From: Think Tank Subject: Think Tank Vol.0094 22/10/2001 Think.tank@tesco.net ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS' INDEX 1: British infantry organisation 2: FV numbers 3: Holiday in Sussex 4: Review of Starmer's Armour 1/76th scale decals 5: Rubber tracks -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Malcolm N. Waite [mw99@rapid.co.uk] Subject: British infantry organisation Hi Can anybody help me out with an organisation for a late 80s/early 90s British armoured infantry company equipped with Warriors? I'm OK on the actual vehicles etc. - what I'm after is the actual infantry and their equipment contained within the company. Malcolm Waite Liverpool UK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: nickbalmer [nickbalmer@ukonline.co.uk] Subject: FV numbers Hello, I too would welcome information on FV numbers. In the immediate post-war era there were a large number of fascinating AFVs that never left the drawing board or mock stage. This subject could well be at least as fascinating as the well known German prototype AFVs which even appear as kits these days. Tim Royall’s article in Wheels & Tracks No 50 has the FV300, with the following vehicles: FV303 20pdr SP antitank gun and FV304 25pdr SP. But there was a whole series from FV301 to FV311. There was also CT series including the CT20 Oxford Carrier, and another FV3802 series on the Centurion. Bob Griffin's new book on the Chieftain contains a drawing of a fascinating design of a sort of super Ontos type vehicle. It would not look out of place as a 21st century design. At Bovington on one of the upper levels in the museum there used to be a whole series of wooden mock ups of 1950s and 1960s tank and AFV designs which were I believe produced by officers training at Shrivenham or some similar such place. Does anybody know the background to those models? Regards Nick Balmer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Brian Carter [brian.c@netcomuk.co.uk] Subject: Holiday in Sussex Hi there Depending on which part of Sussex you are in, I can point you to a couple of good museums. If you are a transport buff, you can visit my 2 Scammells and a Thornycroft mobile crane (all in the same yard) as well as a fleet of Matadors still working for a living. These are all in West Sussex around the Worthing area. Kind regards Brian C Unfortunately I was substantially unsuccessful in the military museum trail, but I did sneak a visit to Portsmouth dockyard and one to Senlac Hill, so not a total loss. A couple of days of measuring and library-trawling at Bovvy just before I went compensated to some extent anyway, but I will try to take you up on that next time I am in the area. Robert -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Paul.middleton [paul.middletonmafva@tesco.net] Subject: Review of Starmer's Armour 1/76th scale decals Mike has produced two new sets to help produce better models. The first is British and American recognition markings, Middle East, 1941-1943. This contains British AFV recognition (red/white/red) stripes both as strips and separately in a variety of sizes. Also included are Stars and Stripes flags as used by the US troops during Operation Torch and the rest of the Tunisian campaign. These are in two different sizes both with and without the red stripes. The second set is titled 8th Army air recognition signs, Middle East Forces. This contains enough roundels of different sizes to decorate over 50 models. The red centres are separate and half of the roundels have a yellow outline. Both these sets will have many uses, not only in 1/76th scale, but also for smaller 1/35 scale vehicles. Each set comes in a zip top bag with an information sheet. Recommended. Available from Mike Starmer, 18 Hillside Road, Piddington, Northants, NN7 2DB. Price £5.00 per set plus 30p postage per order. Paul Middleton -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: Daniel Taylor [d-taylor@dircon.co.uk] Subject: Rubber tracks Hi A couple of weeks ago I asked about making the tracks on a Tamiya M3 half track a little more realistic. I was fortunate enough to have the following response sent to me by Reidar Morten Syvertsen, another postee, and thought that one or two of you might be interested in the technique. It worked very well and the model earned a second in the London MAFVA Open Comp, no doubt aided by more authentic looking tracks. He wrote: >> The answer to your plight is surprisingly simple - a hairdryer...... Put the finished tracks on your finished vehicle and proceed to heat the top run with a hairdryer. Gently does it......... The tracks will of course react to this heat long before the surrounding plastic does. As soon as the tracks become "pliable" (for lack of a better word) you put some object(s) between the track and hull sponson/fenders. I have used some rolled up paper, or wooden sticks, it depends on the layout of the running gear really. When the track has cooled off you may slip super-glue on return rollers etc. and voilá, no more weight-less tracks. It may of course take a few tries to get the results you want, as with all new techniques, just be sure to start at the gentle end, as mentioned. Maybe you have an old model somewhere, crying to be experimented upon? Anyway, I have used this method with good results and I'm certain you will too!Modelling tools can be found in the most unlikely places, can't they? My former coed may have left me, but I kept the hairdryer -heh heh..... << At last! A use for the fairer sex. Not a word to the wife eh? Dan There is another modelling application for them - I recall having a discussion a couple of years ago with a very fine ship modeller about the use of human hair for rigging on 1/700 scale ships. We concluded that it was best to become involved with women whose hair was a) long and b) straight. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Lockie (Think Tank Listmaster) Back issues of Think Tank (thanks to Shane Jenkins) can be found at: http://www.tac.com.au/~sljenkins/thinktank/thinktank.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume