Post on 18-Aug-2018
I think if they had even
built it, that in itself would
have been a major engi-
neering achievement,
much less getting it to
move!
Mmmm—it seems as if
my cunning ploy from last
month (that’s my opinion
and I’m sticking to it!)
worked, ie to not mention
in my last editorial all the
WW1 kits released and
planned.
It may not have been in-
tentional, but it was effec-
tive—Charlie came up
with EIGHT pages as a
result.
What a pity that the win-
ners of the door prize for
the last four months aren’t
as cooperative.
There has been an inter-
esting thread running for
some time on Armorama
about a guy who’s build-
ing a 1/35 model of the
Landkreuzer P1000 Ratte
(see photo below). I ad-
mire his dedication, but
the size of the beast is
awesome. In the pic be-
low, the three smaller
tanks are “Maus”s!
The main armament was
proposed to be two 28cm
guns along with numerous
smaller weapons.
Editorial (aka Rob’s Rantings)
7 February 2015
Volume 11, Issue 2
AMMS Brisbane News
Inside this issue:
David’s Drivel 2
Recent WW1 Releases 3-
10
Hummel reference 11
Odds & Sods 12
50 Shades of Grey 13
.
Right—there is no such
thing as too much dirt on
wheels and tracks. This
Centurion had been run-
ning on damp grassy
ground down near Tam-
borine for about 20
minutes. Interesting to
note not only how much
dirt and grass, but where
it’s been deposited.
David’s Drivel
Page 2
AMMS Brisbane News Volume 11, Issue 2
Hello fellow tread heads! After quite some time imitating a headless chook- I've finally found five minutes to pen a few words (please note: I make no claim to those words having any wisdom attached) and, whilst I'm quite sure no one has missed reading them I can't say the same, having missed the last three or four meetings due to unavoidable family commitments I find my-self this morning, a lovely Friday 30/01/2025 sitting with my feet on the dash of the semi, drinking a cuppa while I wait patiently for my allocated loading slot at a freight distribu-tion depot in Acacia Ridge contemplating my navel and thinking over recent events that have affected me and those around me. By now I'm sure you’re all well aware of Jum-bo's situation, and perhaps even a few of you will be aware that sadly John King's wife passed away on New Year's Day? I won't dwell on either issue here except to inform you that on behalf of everyone in-volved with AMMS I passed on our thoughts and best wishes to both families. This morning at some ungodly hour I sent a couple of email replies to Brad discussing AMMS' level for the 2015 QMHE sponsorship and a preferred meeting date for Firestorm Models to attend an AMMS meeting (as well as a link to the "Prime Portal" site for the Nurenberg new release pages) then, I proceeded to drive to Brisbane and during that transit I pondered my absence from AMMS and how I felt about that - having reached no firm decision about my "self" imposed sabbatical I decided I'd simply make time this morning and write and see where it took me. So, where is all this preamble going? Dear reader I have NO idea either! I've looked back through my emails and SMS texts from the last few months and I find that there's more AMMS and other model related commu-nication than perhaps I'd first thought - I was, on and off, considering that I'd not get back to AMMS and that I should perhaps officially sever all ties so that AMMS could ap-point new people to assist with running the show. My life seemed to have taken several huge leaps in directions that are (still) preventing me from attending meetings and I was getting quite frustrated with the situation, finally after thinking about other people’s situations and comparing them to my own I find I should stop feeling so pressured to attend meetings, simply take the emails and texts as my model fix and enjoy them for what they are - continuation of the AMMS group but thru a different medium. After all, I still model, albeit not at the same rate as in previous years but I do still find time to sit at my desk (or, a hotel/motel desk!) and make models. The requirement for people to assist running AMMS having long been sorted. I've said it before, AMMS is big enough that long after those that founded it have stepped aside or moved in other directions AMMS will continue to flourish. And it has. So... Perhaps this "IS" a severance of sorts? I know my time is limited insomuch as I can't be 100% sure I'll get something written for the magazine or indeed be able to attend any AMMS meetings with any degree of regu-larity for the foreseeable future, that's not to say my level of commitment isn't there, I have always been, and always will be 110% committed to AMMS- it's just that my body won't be. So, whilst this won't be the last thing I write for the magazine, it will be the last "drivel" I write for the magazine. I will continue to do behind the scene tasks as they present themselves but I may not be as regular with my attendance as I have been over the last 10 or so years. And, with that, I'll sign off now, and let you get into the real meat of the magazine. Thank you all, it's been fun. Enjoy. Regards, David.
Last month our esteemed editor made the comment that there hadn't been many signif-icant new release models in 2014. Perhaps if one's model filter is set at later than 1939 this may be true but 2014 was the year the mainstream companies discovered World War 1. Let's do a quick survey of what's been released and what's been promised.
Takom
Saint-Chamond - early type with flat roof and Rimailho gun
Saint-Chamond - late type with sloping roof and Mle 1897 gun
Continued on Page 4
Some Recent WW1 Releases (thanks Charlie)
Page 3
Volume 11, Issue 2 AMMS Brisbane News
Renault FT (1/16 scale) Mitrailleur/Girod (cast) turret
Renault FT (1/16 scale) Canon/Girod (cast) turret
Continued on Page 5
Some Recent WW1 Releases (Cont’d from Page 3)
Page 4
AMMS Brisbane News Volume 11, Issue 2
Mark IV Male
Mark IV Female
Continued on Page 6
Some Recent WW1Releases (Cont’d from Page 4)
Page 5
Volume 11, Issue 2 AMMS Brisbane News
Some Recent WW1 Releases (Cont’d
from Page 5)
Page 6
AMMS Brisbane News Volume 11, Issue 2
Mark IV Tadpole - this was never deployed although a number of sets of tadpole exten-sions were manufactured and sent to France.
Skoda 30.5cm M1916 Howitzer - Takom says it's WW2 but it's identical with the howitzer
deployed in WW1.
Continued on Page 7
Some Recent WW1 Releases (Cont’d from Page 6)
Page 7
Volume 11, Issue 2 AMMS Brisbane News
Hobbyboss
Schneider CA1 - the suspension is poorly modelled.
Tamiya
Mark IV Male - Motorised
Continued on Page 8
Some Recent WW1 Releases (Cont’d
from Page 7)
Page 8
AMMS Brisbane News Volume 11, Issue 2
Meng
Renault FT - Girod (cast) turret
Renault FT - Berliet (riveted) turret
Continued on Page 8
Some Recent WW1 Releases (Cont’d from Page 8)
Page 9
Volume 11, Issue 2 AMMS Brisbane News
FCM Char 2C - Design started before the end of WW1 although the tanks weren't delivered until 1921.
A7V - Represents one of the 5 A7Vs built with Krupp armour plate (i.e. not #506 Mephisto)
Continued on Page 10
Some Recent WW1 Releases (Cont’d from P9)
Page 10
AMMS Brisbane News Volume 11, Issue 2
And some comments on manufacturers who can't be bothered to get the names right.
The tank manufactured by the Forges et Aciéries da la Marine et d'Homécourt (FAMH)in the town of Saint-Chamond should not have it's name shortened - the name is a French placename and the French convention is to hyphenate the words without contracting the "Saint".
The light tank designed by Renault is known as the "FT" - adding numbers after this is just weird bullshit dreamed up by English speaking authors. All WW1 Renault vehicles were known by a two letter code such as the "EG" - a 4wd truck, "FB" - a tracked artillery portee.
Hobbyboss even got the Schneider tank name wrong - they refer to it as a "CA" - not so - Schneider used a two letter system like Renault but the letters referred to a family of de-signs - there were 3 in the CA series - CA1 - the tank, CA2 - armoured artillery spotting vehicle, CA3 - modified and improved CA1.
So what's left of WW1 armour - surprisingly quite a lot - here's a list.
Mark I & II tanks
Mark V tanks - used in the final 100 days campaign and in Russia
Mark V*, and Mark V** - lengthened tanks to handle the wider trenches of the Hinden-berg line.
Mark IX - first APC - only a few built before the end of WW1.
Mark VIII - used by the US Army into the 1930s.
Gun Carrier Mark I - arguably the first SPG
Medium Mark A - there is an Emhar kit of this but a modern kit would be nice
Medium Mark B - not very successful some sent to Russia after WW1
Medium Mark C
Saint-Chamond SPGs - two vehicle SPGs with 194mm guns and 280mm howitzers - used in WW2.
Schneider SPG - Schneider's own design with a 220mm gun.
German LK II - used by the Swedish Army and the Hungarian Police between the wars.
Hummel Builders Reference (thanks Graham Moore)
Page 11
Volume 11, Issue 2 AMMS Brisbane News
.
For those of you who would like to build a Hummel at some stage, and may like to
add a little more detail to their model, here’s a close up of the rear spare
roadwheel set-up – note, the wheel hubs are BARE – not with the bearing cap on!
It looks like a red oxide finish on the inside of the hub & a shiny ring where the
outer bearing would sit. Whether the twisted “rio” rod wheel brackets are original I
am unable to tell, They may well be post-restoration.
Also note the tatty appearance of the tread….
And here’s the Sighting/aiming poles….nice for some colour too.
Odds and Sods
Page 14
AMMS Brisbane News Volume 11, Issue 2
A group of German officers from the 2nd Guards Infantry Brigade in 1910 preparing for
an egg and spoon race.(and they wonder why they lost WW1?) Thanks Graham
Above—this one is from Dave Scorer. Apparently it’s described as a “monitor” - anybody
have any further information?
Meets first Saturday of every month at
Loganlea Community Centre, Timms Street,
Loganlea, between 11:30am and 4:00pm
Contributions to the newsletter are always
welcome. Please email contributions to the
editor at gncw@bigpond.com
A M M S B R I S B A N E
Life of a Modeller (Thanks Airfix Jones)
AMMS Brisbane is on
the Web at
www.ammsbrisbane.co
Above—this one is from Chris Bond, and proves that there is no such thing as standard Field Grey!