Borden Flakpanzer

[Mike Cecil]

Thanks Ed.

Mike

[Bob Phillips]

check out the article " Restoration of the Worthington Park Hetzer" at www.pzfahrer.net/borden.html
Looks pretty good to me.
As far as the current project, big job, great work so far from what I see on their facebook page. Lets give them the benefit of the doubt!
BP

[James P]

Originally Posted by Bob Phillips

check out the article " Restoration of the Worthington Park Hetzer" at www.pzfahrer.net/borden.html
Looks pretty good to me.
As far as the current project, big job, great work so far from what I see on their facebook page. Lets give them the benefit of the doubt!
BP

Re. the CFB Borden Jagdpanzer 38 "Looks pretty good to me".....................as they say looks are deceiving and sadly it was not a successful restoration.

[Ed Storey]

"Benefit of the doubt" is great, if this were a high school auto shop project; but it isn't. It is an expensive project on an important and unique piece of German SWW armour, held by a DND museum.

I would have a better felling about this project if there was more information available other than a Facebook page and some dated news media reports.

For a major project like this, the questions I have are;

What is the goal of the project?
Who is the project manager?
Who is in charge of PR/media?
What is the PR/media plan?
Who is in charge of the finances and what is the project budget?
Who is in charge or raising funds and who are the sponsors?
What facilities and equipment are available for the project?
Who is conducting the research?
Who is in charge of acquiring parts?
Who is on the restoration team?
Who is overseeing the quality of the work?
Does anyone working on this project have any experience with a project of this magnitude and if so what was that experience?
Are there examples of previous projects that this team have worked on?
What are the milestones and the end-date for the project?

I don't see any of this on the Facebook page.

[Steve Turner]

Hi Ed,

I don't know the answer to those questions but I did visit the project while I was in the area and it appears they have a big crew working on it. I will ask a friend who is involved if he can answer some of those questions.

Cheers,
-Steve

[B. Harris]

It is in good hands.

[Bob Phillips]

Well, if you are a long time participant in MLU this will be old and familiar ground.
There seems to be great satisfaction in taking a kick at our federal, provincial. even private museums/ restorations because I/we/ you don't like the way they are doing things. I have been involved in this hobby for 40 plus years and yes, there are lots of horror stories and things that could have/should have been done better. DND has a tendency to not want to share its collection with enthusiastic civilians, and who could blame them? Their prime mandate is not vehicle restorations. The CWM takes flak for its operating decisions but regardless of which direction they take, they are dammed if they do and dammed if they don't.
The panzer project needed to happen. It was rotting with neglect. Do you think our entitled populace or Liberal politicians give a dam or have any funds for such a project? I think not. So a group of volunteers has stepped up to the task. Lets give them the benefit of the doubt. Not sure all the answers you want are available ? ... so go volunteer, be a participant and help with the project.
I am sure all constructive input and assistance would be greatly appreciated. BP

[Guy Grenadier]

Originally Posted by Ed Storey

"Benefit of the doubt" is great, if this were a high school auto shop project; but it isn't. It is an expensive project on an important and unique piece of German SWW armour, held by a DND museum.

Good day. Thanks for your interest in the project. My name is Guy and I'm a member of the Restoration Team Leadership. I will answer some of your questions below.

I would have a better felling about this project if there was more information available other than a Facebook page and some dated news media reports.

Until our webpage is stood up, you may also follow progress and updates on YouTube.

For a major project like this, the questions I have are;
What is the goal of the project?

Goal: Cosmetic restoration (inside and outside) for indoor storage with a target completion of Dec 2022. Depending on level of success of the cosmetic phase, consideration to be given to further restoration to possibly include making it a runner but this is not the initial intent.

Who is the project manager?

The project is managed by a team of 6 members which for the executive:

Team Lead and project initiator myself (also involved in PR/ sponsorship outreach): Guy D.
Turret and weapons restoration Crew leader: Dave T.
Chassis restoration Crew leader/assistant: Neil H. / Colin A.
Project Manager (using Smart Sheet): Mark P.
PR/Media Coord and Fin Manager: Steve F.

Who is in charge of PR/media?

see above

What is the PR/media plan?

Development of Website: in progress
Videos and photos: Sabot Videos / CFB Borden Base Imagery.
Crowdfunding campaign (planning in progress)

Who is in charge of the finances and what is the project budget?

Based on our business plan: Cosmetic restoration budget is set at 175K CDN.
So far fund raised close to 10k

Who is in charge or raising funds and who are the sponsors?

Steve F. / Myself plus a team of graduates from the marketing department at Georgian College

What facilities and equipment are available for the project?

Under the care of the Borden Museum; currently using building adjacent to main Museum. Also receiving support from RCEME School and Base Maintenance.

Who is conducting the research?

We have a team of three helping out with research and outreach currently engaged with various organisations/experts including; Weald Foundation (UK), Musée des Blindées de Saumur (France), Kevin Wheatcroft Collection (UK), Hilary Louis Doyle (Ireland) Author of several German AFV publications.

Who is in charge of acquiring parts?

Mainly our Crew leaders (turret and chassis) assisted by members of their respective crews.

Who is on the restoration team?

Total of 23 volunteers (including the 3 from Sabot Videos)

Who is overseeing the quality of the work?

Neil H. our senior restorer / Dave T Sr weapons tech

Does anyone working on this project have any experience with a project of this magnitude and if so what was that experience?

Yes three with previous restoration experience, including work done on the Hetzer. We also have three CAF weapons technicians (including a Chief Warrant Officer senior tradesman), one CAF material technician and 2 civilian certified heavy evehicle mechanics. Our project Manager is a certified professional with extensive experience in this field.

Are there examples of previous projects that this team have worked on?

As the current team, this is our first major project of such magnitude.

What are the milestones and the end-date for the project?

End Dec 2022

I don't see any of this on the Facebook page.

More detailed information will be available once the website is stood up.

Hope this answers your questions. Please feel free to follow the progress of the work on FB and YouTube. Once web site is set up, we will announce it on FB.

[moderator's note: edited to separate the questions (in quotes) from the answers]

[Ed Storey]

Thankfully Bob is not your PR guy. I don't think anything I posted was a kick at anyone, the questions were certainly pointed and driven by the fact that beyond a facebook page there was precious little information available about the project. As a result of my questioning the organization behind this project, we at least now have some answers and a completion date.

[Ed Storey]

If I may, I have another question. Since the only reported example of previous experience on a project of this magnitude is that three team members worked on a Hetzer; then is there a final report on this project? I believe that this was also a project involving the Borden museum so I am interested to see the paper trail on that project.