Cab Details

[Adrian Harris]

I've spent a little time today looking at the first few steps of the build. Chris has been kind enough to send me an essay on his experiences with these stages, so hopefully I'll avoid having to remove any premature rivets.

Looking at the pictures thrown up by Google, there appears to be a couple of detail changes which could be made to the fastener details on the cab.

Two of the fasteners on the top lateral brace look to be hex head bolts rather than rivets, and appear to be lower than the rivets on either side.

Also, there appear to be two bolt heads behind the first row of rivets at the front of the side plate of the cab.

These are arrowed in the above pictures.

Has anyone incorporated these into their builds ?

Adrian.

[Adrian Harris]

I've also noticed that the Bovington and Ashford Mark IVs have small ears sticking up from the cab roof, which are missing on Lodestar III in Brussels.

Adrian.

[Steve Stuart]

The slightly lowered rivets are I believe the securing points for the periscopes/vision blocks that are behind the slit and so should be the same size as the ones used on the model elsewhere. I have gone with Lodestar and its ditching rail as my prime source of guidance for my model so haven't fitted them. However I have a horrible feeling that Chris will say that they form a vital part of the Fascine securing and release system so I may have to retro fit them to my model.
I believe Helen is growing in their garden a supply of especially Bonsai'd ( 1/6 scale) wood for Chris to coppice and turn into fascines ready for 2017 and a re-enactment of Cambrai. Where we shall demonstrate the sequence of trench filling with Fascines that was employed to cross the German lines in a stunning of scale armour choreography
Regards
Steve

[Chris Hall]

I'm constantly amazed at the new perspective a fresh pair of eyes can bring ...... Good spots, Adrian, and welcome to the Band of Brigands !

I've spotted other small differences in the rivet / bolt patterns between original photos, actual survivors, and our Armortek models (which I think Mark based on the original blueprints). It's clear that there were different build standards between the different companies (Metropolitan, Fosters, Coventry etc.), so I'm minded to put it down to that. Personally I'm not worried about it, but I bow to my colleagues in the relentless search for accuracy !

As for "Adrian's ears" (trademark ) they were originally fitted to hold a wooden frame for a camouflage net to cover the whole tank.The holders for the rear of the frame are fixed to the fuel tank. When the tanks were shipped to France they were fitted with extra armour, unditching rails and the unditching beam, which met the need for a camo net support without the frame. The rear supports were left on as they were out of the way, but the ones on the cab were removed as they'd have got in the way of the beam being dragged over.

So, in summary, this is another of those things that differentiates the training tanks (Bovington and Ashford) from the fighting tanks (Lodestar). Nothing to do with the fascine, doubtless to Steve's relief ! I'll cover that when I've built one (ie. when Helen advises me on the horticultural aspects ).

All the best,

Chris

PS. I'm not sure what my wife thinks about being name-checked in an Armortek post .... I got a slight smile and a roll of the eyes .

[Adrian Harris]

Thanks for the info guys. I think I want a fighting tank, so I'll them off

For the fascine, I'm thinking of those artisan twiggy broomsticks. Either that or twiggy pea sticks from the garden centre, which are pretty much the same thing but without the handle.

Chris, to emotify an old flying phrase, any you can walk away from is a good

Adrian.