1st Hussars and Holy Roller & Perry Kitson

[Michael R.]

Originally Posted by Bob Carriere

Not that we could do much about it....

But one item....sandblasting...would be huge. A commercial firm would have to contain all the sand and paint particles and dispose of it in a special contaminated soil dump site bagged and in sealed 45 gallon drums...

Now imagine doing the inside after stripping all the components.
...
Nothing to cheer about.

Yeah, Bobbie, however: if it is simply being returned to sit outside and go through the deterioration process again, why bother with the inside? For that matter, why bother at all? What a colossal waste.

I wonder what the invoice would look like if the vehicle had been transported to Franklins in Woodstock. Given that a similar hull of an SPG was done there for less than $2,000.00 it makes me wonder if we got the facts straight on how the $250k is to be spent.

[rob love]

The museum here in Shilo had a Russian tank sandblasted in situ and camo'd with Enduro primer and paint. Now this was about 4 years ago but the whole job cost $4500. For the price of $250,000 I suspect you will be getting a lot more than a sandblast and a paint job. But there is no point going too far in restoration for a static monument. Any glass you put into it like headlamps or vision blocks will just become target practice for the local youth.

[Ed Storey]

It is the same old story, we love this tank so much that we want to spend a small fortune to restore it only to once again stick it outside in a park to let the kids climb on it and the birds nest in it. I like Bruce's idea to have a fibreglass copy made to place in the park so that the original can be properly restored, but sadly that kind of progressive thinking usually does not come to mind by the people who organize these types of high-profile vanity projects.

[James P]

Waste of time and money to blow a wad of cash sandblasting and repainting to rededicate as a monument outdoors, maybe do a little ribbon cutting ceremony for the city mayor, then all march off to the mess for a hearty round of back patting. Total tear down, ground up, full on back to running condition RESTORATION with indoor display afterwards. The way Canadian governments at all levels are throwing money about these days the costs to do so would not even move the needle or be noticed.

[Michael R.]

assume

I am not convinced we are going in the right direction in our assumption as to what the plan is for this vehicle. Rather than making myself look more of an ass/u/me, I will wait for an update from the organization.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

I agree, ideally it should be restored and placed indoors.

But let’s be glad something is being done and young people are involved in various ways:

“Holy Roller tank preservation well underway”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/londo...rway-1.6123148

2AA1F5CA-CC86-4843-A259-E940182728E7.jpeg
“Fanshawe students Emma Wilson and Taylor Meloche are spending their summer creating a virtual reality tour of the inside of the Holy Roller. (Angela McInnes/CBC)”

And:
https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/...ia-park-return

[James P]

Wow, now there is a old face I was surprised to see, Peter Devlin has about as much military history as Holy Roller.................I still refuse to buy in that sticking it back outside next year to start rotting away again is such a bright idea. Tens of thousands of Shermans produced to fight in the Second World War but this one (and BOMB) are breathtakingly special and deserve better, much better then this.