Valenstitch

I hope my comments didn't come across as critical! The 7.2 should always be run out, fully forward on the cradle, even when travelling. Some Artillery pieces like the American M1,155mm Gun (Long Tom) were designed to allow the barrel to be withdrawn on the cradle to reduce the length of the piece, but not the old 7.2. The Gun No.1 checks the recoil as part of his drill, there is normally a scale like a long steel ruler on the cradle with a sliding indicator, as the gun recoils the bracket or a stop of some sort (different guns will have different systems but they all do the same job) will protrude enough to touch the indicator, if the gun recoils too far it will move the recoil indicator, then everyone stops doing gunnery, gets a brew on and sits with a mug of tea and a fag (cigarette) while they wait for the REME gun fitter to rock up with his bag of spanners! Carry on the good work! Granto

I have one of these in the stash as well, nice to see one being built. I was wondering, did you just do a dry assemble of the 7.2 for photographs? Only the gun is beyond full recoil in the images, with everything working properly and the gun fully run out, it should slide up the cradle, the front bracket should be at the front of the cradle and the breech should be about level with the sight, on the other hand, if you were intending to portray the gun in action at the point of full recoil, the traveling lock (the transverse beam spanning the trail under the cradle) shouldn't be fitted, it is there to lock the cradle in place when the gun is being towed to prevent damage to the traverse and elevation gear. The instructions probably don't point out the exact locations of things or the differences between a gun in action and a gun being towed, most people wouldn't know the difference and that goes for model designers and the person who drew the instructions, only a gunner would know these things! Oh, one other thing, the sights are only fitted when the gun is in action, the rest of the time they are kept in a leather case (I wasn't a gunner, but I did spend almost 20 years as part of a resident demonstration crew at the Royal Armouries Artillery Museum so I can sometimes tell the difference between the safe end and the naughty end of a gun) Granto

That takes me back, we used to see hundreds of these going past the back of our tank park at Fallingbostel on their way from Oerbke lager to the ranges, they always seemed to be well turned out, turret crews only had head and shoulders out of the hatches at most, they looked very professional and I think they still had conscripts then, not like our "Flying circus" which looked like a bunch of Houdini impersonators hanging off all over the shop, half the Squadron with the gun in the clamp because the gun kit was u.s. and the other half spewing oil and coolant out of the back decks like the Exxon Valdez! Happy days, nice Panzer! Granto

Not bad, not bad at all, in fact it`s rather good, it`s that good it`s stirred my Mojo, like a slop jockeys ladle in a "Norgie" of range stew! Granto

That is nice! A very neat job.

Nick Berryman was my mothers cousin, we used to go and stay with Nick and Val at their house called "Sleepy Hollow" at Hill Head on the Solent when I was a young sprog. I remember showing him my model of a Walrus and he said "I`m sure I flew that one" and went and got his log books out and he was right, he had flown it! He had a Large Spitfire model on the mantlepiece which we were not allowed to touch, and being well behaved we didn't, we came down one morning and it was sitting lopsided, a wheel had come off, yet again he went and got his log books and it was the anniversary of one of his prangs. He was very involved with the Tangmere aviation museum up to the end of his life, happy to sit with a glass of wine and talk to anyone about aeroplanes and his time in the RAF. My copy of In the Nick of time is very well thumbed! Granto

Very nice indeed! I remember when 3 Queens received their first Warriors in Fallingbostel and could almost keep up with our Challenger 1`s cross country on Soltau training area, everything was "minging" within minutes just like that! Granto

Nice finish, but it`s flaps down that get you in trouble in a Spitfire, the engine overheats if you are not very careful, what you've got down is both ailerons, potentially a bit more serious, that would indicate the kite has gone unserviceable big time! Granto

Nice work, "Buns" Nakamura`s F15 from Red Storm Rising!

FedEx have been! Very happy with these, obviously lots of common parts with the Daimler AC Mk 1, but lots of stowage and alternative tyres! Cracking! Granto

Gecko 1/35 scale Daimler Mk1, I've had these stashed away since February, I pre-ordered them in December, still don't know why they turned up then? From what I can tell they still haven't been officially released yet, must have been an admin error! I was having a tidy up of my shed due to a "stirring in my Mojo", something like "a disturbance in the force" and came across them in the annex to my stash........ Two turrets in each kit, very curious! It all looks very nice in the box, would be well worth an "unofficial review", but from what I can see thats an admins job on here! But, never the less, very crisp moulding, lovely detail interior, etch, the full Monty! I was going to convert one to a SOD, but then they announced they were releasing that as well, so I pre ordered a brace of them from emodels which according to the email are arriving on Monday! Happy Days! Granto

A few more jobs to strike off the list of things to do on the Big Old Girl! I started pottering around this morning and before I really thought about it I had fitted the main armament. I had been putting this off for ages, because once it`s in thats it as far as the internals go. That's it, done, It`s now fixed in place, forever! Just the radio sets to slip in now! The mantlet cover in the kit is a nasty DS rubber thing, so that went in the bin and I have started a milliput replacement. Next weekend I can add creases and seams and so forth to the basic infill, it will also help to hold the weight of the aluminium aftermarket gun barrel. The glacis plate will get some texture as well, not too much, I don't want to hide the weld lines I did at the outset. Before I fit the bins on the track guards I need to make a bracket to support the drivers hatch when it is open and I also need to make the external handles for the internal fire extinguisher system. There are four spare track links which are stowed on the track guards, on the actual vehicle they are held in place with two long bolts that go through the link with a plate on the end held with a nut, so I started fabrication of them and for good measure I drilled out the holes for the track pins. So all in the Win column today so far! Ta for lookin` no G Granto

Some more fots! Dry fit of the turret and hull top with the turntable fitted and the FCT interior dropped in as well! Gunners safety shield visible through the hatch, also .30 cal stowage for the FCT and CoAx. Gunners sight and rangefinder visible, and part of the Mollins gear. Turret turntable visible in this one! The breach of the 120mm will fill this void completely! Radios! These sit on top of the .30 cal stowage rack visible in the previous image through the FCT opening. FCT dropped in FCT interior again and a nice view of the Gunners shield! Even the Operators step is visible in this image through the top of the gunners safety shield! I`m Happy with that!!! Right more shed!

Just a quick update before I head off down to the shed for what I hope will be a leisurely morning of plastic based fun since the "Leg Iron" is off to visit her Granddaughter! Earlier in the week I got a shot of clear on top of the silver in the fighting compartment. Yesterday II went to work with the Flory!! I also fitted the Gunners safety shield, this was designed to prevent him being "Scoffed by the Recoil Monster" during moments of heightened excitement! The Operator also had to keep his wits about him because the "Recoil Monster" and the "Traverse Monster" could be reasonably indiscriminate! I know from personal experience what a Hohne Battle run is like from the inside! As far as the Gunner is concerned this is the safe side of the Gunners safety shield, despite the size of Conqueror, the crew positions were cramped. There are just two sub assemblies to be fitted on the Turret turntable now, GCE and ready round bracket. Hopefully I can get the hull buttoned up today and hide all this for ever! Ta for lookin` no G Granto

I couldn't resist a dry fit of the turret bits and removal of the masking tape........................... Turret basket in, guide roller nicely in contact Masking tape off! Gunners seat in place............. Gun control equipment in place............... 7 round stowage on the turntable, clips still to go on.................... Coming together nicely now! Ta for lookin` no G Granto