VICKERS MK6B's resto

[colin jones]

Thankyou for your comments. Bruce I will do a video when I make the two traversing gearboxes and show how easy they rotate. At the moment Bowerbird rotates 360deg easily, Quiet and no obstructions but on Wombat there is one spot that is a bit sticky so I will lift it and powder chalk it to see where the problem is and grind some clearance for full rotation but apart from that they are good.

David, they certainly do have a very busy front on them and I think they still would have had the odd problem with a few empty shells inside getting caught in the wrong place and there would not be much room inside for two blokes having to bend down to keep it clean. The last operational base close to me that had these tanks is about 9 hours away so I probably won't do a trip there but I will endeavour to get them both in a formal display when they are both running.
I guess you could say they are formally back from the dead now that I have put their names back on them.

[colin jones]

I will have to start looking at the mechanicals pretty soon as most of the look at parts are done. That's going to be interesting. I still have lots of internal parts to make and fitting the turret baskets with supports will be a bit of a pain but they all gotta be done.

[David Dunlop]

Will you be able to do much preassembly of the power train outside of these tanks, Colin, or will all the bits have to go together inside?

If its the latter, I suspect it might be a cooler weather project.

David

[colin jones]

David, there is lots to do on the out side, and it's a plus for me that the front panels come off very easy. I have a lot of machining to do to make the front hubs and the turrets will have to come off again to do the baskets and associated components. We have just started winter here so I have quite a bit of cool weather ahead.
I don't think there is anywhere else in this world where you will see two of these tanks together and they are consecutive numbers of production as well so that was quite a coincidence too.

[Lynn Eades]

As are the only two real British Bren Carriers, that survive, world wide. HMH 243 and HMH 244. Both in New Zealand since 1939.
Great work Colin. You are making a mark on history.

[colin jones]

Hi Lynn, yes you're right. Who owns the carriers over there and are in the same workshop. Have you any photos of them. They too are consecutive numbers also.

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by colin jones

Hi Lynn, yes you're right. Who owns the carriers over there and are in the same workshop. Have you any photos of them. They too are consecutive numbers also.

One is in the NZ Army's museum in the Nth Island, the other is in private ownership in the Sth Island.

They have occaisionally been reunited over the years: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gUa5TdHPCk