Takom FV432 converted to a FV436 Command Post

[robgizlu]

On 7/31/2020 at 9:59 PM, Courageous said:

You're getting closer to a 432 of your own Rob, you know you want to .

 

Stuart

I do 

 

 

Though on a slightly sour note, these are getting really hard to come by and the UK distributor "Pocketbond" lists it as "discontinued" 

Rob

[Dads203]

16 minutes ago, robgizlu said:

 

 

Though on a slightly sour note, these are getting really hard to come by and the UK distributor "Pocketbond" lists it as "discontinued" 

Rob

I know Rob, I'm gutted, I was going to get another one and model it as RRB 21A that I crewed, a more simple conversion as its a basic 432.

Hoping that they will bring it back in the future. I did see one on Amazon a few months ago for £145, nice kit but not that nice !! 

 

 

Dan  

[ivan-o]

 that’s my Mk3 going out the window then😡

[Dads203]

The roof is now starting to look busy now, the SRBB is almost done, this took a while to fit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Its a slightly larger box than the other side with cut outs for the penthouse fitting kit bars to go through, handles and bolts are next up for both.

 

 

Regards

 

Dan 

[viper-30]

Excellent work mate.. rather glad I picked up several of these kits 

[simmerit]

I’ve not got over 145 sheets for one of these.  I’m going to have to lie down for at least three days

[Courageous]

Nice work there Dan.

If you guys @robgizlu @Dads203 @ivan-o are itching for '432's', you can test your eyesight on a 1/72 option by S&M  

 

Stuart

[Dads203]

On 03/08/2020 at 12:42, Courageous said:

Nice work there Dan.

If you guys @robgizlu @Dads203 @ivan-o are itching for '432's', you can test your eyesight on a 1/72 option by S&M  

 

Stuart

Cheers Stuart,

 

You might like a bash at the Team Yankee range then fella as you are on a micro modelling bash  

 

https://jancotoys.com/fv432-or-swingfire-troop.html

 

A bit pricey though, cost just a bit less than the Takom kit when you could buy it. 

[Courageous]

46 minutes ago, Dads203 said:

A bit pricey though

It is a set of 5, so £6 each. I'm pretty sure they are 1/100 (15mm) as I already have a WW2 German force. Those 432's look like they'd be made up of a hull, tracks, MG and a figure. Think I'll stick with S&M for future stuff thanks.

 

Stuart

[Hewy]

Hello dan ,another masterpiece underway ,great work👍

[Hamden]

 

If anyone is interested @ivan-o Bovington Tank Museum shop list this one https://tankmuseumshop.org/collections/scale-model-kits/products/takom-fv432-mk-3-bulldog 

 

       Roger

[so3295]

I recently bought two of the Takom FV432 kits from the Mig online site in Spain, they arrived within a few days, they were still listing them as available at the weekend.

[ivan-o]

8 hours ago, Hamden said:

 

If anyone is interested @ivan-o Bovington Tank Museum shop list this one https://tankmuseumshop.org/collections/scale-model-kits/products/takom-fv432-mk-3-bulldog 

 

       Roger

Mk3 back on😀 managed to source a 2/1 from the Ukraine of all places! Ordered last night shipped today reasonably priced as well.

 

Ivan

[Dads203]

Good that they are still floating about for the time being. I must confess that I have the accurate Armour kit in the stash 

 

So I've managed to knock up one of the VHF armoured antenna bases, I have another 2 more to make, these are again just sheet plastic card.

The coax cap was carefully removed from the kits roof and added to the side of the base. Dspiae side cutters are so precise and accurate.

 

 

 

 

 

More later folks 

 

Dan 

[Acky190]

Looking really good there mate! I've got this kit and I bought it with every intention of turning it into a 439 Ptarmigan Radio Relay detachment to mirror the det I had on flick at 3DSR in Bulford nearly 20 years ago now. Someone did make a conversion set but at over £90 I couldn't justify it. I'm still based in Blandford although with a blue beret now but I keep telling myself to go down to the 439 outside the Corps museum and measure it up before we leave. Keep the updates coming mate, I'm enjoying watching this unfold. 

[Dads203]

26 minutes ago, Acky190 said:

Looking really good there mate! I've got this kit and I bought it with every intention of turning it into a 439 Ptarmigan Radio Relay detachment to mirror the det I had on flick at 3DSR in Bulford nearly 20 years ago now. Someone did make a conversion set but at over £90 I couldn't justify it. I'm still based in Blandford although with a blue beret now but I keep telling myself to go down to the 439 outside the Corps museum and measure it up before we leave. Keep the updates coming mate, I'm enjoying watching this unfold. 

Cheers Acky, I was at 206 back in 92 when we did the unit move back to Bulford from Soest, I was due posting at the time 6 Armd Bde was disbanded so they decided just to keep me in the Sqn and class it as a fresh posting.  Sunny Bulford  3UK ADSR ... 

 

Have a chat with Wogga, he’s done a 439 conversion and it’s fantastic, he’s got a WIP up in the Armour section. 

[Acky190]

7 minutes ago, Dads203 said:

Cheers Acky, I was at 206 back in 92 when we did the unit move back to Bulford from Soest, I was due posting at the time 6 Armd Bde was disbanded so they decided just to keep me in the Sqn and class it as a fresh posting.  Sunny Bulford  3UK ADSR ... 

 

Have a chat with Wogga, he’s done a 439 conversion and it’s fantastic, he’s got a WIP up in the Armour section. 

Thanks for the heads up mate I'll go and have a butchers! I was 202 which was at the time the only armoured Sqn in the Regiment. Bulford had a really bad reputation at the time as a bit of a departure lounge for the Corps but I really enjoyed it, I was a Bulford orphan though at weekends and a fully paid up member of the Stickys appreciation society and the Salisbury all day sesh brigade via the Kiwi ovs! 

[Dads203]

18 minutes ago, Acky190 said:

Thanks for the heads up mate I'll go and have a butchers! I was 202 which was at the time the only armoured Sqn in the Regiment. Bulford had a really bad reputation at the time as a bit of a departure lounge for the Corps but I really enjoyed it, I was a Bulford orphan though at weekends and a fully paid up member of the Stickys appreciation society and the Salisbury all day sesh brigade via the Kiwi ovs! 

It wasn’t the best when I was there fella TBH, 206 6Armd Bde in Soest was one of best postings I had in my 12 years but the amalgamation after the disbandment To 3 ADSR turned it in to a joke. The BS was unbelievable in the Sqn and lead to lots leaving the corps early. Sticky’s and the Kiwi, that brings back memories, they did their best in Sqn stress relief that’s for sure. 

For the uninitiated:- 

 

Sticky’s was a bar in Amesbury, not the real name but it’s nickname referenced the state of the carpet. The Kiwi was a pub on the Bulford garrison, walking distance from the various barracks, many a pay cheque invested in the brewing arts took place in this establishment.

[PlaStix]

Hi Dan. Looks like you have been making excellent progress! Superb detail modelling.

Kind regards,

Stix

[Dads203]

Cheers chaps,  Not much bench action this week and very limited time to do anything.

I have managed the HF armoured coax box next to the HF antenna base. I've also removed the NBC inlet 

vent which is for the MK2/1 version. The MK 2 had this on the underside of the box that part of the SMM conversion so the kit vent is surplus and need not to be fitted or removed. 

 

The holes were filled with plastic rod, in the pictures you can see these. they will get trimmed flush and sanded back. I still need to build another VHF armoured box for the rear

and then think about the cage and penthouse kit, essentially that is the 436 almost complete for the exterior.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy 

 

Dan 

[Hamden]

 

More fine detail added Dan, superb engineering as always!

 

          Roger

[Bullbasket]

Neat work Dan. It's interesting to follow this as I think that if I'd have stayed in. these would have been my vehicles. I don't know what the terminology was in your time, but we were known as Comcen Ops, and our mounts were Bedford RLs, fitted with signals bodies (the type with a coffin over the cab). So keep going Dan, and I'll learn what might have been.

 

John.

[Dads203]

5 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

Neat work Dan. It's interesting to follow this as I think that if I'd have stayed in. these would have been my vehicles. I don't know what the terminology was in your time, but we were known as Comcen Ops, and our mounts were Bedford RLs, fitted with signals bodies (the type with a coffin over the cab). So keep going Dan, and I'll learn what might have been.

 

John.

Cheers John, During my time working Div and Brigade armoured HQs we always had 2 identical HQ’s, Main and Step up or Forward, these were broken down into complexes and named Diamonds. Diamond one was the main Complex which had up to 10-436 wagons all backed onto a large tent (BFOT), you can all work out what the acronym stands for...Big #### Off Tent. Each 43 was assigned a job and we used the G prefix to identify them, very complicated to the initiated and my memory is a little hazy but they were like this, the main cells only  :-

 

G1  Man power 

G2  intelligence 

G3 Planning

G3 Operations 

G4 logistics 

Aviation

Engineering 

Medical 

EW

 

At brigade level we also had a FV511 Warrior command vehicle for the Brigade commanders TAC vehicle. 

Non armoured brigades and divisions used land rovers but using the same principles. 
 

G3 had two 436’s one for battle planning and one for battle operations. The GOC or brigade commander floated between the two 436’s, these were the main wagons and always busy, only the best operators and crew were assigned to these for obvious reasons. It could make or break a young soldiers career on these two wagons. 
 

Diamond Two was the main coms management complex which had the SASmc, Coms Ops and Radcon. These guys provided Ptarimgan and Radio management for the main HQ, this was the home to the SSM, Yeoman and foreman of signals.

 

The other Diamonds were assigned to the ED’s , Techs, Cookhouse and Staff Sleeps areas, again my memory is little hazy on the Diamond numbers. 
We normally slept on the roof of the wagon as to be close to all the kit, lots of stuff that had to be accounted for regularly. 
 

The above is for one HQ, there was another squadron who also mirrored the above, one HQ was working and one was moving or swinging as we called it. At Brigade level we moved every 4- 6 hours at Div level we moved every day, no easy task as when the staff were in and working there could be several hundred people in and around the HQ. 
 

Hard work indeed. 

 

[Bullbasket]

Thanks for the explanation Dan. I'm afraid that our set up was a little more simplistic. Our squadron consisted of two troops, Charlie 1 and 2, both being comcen troops with the concentre (the Bedford) as well as two or three Austin K7 radio relay trucks. Memory fades a little with regards to the wider set up (it was more than 50 years ago), but if I remember, 2 sqn was the radio squadron, made up of Pigs and Saracens. On exercise, we usually moved every couple of days, but sometimes we would do an exercise where we remained in the one position for the entire time. On one of those, we were in a farm yard, with all of the vehicles cammed up against the buildings. It was great because it meant that we got to sleep in a really comfortable place.........a hay loft above a pig sty! Bliss. Even the grunting didn't keep me awake.

 

John. 

[Dads203]

Our Radio relays were always remoted away from the main HQ complexes on high ground most of the time. We hardly saw the relay ops on exercise, they were on the whole left alone and were away from the BS that we had to put up with in Diamond 1. 
The real cushty number to have was On a VHF RRB det, Radio rebroadcast. They would deploy up to 15 -20 Kms  away from the main HQ, again in a armoured unit these were vanilla 432’s with no Ptarmigan capability, they were always 3-4 man dets and moved every day mainly into Forrest areas on high ground. If you did your job well then you were left alone. They carried four secure VHF sets and the IBRRU unit that allowed you to extend the range 2 Radio nets. I loved working on the RRBs, one of the best jobs in the Corps.