Måkjager

I remember browsing a magazing " Military Modelcraft International" last year which had as photo of the test vehicle... looked a bit like a cross between the Warrior IFV and FV 432 APC. The article went on to say that the benefits of the plastic armour vs aluminum armour was an increase protection level of between 8% to 15% for the same thickness level of the Aluminum plate, reduced wieght of vehicle , increased speed , or the option of adding more plastic armour and increased levels of protection without a noticable increase in the overall weight. There was also an article in the Sunday Times 2 years ago reporting the same technology and their ( Alvis/ DERA )experimental research in providing the vehicle with a "boost pack" to allow it to jump anti tank obstacles....i know it sounds Jame's Bondish . It will be interesting to see if this armour technology appears in the US Army 's FCS . Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

Cavguy , would i be right in repeating what( i think ) you are saying. The LAV is an interim solution until replaced by the FCS some time in the future. The FCS when it come's online will replace the M1 type in service with all Brigades. Until then the LAV will give the US Army the capability to place an armoured force quickly on the ground, whilst still retaining a Heavy Tank force capability with the M1s. This FCS will be lighter armoured vehicle than the M1 because the defensive technologies allow it to operate in the same/similar envoiriment. The value of this lighter vehicle with improved surviability being that the US forces are not resticted by lack of battlefield mobility due to poor local infrastructure. The end result being a hi-tech tank with the ability to be placed in theater quickly with the offensive and defensive systems to operate effectively and provide the maximum possible protection to the crew . Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

I think that there are several factor's at play in the choice of the LAV vs a tracked vehicle. Strategic mobility and reaction time. We have all seen the effects of a conflicts such as has happened in recent years..Bosnia , Kuwait etc. Have the politicans decided that they need a Rapid Reaction Force that can be placed in area's of potential future conflict quickly, and hence give pause for thought to the hostile intentions of the aggressor......we are on the ground now...mess with us and our Bigger Brother will sort you out.( ie the HT Brigades) A bit like prevention is better ( and cheaper) than the cure. Lower maintance and purchase cost for a fleet of wheeled vehicles compared to the tracked class. Inter-operability. Currently a buzz word floating around but a fact for future peace keeping / enforcement / prevention operations. The LAV isd based on the Mowag Piranha III which is in service with the US Marines , the Canadian , Australian , NZ ? , Saudi , Danish , Swedish , Chilean , Swiss and Irish defence forces amongst others. By chosing a vehicle that shares parts with other end users the task of supplying the Operational Forces becomes easier if there is a standard to comply with. The logistic tail is smaller as you mb do not need the large tank transporters to save the milage on the M1/M2 As for the MGS ... when i seen the first pix last week i went wow but having thought about it mb the Army would have been better off having that automatic 75mm gun that they developed back in the early 80s instead of the 105. I think again that the inclusion of the 105mm gun is to give pause for thought to the "enemy" rather that actually fight him ( against MBTs anyway).The best means of engaging a tank is another tank unless you have swarms of Apache's For the future there is more likely to be more conflicts happening in urban terrian as the worlds population and towns and cities grow. The ability of the MBT and heavy IFV to operate to their maximum will be degraded as the close nature of cities negates the effectivness of their long weapon range coupled with the fact that an urban setting crawling with hostiles armed with AT weapons will not be a nice place for any AFV. Regards Måkjager

I counted at least 4 fired from an Elite JgPz IV one time. Nasty surprise for the grunts around the vehicle. Regards Måkjager

Nice work bf33 Keep up the good work. Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

You may also wnat to check out "Order of Battle" Waffen SS Panzer Units in Normandy 1944. by M .Wood & J.Dugdale ISBN 0-952886-70-7 This cover's the complete TOE of the 1st , 2nd 9th , 10th , 12th WSS Pz Divisions as well as the 17 GvBPzG Div , 1.SS PZ Korps , SS sPz Abt 101 , 102 and the 26 SS & 27 SS Pz Divs. Very good book. Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

Anybody notice the div roundal/sign on the side of the Kettenkraftrad on the bridge in the town. Looks to me like the sign of the Hermann Göering Div ....as far as i know that unit did not fight in France...unless of course it belonged to the Div Training/Replacement unit ??? Any idea's ??? Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

The hardest thing to do over 50 years since the end of the war is to try and determine what exactly a colour looks like from b&w photos.The quality of the film plus the natural weathering effects of combat and nature make it all the more difficult to make an exact call. I tried a wee experiment recently with a few pix ( on the back of the Panther Dazzle cammo scheme thread). In that thread there was a line of thought that the base colour was grey over painted with stripes of whitewash. I have a colour plate of the same vehicle in which the base is dunkel-gelb. I added a hard edge 3 tone scheme to a vehicle and the some white over some of the cammo. I then converted it into a b&w pix. Looking at the converted pix , the area which had been green was now a darker shade of grey...the dark yellow was ( doh ) also a grey shade. With the effect of weathering it is conceivable that the dark yellow would appear as a "grey" ..the darkness of which would be dependent upon the level of weathering. It was also true that towards the end of the war there was a directive for the major armour plate manufacture's to paint the plates dark green before shipment to the AFV factories.....which may appear dark grey in b&b photos. I remember a conversation with Hilary Doyle some years back in which he said that there was a reassement going on weather or not the Geramns fielded Pz s during Operation Barbarossa which sported a 3 tone scheme of Panzer Grey ,Bruin and Grun. This reassement he as doing was due to closer inspections of early war photos in his possesion , in which the "cammo" is very faint due to the effects of combat and the weather, and the fact that the 3 colours are "dark" when viewed as b&w photos. Many of us modeller's and modders are dependent upon " artist's impressions" for the final look of a vehicle , and like all things in life it is a matter of opinion and personal taste....that is not to deny that there were standards to be complied with , but we all know that at times standards can slip Short of going back in time with a digi cam to bring back conclusive proof this discussion in regards to the "correct" shade of paint will rumble on and on .... ps Tiger ( john ) ...that sure is a nice putty cat ye have there Keep up the good work...it is appreciated Regards Måkjager " history is made at night....with the aid of a flashlight and some marshmellows" ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Måkjager: Goofy...look in the Tamiya section..it should be there....mb us the search feature stating -CD-ROM in the Tamiya section. Ok Goof...rooted out the Part number for u . TATIGER1 price £28.50 Sterling Regards Måkjager <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

Goofy...look in the Tamiya section..it should be there....mb us the search feature stating -CD-ROM in the Tamiya section. Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

And what a pleasent surprise was waiting for me when i got home tonight. Yep ...Absolute , Air , Land & Sea cd-rom covering the TIGER 1. I nearly had a nervo when i opened the box to find the cd staring at me. First impression's are good , it covers a lot of topics , short unit histories , tank development , camoflage schemes, 17 colour prints , ammunition details, scale plans ,cutaways, combat footage , cool internal"virtual cam' 360º views of the turret and external views of the Samur Tiger , Bovington Tiger turret , weapons data, manuals , uniforms( only covers the WSS Pea's pattern , eyewitness account of the gunner who shot up Wittman and several other Tigers in August 1944 Two things that caught my attention was 1. About 15 secs of film of M.Wittman in a Tiger in Normandy 2. A graphic animation of the several formations that the Tigers used for movement and battle drills. All in all recommended for Big Cat fans. Can't wait for their M4 Sherman and T-34 cds to arrive in stock. Regards Måkjager ps i got it from http://www.hannants.co.uk ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

and when you are working...make sure you take a lot of breaks.....rest those arms and wrists often( no smart smutty comment need to be made .Only saying this because i made that mistake and am now paying for it with pain.....so no new mods from me till i get better Do not be disappointed with your first effort..everybody has to start somewhere. Dont be afraid to try something new , and try and get a second opinion if you can. Most important ...have fun and enjoy the modding. Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

Great work Matt and Mike Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

Now now Maximus be nice , have ye not heard of that old saying " A Mac a day keeps the doctor away" Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

Very nice and well laid out site Manx. Keep up the good work as it is appreciated Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

Hello Bozza and welcome to the CM community. As for you hopes of building new units....i have to break your heart and say it is not possible as all the vehicles and units in the game are hard coded ( did i say that right ? ). The only thing that can be modded is the .bmps , this consists of changing the colours of the bmps , to give the vehicles and infantry units new colour schemes. Hope this can help ye some . Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

Thanks for the warning CDIC now if only we could get our hands on those twisted so and so's Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

oops nearly forgot... Hilary Doyle will have a New Vanguard book Number 36 all about the Hetzer published on the 25th January by Osprey Publishing. It will include all the usual technical and Combat Records of this great wee AFV. regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

The Jagdpanzer 38 (Sdkfz 138/2) nicknamed "Hetzer" was designed in a record time of 2 months to help provide the Whermacht with a anti-tank vehicle which would be issued to the organic Panzerjager Komp's of Infantry, Jäger and PzG, Kavallerie and Volksgrenadier divisions. This was to complement the towed Pak guns of these formations whilst providing a mobile fully armoured weapon to combat tank attacks on the infantry units. Usually only one Komp would receive the Hetzer , official unit strenght being 14 Hetzers...but this declined to 10 Hetzer's due to severe shortages experienced by the German war industry. There were a number of Heer Panzerjager Abteliung's issued with 45 Hetzer's , the most notable being HPJA 731 and HPJA 743 , these were the first units to see action with the Hetzer on the Ost front in July 1944. The doctrine for the effective employment of panzerjagers states that due to the limitations of the fixed gun carefully chosen ambush sites with mutal fields of fire allows the best chance of success by defeating the enemy tank formations through the use of mass firepower. The Hetzer should not be employed as a "tank hunter" as it is at a severe disadvantage when facing tanks who using speed can get into position for a flank shot. Enemy AT units ( Piat/Bazooka) also pose a lethal threat to the Hetzer which should ALWAYs be accompanied by friendly Infantry units to help guard its flanks. On the defensive a well placed Hetzer in a "Hull Down " position with attendent infantry can play havoc with the enemys plan of attack. When facing infantry i have found that if and when you have 2+ Hetzers being attacked by Infantry the remote MG is very effective IF the 2+ Hetzers are close together( less than 100m). The Hetzer is well worth the points....the only thing to ask it NOT to do is to take on the Churchill. Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

Can somebody please clone me as i aint got enough hours in the day ( seeing as i have only one body) to do all these mods on me own This Panther i intend to have a go at once i finish up my latest bit of madness....but it is proving bothersome trying to operate a mouse whilst constrained by a strait jacket Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

I have a colour side plate of the same vehicle. It's in a Polish book " Militaria nos 60 Panther". It places this vehicle in the Alsace region in January 1945.....mb there was a typo mistake at the printers for the above Panther pixs. Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

Just placed my order for the Tiger cd-rom When i get it( that is if no one gets it before my copy arrives) i will post a first impression on this thread. Regards Måkjager

I once remember reading ( and because i can't remember where i am going nuts ) that the French sent one Panther to Indo-China for trials and possible combat upon hearing rumors that the Viet-Minh had "aquired" some heavy ex Soviet tanks....sorry if this is making this thread a bit muddy , just throwing in my pennies worth. As for other "user's' the British built at least one Panther in 1946 from spare parts found in over-run factories which they used in comparision trials against the Black Prince and Centurion tank. The British 823rd Armoured Troops Workshop REME in Germany 1945 also "built" at least 2 late production Jagdpanthers for trials and evaluation purposes. Hope this might open up this interesting thread a bit more. Regards Måkjager now where is that damn book ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

Sorry, forgot to make it clear..the other 3 games we did get to fight up to about 6 - 7 turns. Then when we had a lot of orders to do and no chat .....the line died . Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage

Anybody got problems with line's dropping during the Orders phase? I am asking because it has happened to me 4 time's so far. I have a 56k modem , hosting games with Aikidorat. We played our first live session on Wednesday night. We had 3 hours of solid play while using the v.22 beta. We both upgraded to v.23 when it came out. We started 3 games last night and all died during the Orders phase. We got into about 6 turns tonight before the same happened. I was wondering if the fact that when you are trying to issue orders , there seems to be no line activity....ie you are too busy to chat. Could this lack of activity be the cause of the line dropping? My modem is set up to disconnect after 10 mins of no activity...not the 2-3 mins that i have experienced. Is it possible to code in a "magic ping pong signal" to keep the line alive ??? , as some people may find the chat distracting while trying to plan their next orders. Any ideas......its going to be a year before cable arrives at my door Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage