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Jakko’s Sherman BARV

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You don’t know how close you are :smiling3:



The REME museum’s archivist, Celia Cassingham, replied to tell me they’ve had that question before and helpfully provided that scan and a link to a page on their web site that also includes the scan above.

This, I think, also explains the oval ring at the front of the left catwalk (that is still missing from my model): that must be a guide for the cable going to the 6-pounder recoil mechanism.

Bovington also got back to me, saying they think they know what bit I mean but asking me to send a photo to make sure, which of course I did. With a bit of luck they will be able to confirm or even explain some more about it.
Some positive responses there Jakko.
 
I was closer than you think….i read their page on the BARV but never found the page with the explanation…..
So it was used to take the “jerk” out of a light tow then…..makes absolute sense when you know…..
 
Thread owner
It’s one of those things that make sense once you know, but working it out has proved … difficult :)
 
Thread owner
With thanks to another modeller, I now have a 6-pounder recoil cylinder from a built Italeri kit that he was happy to take apart:

View attachment 516032

However, something is off somewhere. Compare these two photos:

6267274_orig.jpg


View attachment 516033

That’s an Italeri part with the end cut off where the one on the real vehicle is too, placed in position on the hull side so that its front is approximately where it was on the real one. But the real one ends at the lid you can see on the deck under the catwalk, which is about 25 mm on the model. The Italeri part, though, is 39 mm long … What’s more, you can see that the Italeri part is thick enough that it only just fits under the catwalk, while the real one has plenty of room.

I don’t know what is off here, but it doesn’t seem to be the height of the catwalk (the supports for it are, though, compared to the real one). Did later 6-pounder guns have longer and thicker recoil cylinders than the early ones? Or did Italeri make the part something like 50% oversize?
 
The catwalk on your kit is certainly shorter than the photo above, the part bay, that goes out over the hull top, is missing and the vertical Stanton spacing appears wrong. However, I’d say the Italeri part also looks well oversized. Perhaps it’s closer to 1/32 than 1/35……
 
All is now clear. I have enjoyed following people's thoughts. Rather like a story in installments - impatient for the next post :smiling3:
Well done Tim - you win the prize :thumb2:
 
Thread owner
I figured out what the problem is. It’s not a 6-pounder recoil cylinder, but:—

View attachment 516035View attachment 516036
(source)

… from a 2-pounder :( The 6-pounder one looks like they simply enlarged the design. I was wrong-footed by someone on Missing-Lynx calling it a 6-pounder one, and then the REME museum’s report extract does too. Or maybe they did test it with a 6-pounder one, but used 2-pounder parts for the production vehicles because those entire guns were surplus to requirements?
 
Thread owner
Finally made a start on this tonight :) Here is my current effort in grey and white, together with the previous one in green and white:

View attachment 516349

The reason they look rather different is because the original one’s dimensions were estimated from some of the BARV photos, while the second attempt is based on dimensions kindly taken for me from a real 2-pounder gun by Graeme Stephens.

The base is a length of 3 mm diameter sprue, 31.5 mm long including the domed end (I found a piece with that, so I didn’t have to file it myself), to which I glued a 24 mm length of 3.2 × 1 mm strip. The gap between the strip and sprue was then filled with some 1.5 × 0.25 mm strip, while the left band is 0.25 mm card, 4.5 mm wide and glued against the edge, and the other band is 0.13 mm card, 3.5 mm wide, glued 8 mm in from the edge. I glued 0.25 × 0.5 mm strip around the end to form the edge of the end cap, and also two pieces of that over the second band. Oh, and a 2 mm punched disc on the flat end.

It still needs the smaller detail added, as well as the lugs that the cable could be attached to, but I’ll let this dry first. For now, here it is temporarily in place on the model, because I wanted to see how it looks there:

View attachment 516350
 
Hi Jakko
Excellent detective work on the 2 pounder recoil part. A really interesting detail which you’ve replicated well.
The BARV is progressing nicely. I’m looking forward to the finished model

ATB
Paul
 
The mystery is solved. Well done. Actually it makes perfect sense. The scratched part looks good.
 
Thread owner
Thanks. I suddenly had the inspiration to ask on a forum for people who own and restore the real thing rather than build models of it, and it looks like I was lucky that someone there actually has a 2-pounder stripped apart at the moment :)
 
Thread owner
It’s finished (finally :) ) after I put in some effort tonight:

View attachment 516386View attachment 516387

The thingies on the rounded cap are plastic strip and rod plus punched discs and hexagons of various sizes, the clasp-type thing on the other end is 0.5 mm plastic card with0.88 mm rod for the pin, and I made the scars where the trunnions were cut off with a torch by applying some putty that I textured with a pointed tool.
 
Obviously a great deal of effort both in making and researching that tiny part - reflected in the end result. Brilliant scratchery in action.
 
Thread owner
Thanks, guys :) And to think I thought I wouldn’t need to do much research on this vehicle, just build it straight from the box and we’re good …
 
Thread owner
Last addition before continuing with the paintwork:

View attachment 516441

Simply bent from copper wire and glued in place, then painted grey to match the rest of the model. After that, I got out the airbrush and first sprayed Tamiya XF-81 on the new additions (the mesh behind the bumper and the recoil cylinder, which is still separate), and then lighter grey made by mixing XF-1 flat white into it, on all of the panels etc. No picture of that, though, because I doubt it will show up well in a photo.
 
That recoil cylinder is a superb bit of scratch building Jakko. A small part of the model as a whole but most puzzling and probably very, very satisfying to get done.
 
Thread owner
Thanks :) I would have preferred to take it from a kit to save myself a lot of effort, but the only real choice is the Vulcan one that’s hard to find, expensive, and unbuildable if you take these bits out. So scratchbuilding it had to be …
 
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