Ah yes, of course we need to differentiate between the Light Tank Mark I to Mark V - a series of related designs of light tank produced by Vickers for the British Army during the interwar period.

Above, I was referring to the commercial Vickers Carden Loyd tanks.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_...United_Kingdom

Color
 

Hanno, thanks for the info on the color. I looked at the link you posted to the Netherlands East Indies photos. They all seem to be in a solid color, not camouflage. Except the one restored picture from the Bovington tank museum.
I agree many countries including the East Indies and Greece got a few into the front lines in time to lose them to the Germans or Japanese. Latvia got the gun mounted ones as well but lost them to the Russians. The only intact, surviving evidence of a 2pdr armed one I can find is the one captured in Latvia to be displayed Moscow, currently in Kubinka museum. I have photos of it from there in both camo and solid green. There are also a few combat photos of them in the field prior to being destroyed.
Attached is the only color photo I can find of the 2pdr mounted tank in Latvian hands before the Russians invaded. I think I will do a solid green all over, and then when I get time I will add the camo to it.

Jon,

Like I said, the Vickers camouflage scheme as seen on Bovington's Dutchman was - as far as I can tell - Vicker's own to make their products attractive to potential buyers. It does seem the Latvians copied it on their tanks, so if you are replicating the Latvian version you would have to get creative with brushes one day. Starting of with a base green would be a good idea, though..

For your information, the vehicles used by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) vehicles were in a single green colour. This was called "camouflage green" and research proved it was practically the same as the current Federal Standard 595 Color FS 34102. Dutchman tanks in use for training British troops were a single green colour as well, most likely the one ordered by the KNIL.

Actually, if you look at this blog on interwar tank development by Vickers Armstrong Ltd most tracked vehicles shown on there are in a single green colour. I could only find one camouflaged vehicle, a tractor truck for China.

HTH,
Hanno

That is a good looking green.
 

Thanks again Hanno. I looked up that color and it looks like a nice army shade of green. I will try to get some mixed up this winter so I can paint before spring.

Found some more pics from Kubinka.
 

Here are some war time pics of the little tanks being used. From what I read they were used in platoons with 2 mg tanks and 2 gun mounted tanks. Seems they were used a lot until they were destroyed.
Color on these pics is pretty vibrant, any opinion on how good the paint color match is?

For comparison.
 

Here are the pics of my tank, it has been painted since these were taken but only primer grey. Turret spins easily and seems well balanced. Will make a gun in the next year. I have had it out driving a few times and seem to have adjusted all the steering and braking brakes so it handles well. A bit scary on pavement as it likes to skid sideways on turns. Driving the chassis in reverse does not seem to hurt the steering system. It does seem more responsive in reverse but only slightly.

that's a really nice job. going to look great when it's finished :thup2:

Great progress, very nice! :thup:

Jon,

Great work on the replica!

Some pictures of the sole remaining "Dutchman" for your reference.

HTH,
Hanno

Attachment 84811 Attachment 84812 Attachment 84813 Attachment 84814 Attachment 84815

Thanks guys!
 

As you guys can see, the biggest discrepancy is the rear end, I left part of the front glacis of the carrier with the tow eyes for practical purposes. Taking that much out of the carrier to make it shorter seemed excessive and securing it for transport is much easier with those to chain to. :)

The pic Hanno put up of the view port is my next big hurdle. I need to make those from scratch, unless someone has a spare they might part with? Once I have one I can copy them, fairly closely.... Otherwise I will just use the pic and make something similar looking. Much as I have done thus far.

Thanks for the encouragement.

Got this photo thing sorted now.
 

So after reading and trying a few things on how to resize photos I have finally got this sorted. I will post a series of photos showing how I have assembled this to this point. The track jack I made from a modified M113 track jack, it works well, especially with a cordless impact on it. :)

Well done Jon.
Sometimes the restriction of restoration can be annoying and I feel it would be refreshing to have the freedom of choice, to do what ever I want.
I am wondering how you tie it down? These comments will either help you or educate me.
Over here the guys seem to tie down the suspension(forward and aft through the bogie wheels) rather than tying down the hull, because the carrier moves too much when they are tied at the tow/ lift eyes.
The eyes might be o.k. to use when the pull is in the horizontal plane, but not pulling downwards.
Maybe you haven't carted it anywhere yet?

There is a shop in central US that has made a replica Panzer III, initially with five roadwheels then they replaced them with six roadwheels. I saw their work on a FaceBook group, Panzer Fabrik or something close.

Their techniques for fabricating realistic looking thick armour are worth copying. As I recall, the plate is 1/4" mild steel and the visible edge of the supposedly thick plate is 1/4" bar stock welded one on top of another, and ground smooth. Their keystone finger joints on the frontal armour of the Panzer are very convincing.

Reply
 

Lynn- To tie it down I have made the appropriate eyes on the front and use the rear towing eyes. I have carted it around the city and several hours on the highway with no issues of it moving. I use several chains in a double "X" on the back and then a single chain through both up front with both tightened down heavily by chain tighteners. I use both the "lever" type and the "screw" type to get maximum tension on the load. Both front and rear chains are on about a 45 degree angle so keep it pulled both down and back. I did have it lift a bit in the front when I first started (while braking) so that's why I pull down hard on it. My best thought on the difference would be that the Universals having only three wheels a side, probably makes them more unstable and prone to bouncing/ lifting when braking....

Maple_leaf_eh- I looked at the armour and it appears to be very thin on the originals so I didn't worry much about it. The idea of doubling the edge did occur to me but I didn't. The sides of the tank cover the edge of the top armour so the only place you see a side edge is the front down low. All other edges are top down so less obvious from a distance.

More pics
 

So I have finally gotten the turret rotation gear made and the turret is on to stay. Permanent fuel tank is in along with fire wall and it's all sealed away from the crew compartment by steel and gasket material. Fitted a mock-up of the gun to get a good pic of my intentions. Also made the headlight boxes for the sides. Tough to make them strong but also not too heavy gauge of steel so it could be bent to the shape I needed. Well re-enforced with angle iron and I stood on them with no issue. Also welded on all the turret "Rivets" I think they look great.

Jon-Great work! Did you make the gear and ring for the turret or did you use something from a commercial application?

John

Reply
 

John

I actually used a local fabrication company to cut the gear wheel's on their water jet table. The big one is actually in 4 pieces and welded around the turret ring. The smaller two are mounted to a shaft and bearing I had laying around. Hand wheel is just a round piece of plate with a bolt thru it.
The turret "ring" is actually salvaged from an old FV432 commanders hatch. It works well and I have no issues with it.

Vision ports
 

So as I look at the list of things left to build for my little project I am stuck still trying to figure out how to get/make vision port covers. Looking at the pics of the Dutchman at Bovington the covers are pretty standard looking. Is there a source for stuff like that? Does someone on here have one to sell me to have a copy made? I could also really use an interior view of the port cover so I can see how it is operated.

More pics
 

I have looked at the Facebook page for Panzer Fabrik, they are amazing in the detail and skill in making their tank from "scratch" a beautiful Luchs.
Mine is not as well known and is not as detailed but I also don't have the amount of fabrication equipment that they do. If you look in the background that is my entire shop!

Now a pic in green
 

So I have been away for a while but now I have some warm weather so time to put a coat of green on her. Took the pic while there was still light, finished it after the pic. I think the colour is pretty good.

Help with the breach.
 

Anyone have a good working knowledge of the bofors 40mm? I have one that is a bit rusted and I can't get it to move/ function. The plan is to mount it in the tank as a substitute for the 2pdr that would have been there.
The breach has spent the last 2 months in a barrel of diesel and that helped but the main breach block is stuck hard in the open position. I have an operators manual on it and can't identify any parts that would account for it to be stuck.
I have removed the barrel and pushed the barrel safety pin back to make sure it is not locking it open.
I have freed up the trip ejectors and they are not catching the breach block.
I have tried hitting it, using a bit of heat to warm it up and even tried willing it to work...... :bang:but it has defeated me thus far.
The only thing I can see from the manual is that the inner sears are simply stuck with rust.... I can't see where the best place to tap on them is and have tried gentle tapping on everything I can see to try to get it to move.
I would also love to borrow some of the take down tools for a day to remove the parts that are free and give more access to the rest. The coil spring is still on it and that will be hard to remove without the proper tools.
If there is someone in my area (Edmonton, Alberta) I can meet with you in the next few days.
I posted the same question in the gun forum to increase the number of folks who will see this request. Don't know how to link threads yet.

Warmer weather means the toys come out.
 

So with a bit of warmer weather and a few helping hands I got the Bofors breach mounted in the turret. As you can see there is no barrel, I will weld a dummy barrel onto the stub that screws into the breach. It will never fire but will look the part.
The front mounting pin is in the existing mounting position on the breach, the rear elevation is a work in progress. Using the left over bits that came as part of the breach I think I will be able to rig up a nice elevation mechanism. It will be complicated to build but fairly simple to operate.
The cocking handle was a project in itself since the turret limits the space to make it work in, both for the size of the turret ring and the operator in it. :smoker: Some of you will be wondering, it is not easy to see in this pic but I am using a handle with a lever that when pulled allows the breach to operate. Makes it work like a safety, that's what the sliding part and the big welded plate on the lever shaft is. Bofors experts will recognize the part that I welded on to. In this pic the breach is fully closed.
The remains of the "loading tray" is what I plan to attach the elevation mech to, my plan is to not compromise the actual breach with any welding.

Spring break projects.
 

Well with spring break here it was nice weather for the first 2 days then snow and cold.... Typical Alberta. Vision ports and turret finishing bits is the plan for the next week. Here are some pics of the vision ports as I begin finishing them.

One for the drivers position and 4 for the turret. Having that big gaping hole covered over makes a world of difference to the look of this machine. :)

View ports done.
 

Well with the miserable minus 18 weather out here it took longer than I would have liked but the view ports are done and installed. They are spring loaded and have a 1/2in plate of acrylic (Plexiglas but harder) as an inside glass. They are all operated by a lever that passes through into the inside and work quite well.
I reattached the pic from the Dutchman tank at Bovington to give a comparison. They are not perfect but I think they will pass the look over test unless you have the other to compare too.
All that's left now is the barrel, ammo rack, front fenders, periscope, camo pattern paint and the data plate. Should be completed by summer and on it's way east.
For the data plate I have committed to having the plate cast from brass at a local foundry, I am going to use the same layout as the one attached, then stamp into the space provided with the numbers. I am looking for thoughts on this plate. I want to be precise but don't want to mislead anyone who doesn't know the difference. Thinking of putting an "R" in front of the hull number to signify a reproduction. I will use June 1937 as the year since I expect to have it completed in June and it is a Model 1937.

PS- if anyone wants a plate I can have more made, the price will be confirmed in the next few weeks. Around $300.00 CAD. The plate will be 4x6 in.

Plaque came back looking good.
 

Well here is the result of the plaque I had made. I haven't put the stamped numbers into it yet but I think it looks amazing.

Looks amazing Jon, and a vehicle manufactured in my home town no less.... the factory finally shut down last year, now owned by another manufacturer, end of an era :(

Well done Jon, I can see you are now on the final stages of fabrication and it looks excellent. I could not imagine trying to make this in below zero temperatures. We don't ever get that low in Australia.
Great job.

a few more final pics
 

I an still waiting for the barrel to come back from the machine shop but other than that it is pretty close to done. I honestly sit out there and look at it and can't find more stuff to do. Paint touch-ups are getting tedious.
These pics are a few weeks old but I will have the finished product put into a video and I will post the link here once it is complete.
I have added a real periscope from a Russian vehicle (funny writing near the cross hairs gives it something extra) as well as ammo racks and ready racks in the turret. The final stenciling on the inside and the stamping of the numbers into the plaque are all that's left to do. I hope to have it out for a real trial run this month and have already scouted out a place with hills and woods to run it in. If all goes well I will take it to it's first show on July first. A second in August is almost a sure thing. Then it will become a barn queen as I move on to my next project.
To compare, here again is the in service pic from the Latvian army. I want to find a similar spot to do a identical shot to compare. :smoker:

Looks great :thup2:

Fantastic ! Love the camo:)