Ontario Museum buys fake German vehicles

[Douglas Greville]

As to fakes, anyone who gets a ken to buy a Beemer combination has a 99% chance they are actually buying an MZ, MTZ, Ural etc that has been reworked.

The truly uniformed end up with Chang-Jiangs.

Regards
Doug

[Douglas Greville]

Lynn

As I have said on other forums, if a replica is properly done and is identified as such then well and good.
I for one do not get sniffy over those lovely Mosquitos made in the last few years in NZ. The only really non-genuine aspect is who made them and when.
To me they are still lovely Mossies.
The same applies to most of the Spits now flying, most of them are either so majority new parts as to be in effect new airframes.
I doubt the owners really care and I certainly wouldn't if offered a ride!
The difference being everyone is aware of their status.

As a P-40 owner in the US once said to a rivet counter who was being obnoxious "you can paint your P-40 whatever colo(u)r you like". As it subsequently turned out, the owner had his details correct and the rivet counter was full of himself and was wanting to see that P-40 in markings he decreed were correct.
It is a matter of perspective.
The point being, it all seems to hinge around how rare a specific vehicle/plane is and what it takes to restore it. The Ontario museum sought to buy an ultra rare Maultier, they should have done their homework first, it wasn't very hard to do so.

From what I can see, they got auction fever and jumped in with both feet and now want to cry foul.

Most who buy rare vehicles obtain the services of an expert so that they have full awareness of what they are purchasing.

[maple_leaf_eh]

I was on an inspection visit of the OntR Museum this weekend, and saw the two vehicles up for discussion. The volunteers were very open. The museum does not own them. They did not buy them. Someone else bought them, uninspected. The new owner knows he didn't get what he paid for. The new owner is likely very pissed off, and I suppose has his lawyers involved.

The half-track was described to me as wartime (or not) frame and front axle, with realistic running gear. It doesn't have a motor or much inside. We joked that the Nebelwerfer doesn't Nebel and won't Werf. The Marder was described as the lower half of a post war Swedish production 38T, with what one fellow called "Hollywood" above the track line. The back end of the gun did look genuine, but incomplete.

HOWEVER, just beside it in the bay is a VISMOD Leopard C2. It came to the museum as a driver trainer with a very non-combat family-friendly mini van-like seats six trainer turret, complete with a big lead counterweight. I'm not a Leo' rivet counter, but until the volunteer pointed out its fabricated parts, it looks pretty good, even the thermal shield and clips on the main tube.

So folks, is the OntR museum perpetrating a hoax on the visitors? Should every guest demand their 1/80th of the admission back as compensation because 79 of 80 vehicles were real? Nope. Some things can't be duplicated.

As already mentioned, there is enough interest in this hobby that Spitfires, Mustangs and Mosquitos are now worth scratchbuilding. Likewise there is a mechanical company in France putting modern cruiser bus engines and transmissions in clapped-out range wreck Shermans. Apparently they are a lot easier to operate and still look like a 75mm or 76.2mm Sherman.

[James P]

Lessons learned, drill down on the research (of seller and vehicle(s)) and exercise due diligence when trying to make a purchase via a on line auction, why the buyer did not fly/drive down and actually see the vehicles is perplexing. Interesting bit of expensive drama and I hope the buyer and OntR Museum see some good come out of this mess.

https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/...Foundation_Inc

Terry, there was no "post war" Swedish 38t production as they stop building them in March 1944.

[jdmcm]

If the museum doesn't own the vehicles why are they the plaintiff in the court case?

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by jdmcm

If the museum doesn't own the vehicles why are they the plaintiff in the court case?

Joint damages? Not my goat. Not my rodeo. Only a spectator; and the box office sold out of programs.

[James P]

This lawsuit looks like the Ever Ready bunny that just keeps going and going and..................

https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/...Foundation_Inc