Ontario Museum buys fake German vehicles

[chris vickery]

Museums are great and all but personally, I’ve found many a hobbyist to be better informed and more knowledgeable on many fronts. I’ve seen some exceptional restorations that make “museum quality” ones look like crap...
Difference between them and us? We spend our own money, they lobby for theirs.

[James P]

https://scholar.google.ca/scholar_ca...=2006&as_vis=1

Just to refresh memories for background and why due diligence is called for when making a costly purchase. What I for the life of me cannot wrap my head around is after dragging Kruse through the courts complaining about "not original" vehicles they turn around and buy a home made tank and a couple of OT810 painted up as Sd.Kfz.251s.

[Ed Storey]

Why would a museum want to waste time informing the public about the OT810 , its history and roll in the Cold War when it is more interesting to convert it into a fake German SdKfz 251. After all, it is 'musi-tainment' and not facts which sells admission tickets.

[Jakko Westerbeke]

Originally Posted by Ed Storey

Why would a museum want to waste time informing the public about the OT810 , its history and roll in the Cold War when it is more interesting to convert it into a fake German SdKfz 251. After all, it is 'musi-tainment' and not facts which sells admission tickets.

Years ago, on another forum, someone said he had bought an OT 810 and asked for opinions on which (implicitly German) colours would be good to paint it in. I replied along the lines of, “1960s Czechoslovakian green” and was promptly ignored

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by James P

What I for the life of me cannot wrap my head around is after dragging Kruse through the courts complaining about "not original" vehicles they turn around and buy a home made tank and a couple of OT810 painted up as Sd.Kfz.251s.

Home made tank??? Tell me more....

[James P]

Originally Posted by Bruce Parker

Home made tank??? Tell me more....

Panzer III is reproduction (but a VERY well made reproduction)

StuG III is FV432 based and

Hetzer is a Swiss G13 (but most "Hetzers" today are so no biggie) and OT 810s are well ...............OT 810s.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by James P

Panzer III is reproduction (but a VERY well made reproduction)

If they are good in making reproductions, I hope they turn this Sexton hull into a Sexton GPO one day. But maybe a unarmed armoured vehicle is less sexy than "a tank"? Well then a Sexton 25-pdr SP gun do nicely as well. Plus you can take visitors for a ride, if that's what's its about.

[maple_leaf_eh]

From the Google docs legal information, "...Duffy won the auctions for both the Opel and the Marder. His winning bids were $41,000 for the Opel and $210,000 for the Marder. ..."

As far as I am aware, Mr Duffy has bought and sold numerous other armoured vehicles. He has been a big proponent of the Ontario Regiment Museum and raised its profile head-and-shoulders above its previous levels. Let's not forget just how much good he's done for the hobby. As I mentioned above when I visited the very impressive collection, I was informed that the two pieces were by then acknowledged as not original.

I've made bad decisions over the years too. I've been disappointed with auction purchases just as much as I've been happily surprised by what arrived. Maybe the MLU lynch mob should pull in its horns and let the OntR Museum have its day in court. A judge will decide whether the items were misrepresented or not. Until then, I think all museums have bigger fish to fry as they try to find revenue in a very changed community sector.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Terry, you’re right. It is hard to comment on someone who is putting his money where his mouth is. I guess the difference for the guy paying for it, is whether you know you’re buying a replica or being led to believe you’re buying a genuine vehicle while in fact you are not.

Then again, the snotty remark towards Jordan is out of line as he clearly has the experience.

Same sort of thing happened in the MLU FB group. Someone started asking questions about the CMP he had just bought. He got constructive comments about the roof hatch being a postwar addition. He then tried pulling rank with some snotty remark about how long he was a vehicle collector and how many prizes he had won. If the guys commenting (including me) could top that. The MLU gang was not impressed and the new guy turned on his heels and moved out.

[Jordan Baker]

Originally Posted by maple_leaf_eh

As far as I am aware, Mr Duffy has bought and sold numerous other armoured vehicles. He has been a big proponent of the Ontario Regiment Museum and raised its profile head-and-shoulders above its previous levels. Let's not forget just how much good he's done for the hobby. As I mentioned above when I visited the very impressive collection, I was informed that the two pieces were by then acknowledged as not original.

Yes he has done, as Executive Director, a lot to help raise the profile of this museum a lot compared to where it had been years ago. That is not disputed.

However, perhaps these purchases are done as a way to get substantial tax receipts from the museum to go towards reducing his personal income tax obligations to CRA. I have no issues with Mr Duffy. From all I have heard is a standup guy.

It’s the corporate attitude of this museum that has shifted and become arrogant and “the only ones in town” when in fact they aren’t. The PR guy Tank Museum Guy/Jeremy Neal Blowers consistently posts half truths on Facebook and in the media about their armour. He arrogantly tried to tell me about the intricacies of importing armour. He must have realized his arrogance because he deleted that comment but not before I had a screen shot it. Mr Blowers has also blocked me from commenting on his Tank Museum Guy page.

It’s a great system that’s been setup with this museum, buy armour, get it written off with tax receipts, have it stored at a museum inside, have 150 volunteers rebuild and keep the maintenance on them and then you get to drive them anytime you want.