Paul H
Plastic Connoisseur
Posts: 1,902
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Post by Paul H on Jan 5, 2020 10:33:09 GMT
Like most, I have known Carl, (all be it only electr onically) over many years across many fora. He was always very encouraging and supportive of my efforts and was equally willing to share his knowledge and make suggestions to help me improve. It's taken me a while to figure out what I'm going to do, but finally arrived at this: . This one's for you, Uncle Carl
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Post by Armorguy on Jan 5, 2020 10:43:53 GMT
What a magnificent beast ! Carl would have loved it.
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Post by Paul B on Jan 5, 2020 11:11:12 GMT
Agreed, Carl would like this one for sure
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Paul H
Plastic Connoisseur
Posts: 1,902
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Post by Paul H on Jan 5, 2020 11:14:45 GMT
Here's hoping I can do it, and him, justice🤞🙂
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Post by Paul B on Jan 5, 2020 11:50:31 GMT
I'm sure you will Paul
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Mence
Plastic connoissuer
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Post by Mence on Jan 5, 2020 12:22:03 GMT
Classic Tamiya, love it.
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Post by Ian H. on Jan 5, 2020 15:55:38 GMT
Well this one brings back some memories. I loved these early Tamiya kits and the M247 was even cooler because of all the controversy that surrounded it. Looking forward to your work on this.
Best wishes,
Ian
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Post by Boots on Jan 5, 2020 16:01:18 GMT
Thats got Carl`s name written all over it...........fantastic choice Paul
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Post by Snipersmudge on Jan 5, 2020 17:49:02 GMT
Now that's a good choice
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Post by PorcoRosso on Jan 6, 2020 9:57:04 GMT
Very nice. Looking forward to seeing this monster take shape.
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Paul H
Plastic Connoisseur
Posts: 1,902
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Post by Paul H on Jan 8, 2020 11:41:28 GMT
Some background; ( Abridged from the Wikipedia page entry) This is widely known, but I thought I’d add include it for context and interest; The M247 Divisional Air Defence System (DIVADS) was to replace the M42 Duster and M163 VADS using many off-the-shelf components to (supposedly) enable rapid and low cost development. Things, however, did not quite work out as intended… Some very heavy lobbying and iffy decisions arrived at as part of the initial competition resulted in the contract going to Ford for what was to become the vehicle we all know and love so well. One of the mission parameter for this new system was to provide anti-aircraft cover to fast moving mobile units equipped with the new Abrams and Bradly vehicles. A quick gander at specs will tell you what you need to know about that; M1 Abrams M2/M3 Bradley M247 Sgt. York Max road speed 72 km/h 56 km/h 48 km/h But that should really be that surprising given that the base vehicle was approx 30 years old i.e. M48 hulls, with a 20-ton turret of mostly unproven technology plonked on top. Some idea of the issues this system present can be seen in the following (a direct lift from Wikipedia); In 1982 the prototype was demonstrated for a group of US and British officers at Fort Bliss, along with members of Congress and other VIPs. When the computer was activated, it immediately started aiming the guns at the review stands, causing several minor injuries as members of the group jumped for cover. Technicians worked on the problem, and the system was restarted. This time it started shooting towards the target, but fired into the ground 300 m in front of the tank. In spite of several attempts to get it working properly, the vehicle never successfully engaged the sample targets. A Ford manager claimed that the problems were due to the vehicle being washed for the demonstration and fouling the electronics.[18] In a report on the test, Easterbrook jokingly wondered if it ever rained in central Europe.[15]
One of the early production models was even reported to have locked onto a latrine fan, mistaking its for a moving target. The author of the article that broke that particular gem supposedly received a call from Ford officials who asked him to describe the target as a 'building fan' or 'exhaust fan' instead – not sure how that would have mattered or made people feel any safer tbh. The kit;Its an oldie, but unfortunately not so much of a goodie. It was released in 1983 and re-released in 2006 by Tamiya, with releases under the Academy label in 1992 and 2003. To the best of my knowledge it remains the only styrene kit of this vehicle in this scale. The original release by Tamiya was timed to compliment their releases of the Abrams and Bradley vehicles, but unfortunately it was somewhat rushed. As a consequence there were some significant issues with the accuracy of turret in particular as that aspect of the kit was based on a wooden press mockup. Additionally significant changes were required to the hull to represent the (VERY) limited run of production vehicles. The following pics are posted for discussion purposes only What’s in the box: What it should be: Tracks are the correct T142 model, but if you are averse to rubber bands, Bronco and Fruil replacements are available. Disclaimer: I have NO intention of attempting to correct the hull or turret accuracy issues. I may go for replacement tracks and enhance some of the minor detail but this is going to be basically Out of Box.
Thats all for now. Need to get off to work, but will be starting this very soon.
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Post by Marco on Jan 8, 2020 16:34:46 GMT
Nice, nice... I like this. And I'm not worried about the corrections... Bring it Paul!
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Post by Ian H. on Jan 8, 2020 16:44:43 GMT
Thanks for reposting the background info on this beast. I forgot about the incident with the exhaust fan. I remember the special on "60 Minutes" about the DIVAD and how nothing worked right with the vehicle at all. Kind of like when the US Army tried out the Roland SAM system on an M109 chassis. Best wishes, Ian
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Paul H
Plastic Connoisseur
Posts: 1,902
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Post by Paul H on Jan 8, 2020 17:12:59 GMT
Ripples in a pond Ian. The Roland system was rushed due to the abject failure of this one. They never really came up with a workable solution until the Avenger(Stinger based) which seems to have been moderately successful to date. However, that is now getting somewhat long in the tooth.
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Post by Robbo on Jan 8, 2020 18:11:07 GMT
What a great looking vehicle, I'm watching for sure
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Post by Boots on Jan 8, 2020 19:22:56 GMT
I remember Mack doing this exact kit Paul and he altered it........somewhere on here should be his thread, just a thought mucker to assist with ideas
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Post by Boots on Jan 8, 2020 19:30:56 GMT
I`ve looked thru the obvious places mate but i can`t find it.........either i`m losing the plot (most likely)....or....it`s somewhere hidden elsewhere (quite possibly)......or.....it`s the Whiskey
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Paul H
Plastic Connoisseur
Posts: 1,902
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Post by Paul H on Jan 8, 2020 20:22:39 GMT
Well if we can't find it I can't be tempted to try.. So Result!
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Post by Boots on Jan 8, 2020 20:36:09 GMT
LMAO
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Post by dukemaddog on Jan 8, 2020 20:58:47 GMT
Paul, this is the only plastic kit of this vehicle in ANY scale. I've been wanting one of these along with an MBT-70 in my scale, but nobody has ever released either one.
Looking forward to seeing more. This is gonna be a fun ride!
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