From: Think Tank Subject: Think Tank Vol. 0036 23/05/2000 Think.tank@tesco.net ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS' INDEX 1: LVTs 2: Future of Dragon 3: BTR-152 4: AFV manuals 5: Tamiya Churchill VII 6: Link Model Workshop Cromwell Track -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: Transmission dates 2: Colours 2000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: John Harris [john@ukmilmod.force9.co.uk] Subject: LVTs Further to various posts about LVTs in the Middle East, my Dad did his National Service in Palestine, Egypt, and Libya in the '45 - '47 period, the Germans obliviously realised there was no point fighting on once he was called up! Anyway, he remembers a number of LVTs in the Suez area, but cannot remember ever seeing them in use. The particularly frustrating aspect is that he took numerous photos, but his interests lay (and still do) in railways, so we have plenty of pictures of various locomotives and rolling stock, but none of military vehicles! It is also annoying, since he served as a driver to a doctor, so visited many units in the area. Other memories include a ride in a Churchill, Kubelwagen racing, and German wrecks in the Derna pass. John Harris john@ukmilmod.force9.co.uk UK Military Modelling http://www.ukmilmod.force9.co.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: John Harris [john@ukmilmod.force9.co.uk] Subject: Future of Dragon I received the attached from Dragon, in reply to an e-mail enquiry : Dear Sir, Once in a while such kind of rumor (sic) appears. We are getting used to this. Anyway, thank you for your concern, we're around and very healthy. Just that we switched our emphasis to 1/6 figures and slowed down on plastic models that people spread out such rumor (sic). Please continue your support to our company. Best regards, Dragon Models However, the latest Hannants e-message says: Dragon - We are not sure what is happening with Dragon so we have now deleted ALL Dragon kits that we do not have in stock and are only listing the kits we actually have stock of. If the situation changes we will re-introduce them to our lists and to the website. New releases will be added if and when they appear. So, take your pick......... John Harris john@ukmilmod.force9.co.uk UK Military Modelling http://www.ukmilmod.force9.co.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: John Harris [john@ukmilmod.force9.co.uk] Subject: BTR-152 I've just got the new SKIF 'BTR-152' in 1/35th, does anyone now of any BTR-152s preserved in the UK? Thanks in advance John Harris john@ukmilmod.force9.co.uk UK Military Modelling http://www.ukmilmod.force9.co.uk There was certainly one at Duxford (Cambridgeshire, UK) last year - I would need to check if it is still there. It was the open-topped version, like the kit. Robert -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: John Baumann Subject: AFV manuals If Alan Fanning is seeking AFV manuals then contact the excellent Brussels Tank Museum via George Mazy. I understand copies can be provided at basic cost. JB -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: Tony Edwards [tones@mail.suncity.com.au] Subject: Tamiya Churchill VII Can anybody out there who has purchased the re-released Tamiya Churchill VII (not the original Crocodile variant) tell me the ID letter of the sprue which has the new parts (mainly figures, I think) please? Hiya... I dunno if anyone has replied to this (and as I've been in hospital, this is the first chance I've had to check out the last month or so's TTs). Anyway, the new figures are on sprue F according to the instruction sheet (I've got a Mk VII on lay-by for conversion to the AVRE with SBG Bridge, so lemme know if you have any problems :), with all the new clear stuff (storm lantern, wine bottles, goggles, etc) on sprue G. Cya Tones. Thanks - I was after the figures mainly so will add this one to my list of sprues to acquire from RiKo. My own Crocodile was originally to be a 7RTR example in Korea but I may weaken and do a 79AD one in the end, especially now that there are some decent figures around. Robert -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Hendry, Philip [p.hendry@lancaster.ac.uk] Subject: Link Model Workshop Cromwell Track I must confess that mostly I'm an unreconstructed fan of vinyl tracks - the likes of Shermans, with their nice tight tracks, and anything with full skirts, don't really need anything else in my opinion. However, there are cases where I think individual links are a must, and one of those is tanks with Christie style suspension. The new(ish) Tamiya A27s are a case in point. Try as hard as you like it's next to impossible to get the vinyl tracks to look right. Now here's a solution to that problem (which problem, I confess, has slowed my Cromwell/Centaur modelling to a crawl, waiting for someone to solve it). Yesterday I received three sets of Link Model Workshop LM006 Cromwell Track. Injection moulded in black plastic, the set is packed in a sturdy white box. The links themselves come six to a sprue, each link having three mould gates placed so they're easy to clean up and invisible once the track is built. The mould seams are practically invisible, there are no sink marks and the mould pins are all on the sprues (a la ModelKasten), so apart from the mould gates there's no cleaning up to do. There are no instructions (but hey, who needs instructions for a kit with 246 identical parts anyway). The pitch of the links is a touch on the long side, but not enough to be noticeable or cause any fit problems. They don't actually clip together like the latest products, so you need to use a slow setting cement to glue each length together before draping it on the model. Overall, marking out of 5, I'd give these 4.5. Cromwell/Centaur production line on the Hendry workbench is back to full capacity! As to availability, I got mine from Accurate Armour, who have them in stock at GBP10 per set. Get 'em while they're hot. Cheers, Phil -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Listmaster Subject: Transmission dates Apologies for the late transmission of this issue - a meeting I had been asked to attend on Tuesday morning was cancelled so I decided to stay away another night and only returned today. Next week's issue will probably be similarly delayed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: Cooper, Mike [Mike.Cooper@reading.gov.uk] Subject: Colours 2000 Hi. Just a bit of advance warning of a show - "Colours" the big wargames fair in the Hexagon, Reading, is the weekend of the 16th & 17th September. I'm lucky enough not to be involved in organising this, as it is very big. However, if any Think Tankers would like to drop by and say Hi, I'll be with Berkshire Scale Replicas both days. We're planning a display of artillery through the ages (including SP). Most of the wargames traders make it to colours, and of course a lot of them offer nice 1/76th vehicles and crews. There are usually a couple of booksellers too. If you want 1/35th try Rebel Troop in Reading if you come to Colours. They're expanding rapidly, and have a good middling stock. Hope to see you there! Mike Cooper -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Lockie (Think Tank Listmaster) Visit the Miniature AFV Association website at http://homepages.go.com/~mafva/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume