Jump to content

More Chieftain's Hatchiness


Coldsteel

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 1.2k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

top heavy crazy assed armored car.  The one I worked on had a pretty good sized gun.  Maybe a 40mm?  been a long time.  If you get it in a ditch it is close to falling over...

As far as the Polish re-enactors went I always felt better when the gang from Chicago rolled into a show with that giant, ancient RV.  They were (and probably still are, completely nuts) but you could be sure that the public would get a good show.  At Arcola years ago the US infantry went to ground and wouldn't  advance (public battle, scripted).  I got the Poles to fix bayonets which is a no-no and drive the Germans out of the treeline.  The crowd loved it so much that nothing was said about the bayonets and I think the Germans were secretly impressed as they didn't complain either.  Now keep in mind this was 15 years ago and things were a lot different in those times.  Most of what I did would never be acceptable today but we never left a public crowd that wasn't cheering when the show was over.  Those Arcola IL events were good shows.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey, Tim, remember the NatGeo film crew at the Ft Knox Memorial Day festivities in '04 (I think)?  That was the time I rode gunner with you for one show and we were wired for video...did anything come of the taping?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/19/2020 at 11:22 AM, Manic Moran said:

I'll try to make a detour next time I'm somewhere in the vicinity of either.

Remind me, what's the Humber?

the Humber Mk IV armored car I have been working on for the past 10 years or so.with two friends. Its mostly done, we are down to fiddly work on the gunners controls and sighting system plus one stowage rack and an air compressor line for airing up the tyres.

 

 

It is ex British army, ex Portuguese army. 

 

There’s a photo array over at war wheels. 

http://www.warwheels.net/images/Humber4acVandal (65).jpg

 

Edited by rmgill
Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, Tim the Tank Nut said:

top heavy crazy assed armored car.  The one I worked on had a pretty good sized gun.  Maybe a 40mm?  been a long time.  If you get it in a ditch it is close to falling over...

m6 37mm. and yeah, it is top heavy, its an artifact of the nature of the chassis.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

that program did air as I saw it on TV when it came out.  A lot of it was left on the cutting room floor but there was one part where all three Stuarts are running 25 mph across the field less than one foot apart from each other.  We did a lot of crazy stuff because we were young and fearless.  I look back and shake my head.

One year at Knox the man in charge of the Armor school was my bow gunner.  I told him that in the tank I was in charge.  During the event the tank broke and he was wanting to go watch the battle.  Instead he got ordered to dismount the bow and AA guns (one went on a tripod) and the excess crew covered the tank while repairs were underway.  We did get moving again in time to hit the Germans in the side.  I got some sort of coin in a fancy box for it.  I think he liked the whole experience a lot even if he got yelled at...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Tim the Tank Nut said:

that program did air as I saw it on TV when it came out.  A lot of it was left on the cutting room floor but there was one part where all three Stuarts are running 25 mph across the field less than one foot apart from each other.  We did a lot of crazy stuff because we were young and fearless.  I look back and shake my head.

One year at Knox the man in charge of the Armor school was my bow gunner.  I told him that in the tank I was in charge.  During the event the tank broke and he was wanting to go watch the battle.  Instead he got ordered to dismount the bow and AA guns (one went on a tripod) and the excess crew covered the tank while repairs were underway.  We did get moving again in time to hit the Germans in the side.  I got some sort of coin in a fancy box for it.  I think he liked the whole experience a lot even if he got yelled at...

Is there a link somewhere?  I've tried to find it, without success.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Tim the Tank Nut said:

I've not seen it online.  That's how long ago it has been, lost in time because people were on dial up modems...

That's what I figured.  Still, about all that anyone would see of me would be my right shoulder.

Edited by shep854
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/17/2020 at 2:36 PM, Manic Moran said:

Well, this was a personal trip, not a WG trip, so there's no 'guys' involved in this case. 

First problem is 'cost'. I had to be in PA anyway, so the additional cost of the day's car rental and hotel was more incidental than the cost of a major trip. Normally, if I'm going travelling somewhere, I need to 'bundle' it with a bunch of things, be it a bunch of vehicles in one place, or some other activities while I'm there. Unless it's a really, really, interesting vehicle (Which will get lots and lots of hits on Youtube to make it financially viable), I'm not going to go there for just one or two. And it should be mentioned that Youtube revenue alone is rarely sufficient to cover the cost. Fortunately Patreon covers the majority of the gap. It's slightly less of an issue with WG-funded videos, as they can also pay filming access fees which some places charge, but then it's still got to be reasonable. There are places which charge thousands a day, basically Hollywood rates, which, being responsible with the company's money, I avoid.

Then it's got to be one of the better condition vehicles of its type that I can access. The Rock Island ones were an exception because that was a paid gig. I don't want to do a poor version of a 76mm Sherman just because it's cheap, I'm going to wait until an excellent condition one is easily accessible. "accessible" doesn't only mean affordable to get to, it also means 'can do things with it' such as 'I get to drive them' or 'they get to roll around', something like that.

The next problem is weather/timing. Most tank collections are in large sheds with tin roofs. Make a lot of noise when it rains. It's also a lot easier for me to be mobile with the camera gear when I'm not freezing my ass off because it's Michigan in January and there's no heater. So, it's got to be affordable, good quality, and accessible by way of timing, environment, etc.

Oh, and I now have a list of four or five musea, all outside of the US, which I would love to get to, but am prohibited from traveling to because of COVID restrictions.

As far as the actual subject matter, I take them as they come. I won't necessarily prioritise a Churchill over a CV-33 because the former is more famous or interesting, I actually like the minority ones.

OTOH, I'm pretty sure Colin would let you film in his Churchill if you're ever up in Mass. . .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, RichTO90 said:

I think I'm just going to blame Moran for forcing me to do another re-write to For Purpose of Service Test. The April 1944 Knox report was more interesting than I ever thought it would be so I never pursued a copy of it.

He does have a way of upsetting apple carts.

Edited by shep854
Link to comment
Share on other sites

55 minutes ago, Markus Becker said:

Very nice conversation indeed!  When it comes to the reasoning behind strategic decisions, even as something as apparently simple as, "Send us tanks!", there is always depths of perspective to be plumbed.  Nick, with his Irish gift of gab, makes it fascinating. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...