarmigan comms wagon so I'll be making them first & post pictures as I'm going along & hopefully they'll be better than my last project? Regards Tony M

Hope you've enjoyed this thread? Next project.......Ptarmigan Triffid/Radio Relay FV439. I'll be starting a new thread but this will be over months/year or 2? lol KFS will be bringing out the FV432 soon & I'll be converting that. Comms kit is already under way, pictures soon on the new thread. & thanks for all your positive comments Regards Tony M