Ontario Museum buys fake German vehicles

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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.