Wheatcroft Collection on-line
 

See http://www.wheatcroftcollection.com

And yes, he does have some Canadian AFVs

H.

Thx Hanno, been waiting for the site to become active. Regards.

Also have a look over here, for some great pictures of vehicles and parts in the collections:

http://www.militarymodelling.com/new...sp?UAN=132&v=1

I saw a Ram II in the inventory and some shots of a fairly complete Guy ANT Gun tractor.

Re: Wheatcroft Collection on-line
 

A lot of kit and a Sd.Kfz9/?. . . . . . . . . . . ;)

R.

And thx to Alex too. More great pics.
It's just amazing to see how pristine these rebuilt tanks are. That Panther is just mindblowing.

Michael Gibb's collection is also available at www.sdkfz.com but I couldn't find the newly restored jagdpanther. Being a command variant it has the full complement of extra radios and you could eat you dinner off the floor inside. Pristine doesn't really describe it.

R.

sdkfz.com
 

Thx Richard, I did know of that site ( I'm an avid reader of Military machines International ) and have stared at their great 250/251 halftracks many times. One day I would love to get over to Britain for an experience of Tankfest. Ahh, what it is to dream. :)

I dont take to much interest in German vehicles but do have a soft spot for the big halftracks here is the 18 tonner from the Wheatcroft collection

AS usual i get the photos the wrong way round, the first one was taken at Beltring and has different number plate than these two taken a couple of years earlier. So is it the same machine with a new paint scheme and plate or are there two?
Les

Alex,

Yes, Kevin has acquired a Ram Kangaroo plus a Ram II turret. The Kangaroo came off Pirbright range. One of the MLU members has carried out some structural repairs to the hull. Even though he recons Kevin will never completely restore this Ram (as his focus is on German vehicles), Kevin had the repairs carried out as these needed to be done for a future restoration anyway.

H.

http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data...roo_120803.JPG

Thanks Alex. Not listed in the inventory, but shown on the Military Modelling site is a T16. A passer-by?

H.

Its the same one Les.

There are a few problems though. . . . . . . .

Find a square-on side picture and you'll notice a lot more interleaved wheel hub showing than a Sd.Kfz.9/1 should have, in fact as much as the larger 9/2 - the crane version.

The position of the inner wheel face viewed through an outer wheel hole in a horizontal position is another clue; past the hole on a 9/1 and through the centre on this example.

There are more track links than a 9/1 also of course.

The front wheel track and the track centres are wider.

The X bracing pressings on the body are at a noticeably shallower angle than is ever seen on period pictures of a 9/1, so the panels are all slightly longer.

There are no references or any data to suggest the cargo body was ever produced to fit the slightly larger 9/2, which in any case had a double height, twin beam chassis to take the much greater load of the 10 ton crane whereas the cargo body is a 3 ton payload.

There is evidence of the roadwheel suspension lock-out system still in place, unique to the 9/2.

Copious data exists with pictures of British engineers operating a 9/2 at the end of the war which suggests a source, this particular British operated vehicle was renown for a steering brake fault and is well recorded as being almost impossible to turn left. I _think_ I know a provenance for the subject vehicle, the no turn left snag is a significant thread, but I may be wrong.

You ponder it all, just my rambling observations.

Hell of a re-work job all the same; I have a tiny problem with "restoration" here as the Concise Oxford Dic. says: "Return to a former condition or position."

Anyway a fine example of pre-war German over-engineering, like all the first 3/4 track models, which I believe were designed to impress and awe the western world together with pleasing the Führer with their swift and silent progress in the Berlin parades on their rubber padded and oiled needle bearing tracks, with resilient faced roller sprockets.

I don't think any were designed for war, at the first opportunity all the niceties disappeared and plain steel tracks with dry pins appeared. (SWS) The copies too (OT810) didn't adopt the high-tech track system either.

R.

So it is a "SdKfz 9/x". Well spotted, though I suspect a you got a few hints from a certain German HMV specialist? ;)

Always difficult to judge such a massive effort to put a rare machine back on the road. It's even worse in the aviation scene, anyone with a little engineering insight knows a Spitfire flying today cannot be more than maybe 25%? wartime parts. But it is still claimed to be XY123 of Sqd 456 which flew over Gold beach on D-Day.

Oh well.

Why don't they simply tell the story behind it? It won't make a less impressive sight and the work put in it will be valued just as well.

H.

Well, not really. I had largely sussed it beforehand and then there was no huge disagreement when I theorised the situation, however, you know how closely guarded the certain specialist can be.

In fact the 9/2 is even more interesting to me as a mechanical oddity, the crane with its moveable up and over bobweight is a wondrous affair. However, its not "sexy" being a very rear area vehicle just moving stuff around a repair yard and I expect sourcing even bits of the crane would be nigh on impossible.
Indeed so, but, for example, here we have a purported BoB "Spitfire" made of a late mark Griffon variant, all new from the bulkhead back and about 15% dimensionally wrong as a loose anology.

Any avid and punctillious modellers who have homed in on this vehicle, tape measure and camera at the ready, since it is often seen stationary and wholly accessible, are in for a bit of a problem.

It is a massive effort though to even get such a vehicle to pristine and running condition, there is no doubt about that, the show scene is the richer for it too.

Well said.
It would be interesting indeed, I am only your average inquisitive drongo so perhaps there are many now who have drawn the same unproven conclusions. The derivation and restoration work would be an interesting story it is true and detracts nothing from the vehicle itself. Probably we will never know for sure.

R.

It's actually a gun tower rather than a Kangaroo, would be good to have it restored as that IMO, especially as Kevin has a 17pr.

Adrian

Adrian, yes that would be fantastic.

Did you, per chance, record the Shop No. and/or the Census no.?

Thanks,
Hanno

Hanno,

sorry, no numbers visible. On Ram, the shop number is stamped on the tube that supports the front wings, missing in this case.

Adrian

Ah brilliant, cheers - the collection is only about twenty minutes drive to me and a guy in our re-enactment group has done some work for him, and borrowed his bren carrier for the Victory Show last year.

New addition: a C15A, straight from Canada it seems (note the licence plate):
http://www.wheatcroftcollection.com/krupp.html

One of the CMP's from Barry's "Staging Yard" in Castleton Ontario,
ready for shipment, straight to LwD's CMP place in Holland, last Fall 2006.
To Kevin's place is an other story.

Mvg. Dirk


http://212.79.246.244/5800/home.nsf/Treasure3.jpg

http://212.79.246.244/5800/home.nsf/Treasure2.jpg

Thanks for confirming my suspicion, Dirk! Seeing his main interest, it must have moved to Kevin´s place as part of a bigger deal. Strange to see the Israelis swap something they had a need for. Anyway, I hope you got what you wanted out of the deal.

H.