From: Think Tank Subject: Think Tank Vol. 0054 15/11/2000 Think.tank@tesco.net ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS' INDEX 1: More No 19 sets 2: Cyano 3: Trumpeter 4: Diorama size 5: WW2 Tank pics wanted 6: Russian Green - 4BO 7: Soviet Union Factbook - Lend-Lease 8: KV-1 trackguards -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: IT conspiracy strikes again 2: Seeking P Duits 3: Advert from Mem # 5769 4: Tankette indices to Vol.35 No.5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Daniel Taylor [d-taylor@dircon.co.uk] Subject: More No 19 sets Continuing the obsession with radios and their use in Motor Battalions... I managed a very brief visit to Bovington last week and spent most of the time there looking at the half track. It is an M9, still has the internal boxes and appears to have kept the original engine so is not one of the ones bashed about by the Israelis. On the right hand (starboard) side, toward the forward end of the crew compartment is one of those wedge shaped aerial mountings welded on. I also noticed that the same fitment on the photograph of an M5/M9 in Fletcher's Universal Tank. Does anyone now if this was the standard fitting? I would presume, judging from the location, that the No 19 set would be mounted on the internal box located behind this point, can anyone confirm a precise location? Thank you for any thoughts and information. Dan Taylor -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: Daniel Taylor [d-taylor@dircon.co.uk] Subject: Cyano Just made one of those random discoveries that I thought you might be interested in. I needed to pop a blob of cyano on something in order to dab a few drops on a model and discovered that I had thrown away my usual piece of grease proof paper. Too lazy to get up and get another sheet, I dropped a little on one of those transparent sheets that protect the surface of decal sheets. Worked a treat! Kept the glue active for a couple of hours which is better than I'd expect from regular grease proof although I suspect that this is some form of the same. Knowing the frugal nature of most modelmakers, I hope this may prove interesting to someone out there. Dan Taylor -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Clive Harman [cliveharman1@yahoo.com] Subject: Trumpeter Not wishing to judge "sight unseen" & hearing both good & bad reports, I have purchased several Trumpeter kits direct from Hong Kong - there is no UK importer. The kits are quite cleanly moulded & detail reasonable though by modern standard a little thick, the overall quality varies from Tamiya '70's to current East European. It depends on your modelling viewpoint & the price as to whether you will like Trumpeter. If you can't live with the dimensional inaccuracies of 1-3mm inherent in a motorised kit or are not prepared to put the additional work in, then Trumpeter is not for you. If however, you want a model of a hitherto unavailable kit in plastic & can live with a few mm's error in hull height & width, then go with Trumpeter (the turrets on the type 59/69 are good). Provided you are only paying about the same as an Italeri kit it makes sense, however the VLS $32.95 plus postage are ridiculous. As to the negative reviews, there are always different viewpoints, but I would point you to Hyperscale & UK Milmod for a different perspective & T-L for a "positive" Type 69 review from Cookie Sewell. The Type 85 & Type 80 kits were the first made & suffer from fixed suspension & screw fitment wheels, the wz901 six wheel is very nice but the scale is questionable. As to the Type59/69 range , as you would expect they are generic but the Type69 11 Iraqi & the Type 59D w/ERA have all the options to build any of the other kits - excepting the gun barrels, but the Trumpeter versions of the 125mm looks undersize & the 105mm would be better replaced, the 100mm is not too bad. AEF make a series of upgrades incl. engine decks, turrets & gun barrels - these look OK, but I haven't used one yet. There are also some comments about gluing the plastic used, but I have had no problems with Tenax-7 or Plastic Weld or DB Superweld. BTW, Trumpeter are changing their trading style to "Wasan" and the "new" T-54/55/Ti-67s due in December are non-motorised - whether this solves the lower hull height I don't know. They are also working on a plastic injection Soviet dry pin style track, which if their Diehl style track is anything to judge by, will make a cost effective option for all Soviet fans. E-mail me direct if you need any further info. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Kelvin Mok [klmok@home.com] Subject: Diorama size > A4 size is about right for one vehicle in 1/35th. They will also fit into an A4 photocopier paper box for transport to model shows, competitions, < Thanks Phill. Didn't think about that transport convenience. An unintended but much appreciated consequence of the A4 sized base is that it fits neatly into the standard size office furniture shelves, which naturally, are designed for storing paper. I happened onto a pile of scrap 8" wide x 1/4" thick simulated hardwood floor strips which have a finished woodgrain veneer. It can be cut close enough to letter size (A4) and legal size and form a base with a good looking surface on which to build a minimal diorama. They look great. Already done 6. While on this project I had a problem using some old mixed paint, dried clumps were blocking the air brush. I was already using old teabags and dried tea leaves for the dioramas. The teabags came in useful again. By cutting off a corner and emptying it off the tea leaves this provided a strong wet-strength pocket with which to filter the paint. One could even squeeze out the last bit of paint from the dregs without tearing the bag. Kelvin Mok klmok@home.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: mike.mallett [mike.mallett@ntlworld.com] Subject: WW2 Tank pics wanted From alt.military.uk "Web Labs" wrote in message news:<8th2j8$vvh$1@news7.svr.pol.co.uk>... I own an M3A3 Stuart tank (made in 1943 and used by British army) and am interested if anyone has any pics of these in wartime service? You can see mine www.tanksrus.freeserve.co.uk Any help anyone can give on pics would be much appreciated Kind regards, NIGE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Mike Cooper [coopmik1@hotmail.com] Subject: Russian Green - 4BO Dear All You may remember that I've been working on a fix for the green used on Russian tanks in WW2. The green was known as 4BO, and a range of different FS matches have been proposed on the basis of paint chips from vehicles. A new Armada publication on Soviet Tank Camo. has fixed the green against an archive chip, and work on Sov.Air Force colours - which included 4BO - has added to this. I'm going to write the detail of this up for IPMS Mag and probably Tankette, but since Mike Starmer has got hold of an English translation of the book above he's been able to suggest to me some mixes to accommodate the range of tones presented by what must be 4BO. The colour started light and weathered/aged darker. Polishing and handling would also affect it. FS matches - range from 595a 34257/157 to 34087 with 34095 as the mid range. In Humbrol terms this gives: Light - 4parts 117 to 3 of 150 Dark - 3 parts 117 to 2 of 116 Basically, then, a good match for 4BO will be based on Humbrol 117, lightening it with 150 for newer vehicles and darkening it with 116 for older ones. This gives a tonal range matching black and white and colour photographs and reported matches to surviving colour chips. Although there must be room for interpretation and so on, I think we now have a confident basis to work from. Thanks go to Mike Starmer and to George Hogg, who was the first to suggest 117 as a possibility. Hope this helps Mike Cooper I acquired this tome at the weekend from Pol Models. It is an English translation (by Cookie Sewell) of the book by Maksim Kolomiyets and Il'ya Moschanskiy published last year and called "Camouflage of the tanks of the Red Army 1930-1945". I paid c.£13 sterling for mine. Robert -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: mike.mallett [mike.mallett@ntlworld.com] Subject: Soviet Union Factbook - Lend-Lease The American lend and lease system was introduced in the beginning of the war to support Great Britain in their struggle with Germany. After the German assault on Russia in June 1941, the defenders got aid with this system through war material, food, fuel and other important raw materials. From 1941 and onwards, the RKKA used extensive numbers of Lend-Lease tanks received from the USA, Canada and Great Britain. Approximately 22.800 AFVs were sent to the Soviet Union between June 22nd of 1941 to 30th of April 1944, and almost 2.000 of these were lost at sea. In addition, the Russians got about 351.700 trucks and 78.000 Jeeps from the USA. With this the Red Army became more movable as mobility increased. During 1941, 487 Matilda, Valentine and Tetrarch tanks were received from Great Britain, and 182 M3A1 "Stuart", and M3 Lee medium tanks were received from the USA. In 1942, a further 2.487 tanks were received from the UK, and 3.023 tanks from the USA. The first units equipped with Valentines and Matilda IIs fought in the Staraya Russia and Valdai areas in the winter of 1941/42. Usually tank units were allotted a single type of Lend-Lease tanks to simplify logistics. An example was the 38th Tank Brigade, which in 1942 had 30 Matilda II tanks and 16 T-60 light tanks. In 1944 and 1945, the American M4A2 was the highest appreciated Lend/Lease tank, and some tank corps and mechanized corps were entirely equipped with this type. In early 1945 the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps were equipped with Shermans in all of its tank units. The role of Lend/Lease AFVs in the Soviet war effort has been the source of bitter controversy, as some Western statements tell how decisive they were, while Soviet statements generally denigrating it as inconsequential. However, it should not be forgotten that Great Britain sent 14 percent of her total tank production to the Soviet Union, even though they outproduced Great Britain threefold in tanks, and this in a period when the British Army had a serious shortage of tanks in North Africa. The vast quantities of American trucks with USA serials provided, were so common in Eastern Europe in 1944/45, that common folklore interpreted the stencilled letters as Ubiyat Sukinsyna Adolfa - Kill that Son-of-a-bitch Adolf. American vehicles M3/M3A1 Stuart M3 Lee M4A2 Sherman M3A1 Scout car M3 M3A1 M5 M7 M10 M18 Hellcat M24 Chaffee M26 Pershing T-48 Half-track British vehicles Churchill Mk. III/IV (6-Pounder) Matilda Mk. II Tetrarch Universal Carrier Valentine Mk. III/IV/IX Canadian vehicles Universal Carrier Valentine Mk. IX/XI Type Number Churchill (All armed with 6-pounder gun) 301 Cromwell 6 M10 TD 52 M15A1 MGMC 100 M17 MGMC 1,000 M18 Hellcat TD 5 M24 Chaffee 2 M26 Pershing 1 M3 Lee/Grant ("Coffin for 7 brothers") 1,386 M31 ARV (M3 medium tank chassis) 115 M3A1 Stuart light tank 1,676 M4 Sherman (75mm/76mm) 2,007/2,095 M5 light tank 5 Matilda Mk. II 1,084 T-48 (SU-57) tank destroyer 650 Tetrarch 20 Valentine bridgelayer 25 Valentine Mk. III/IV/IX/XI 2,394 (British) 1,388 (Canadian) © Marcus Wendel & Thorleif Olsson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: Listmaster Subject: KV-1 trackguards I have just acquired a copy of a Finnish magazine with some nice plans and colour schemes for the KV-1e which Finland captured from the Soviet army and re-used, and which I assume is the one now preserved at Parola. I obtained a Tamiya example and some Finnish decals some years ago with the intention of building this particular vehicle and there is a definite danger that the project might now actually start. However, it would appear that the vehicle in question has a different set of trackguards to the ones in the kit. This is no big hardship as the kit trackguards are far too wide anyway, so I intend to replace them with 10 thou styrene. This requires that I know how they are mounted to the hull. Examination of the details of the kit example reveals a line of rivets on the horizontal surface adjacent to the hull side, which I am taking to mean that there is an angle iron bracket running the full length of the trackguard and which supports it, with the angled braces on top providing vertical stiffening. Is this consistent with anyone’s actual experience of examining the vehicle? I am fairly remote from the only UK example about which I know, in Bovington, and last time I measured any of it I omitted to study the underside of the trackguards :(.. I know about the need for new tracks and sprockets as well, but can anyone steer me towards a set of sprockets as the Kasten tracks I have do not contain any (yes, I know I should have bought Friul ;)? Robert -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Listmaster Subject: IT conspiracy strikes again Well, no sooner had I got the modem working than the gremlins decided to direct their attention towards MS Outlook, and proceeded to cause the entire PC to hang then crash every time I even looked at Outlook. My expert colleague (who knows other ways to cure computer problems than the use of a repeatedly applied hammer) managed to reformat the C drive last week and after reinstalling everything, it now works much better, although the exact nature of the original problem remains, as usual, a total mystery. The rest of the delay was caused by losing all my email groups including this one and so they had to be rebuilt manually using the header of the last issue, no small task when there are now 170 plus of you, then having the monitor blow up and being away from home for several days. With any luck, the whole affair should work a little better from now on, interrupted only by the planned absences as I depart on various holidays. On which subject, there may be an issue on Saturday 18th depending on volume of posts, but as I am away on holiday (hunting down as many military sites as I can justify detouring to around Napoli) until Sunday 25th, the next one may well be out then instead. If anyone wishes to contact me about the non-arrival of digests in future, I suggest trying rlockie@platosoftware.com in preference to the Think Tank address, as if you haven't heard from me on the TT address, it is probably because I have been unable to get the thing to go out for some reason ;(. Robert -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: Listmaster Subject: Seeking P Duits I appear to have lost a P Duits from one of my groups and indeed from my address book as a whole. If anyone knows an address for him, please let me know at rlockie@platosoftware.com Robert -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: MAFVAHQ@aol.com Subject: Advert from Mem # 5769 I just received a card with and ad on it from a lapsed member: # 5769 Dr. Peter Schweisthal: Gruner Str. 107, Düsseldorf, D-40239, GERMANY. "WANTED: MMiR Vol 1, No 3 in exchange for Tankette Vols 16-18 (Inc) 78 issues in excellent conditions. Contact me at the above address." Cheers, G -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Robert Lockie [rlockie@platosoftware.com] Subject: Tankette indices to Vol.35 No.5 This group has also had to be rebuilt and the latest version of the indices up to Vol.35 No.5 should go out shortly. Apologies again for the delay. Robert -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Lockie (Think Tank Listmaster) Visit the Miniature AFV Association website at http://homepages.go.com/~mafva/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume