16 WW2 Stuart tanks imported into the UK

[malcolm erik bogaert]

again a fair point...I can remember years ago my old dad used to buy ex WD motorcycles and the like for his own use and everybody used to laugh..in the 1970's he was exporting machinery to the Arab world in the shape of Range-Rovers...he was in business and had to make a profit to survive...Mike is a very shrewd and hard headed businesman but again he's doing it for profit and not to see more tanks in Mons in 2009!most of us in this hobby are collectors who sometimes are able to turn a quick buck or two.....dont be fooled by the big boys they would have the shirt off your back in ther name of profit!! best regards malcolm

[Neil Ashley]

As Chris has commented if it were not for the dealers the hobby would be a lot poorer.

When I first joined the MVT at the end of the seventies you could count the number of tanks in private ownership on one hand. Now as we all know its a rich mans hobby and their are large numbers of rare tanks in the UK.

Those old enough will remember Ian Mcgregor importing the first of the Canadian Shermans and Sextons from Portugal and selling them at bargan basement prices off the dockside. Unfortunately it will not happen now.

Two or three years ago I was told about a batch of rebuilt unissued T34/85 in eastern europe being cut up because the dealers did not consider there was a enough profit in them to warrant importing.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

This cache of Stuart tanks was not a secret to those in the know, as are other caches. Yet, it takes several entrepeneurs (Mike worked with Joop Staman on this deal) working together to finance, buy, ship and sell caches of WW2 material like this and make them available to collectors. Of course these are shrewd businessmen, otherwise they would no embark on such an adventure and not go bankrupt! But it´s up to the collector to decide whether they get a good deal out of buying them. It´s mostly up to private enterprise to secure these historic artefacts. And yes, sadly sometimes they are worth more as scrap than collectibles. But if it´s up to the military, every old tank would get shot up on the range!

H.

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

This cache of Stuart tanks was not a secret to those in the know, as are other caches. Yet, it takes several entrepeneurs (Mike worked with Joop Staman on this deal) working together to finance, buy, ship and sell caches of WW2 material like this and make them available to collectors. Of course these are shrewd businessmen, otherwise they would no embark on such an adventure and not go bankrupt! But it´s up to the collector to decide whether they get a good deal out of buying them. It´s mostly up to private enterprise to secure these historic artefacts. And yes, sadly sometimes they are worth more as scrap than collectibles. But if it´s up to the military, every old tank would get shot up on the range!

Hanno has a point... whether we consider these deals as "deals" or not is irrelevant - either the vehicles are available or they're not. Perhaps ever. If someone chooses to invest a fortune of his own resources in sourcing, transporting and shipping them into one location, who are we to argue? They may otherwise have ended up as fodder for the scrappie - and god knows that old steel is worth enough!

The day of cheap anything (let alone armour) has passed... it's now up to the collectors to define how much something is worth. Either you want it or you don't... but don't bitch too much, because one day there won't be any more left!!!! Yeah, that's a scary thought...

[malcolm erik bogaert]

as Mhr.Spoelsta states those in the know...know where the stuff is!Bye the way can anybody help my old army buddy Doug Matheson in his quest for 2 pounder cases! best regards malcolm

[Mike K]

Interesting comments and a range of views from the forum members.

Just to add to this: tonight on ABC national radio .. Phillip Adams late night live show is having a story on the plundering of WW2 aircraft from the Pacific Islands by individuals who then sell the aircraft to collectors for up to $1,000,000 U.S.

I will put a link to the show.. anyone can download it or listen live .

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/latenightlive/

The show is on air 10pm Eastern time here. They will put it on the site for download later on.

The point I was making is that there is now a culture of this sort of thing ... it's accepted as being the norm ... and it flows right down to us and our vehicle collecting, even onto militaria collecting with the exorbitant prices you now see .

As for dealers - I avoid them like the plague..Sometimes you do need that hard to find part and you have little choice ..so you you hand over the cash . Having said that , you can save yourself a lot of money by repairing parts and being hands on . I installed used rings from a donor motor in my C8 engine and it runs fine ... the rings were almost new and the correct size ( standard) .. so why buy another set. I sort of get by as a restorer. I've seen some highly skilled people who have incredible skills and ability when it comes to repairing old vehicles.. we are all different I guess.

Mike

[Bob McNeill]

Whats the definition of a Dealer, is it the bloke who collects several wrecks to make one Good One then flogs off the remains to cover costs of the work he couldn,t do. OR is it the chap who does all the running around, storing, listing & cleaning of the bits we eagerly look for at swap meets and boot sales. If you,ve got it and I want it, it,ll cost unless I,ve got something U want.