Specific wish list for forthcoming Allied stowage set

[Pinky]

Rubicon - some suggestions for inclusion in the following in your planned Allied stowage set (which, I hope, will include Soviet stuff):

- spare wheels and spare track for M4-type suspension
- spare wheels and spare track for T-34-type suspension
- unditching log for addition to Soviet tanks
- chunkier, more detailed .50 cal and .30 cal machine guns (preferably with a separate handgrip for the .50 cal)
- British 'blanket box' (standard issue stowage box attached to turret of Shermans and Cromwells - there were a couple of different designs)
- spare ammo boxes (including metal 6 pdr and 25 pdr boxes, and wooden crate for Soviet 76.2mm ammo)
- infantry telephone box (often attached to the rear of British and American tanks later in the war)
- fuel cans (both Allied 'jerryican' and earlier British 'flimsy')
- small oil drum (often seen on Allied tanks)
- plus the usual soft stowage

[ripley]

All good ideas Pinky . But a big NO to spare T-34 wheels . The Russians  never carried spare wheels  on the T-34 tanks , ever . That's 40 years of looking at T-34 pictures as well as talking to T-34 experts  ( guys who wrote and researched  the books) . In the early part of the war , brake drum pads  and transmissions were sometimes carried due to crap manufacturing standards ( in 1940 a T-34 tranny might last 50 hours of use ! ) And later the occasional spare drive sprocket could be seen , probably removed from a damaged tank , rather than issued like the Sherman's sprocket tooth ring .

[Laffe]

I wonder if the unditching log could be ditched (pun intended) it's rather easy to make one from sprue or just use a twig, and I think it would take up valuable space better used by other stuff.

For the British, backpacks and water flasks were standard in the desert -- if you had to bail out you didn't want your rations and water being inside the tank -- and the practice carried over to Europe by formations that had been in the desert campaign.

[Pinky]

All good ideas Pinky . But a big NO to spare T-34 wheels . The Russians  never carried spare wheels  on the T-34 tanks , ever .

Now that you mention it, I've never seen a photo of a T-34 carrying a spare wheel.  I wonder why?  Anyway, that leaves space for something else.

I wonder if the unditching log could be ditched (pun intended) it's rather easy to make one from sprue or just use a twig, and I think it would take up valuable space better used by other stuff.

I guess so, but it'd be a nice inclusion. 

[ripley]

I've seen early war stuff with spare wheels , the small T-70 and SU 76 carried one . The heavy T-28 carried 2 spares on each fender . No idea why the KVs , T-34s or the JS tanks and SPGs had none . Mind you although modern US and Brit ( Western ) tanks carry a spare wheel or two , I still don't see any on modern Russian tanks .

[bull-nut]

What about a Crusader spare wheel instead of the T34 (which also solves the problem of WHICH T34 wheel!) ? They seem to have been used a lot by Cromwell units in Europe since the hubs were the same size, IIRC a lot of units cannibalised their Crusader AA's for spare wheels. It could also be used for all of the A13/A15 cruisers.

[Rubicon Models]

What about a Crusader spare wheel instead of the T34 (which also solves the problem of WHICH T34 wheel!) ? They seem to have been used a lot by Cromwell units in Europe since the hubs were the same size, IIRC a lot of units cannibalised their Crusader AA's for spare wheels. It could also be used for all of the A13/A15 cruisers.

We have already included a set of spare wheel in our Crusader box.

[Pinky]

I'm liking Rubicon's new policy of including spare wheels.

Since so many US and British tanks were festooned with spare track, the more that could be included in this set, the better.  Of course, the spare Panzer track pieces in the German stowage set will be very useful as the Allied tankers often welded looted Panzer tracks to their tanks.  And the Panzer crews returned the favour by welding T-34 tracks to theirs - especially StuGs and Panzer IVs.   

[ripley]

It all sounds great . Just please get it made and shipped . I've got a half dozen kits on hold waiting for extra detail parts and a couple of half tracks in need of anti tank guns  . 1/56 has become my go to scale for armour building , I've got 20 kits built and I don't even play the game ... Haven't touched a 1/35 kit in almost a year , friends are beginning to worry   

[Pinky]

1/56 has become my go to scale for armour building , I've got 20 kits built and I don't even play the game ... Haven't touched a 1/35 kit in almost a year , friends are beginning to worry   

Same here, although in my case (having gone back to military modelling a while ago) it's 1/72 that's been abandoned.  I think 1/56 is a great scale, as I do tend to build wargaming models rather than pure display models.  And, as age takes its toll on my eyesight, 1/56 is much easier to work with.  The fact that companies like Rubicon can produce the tracks and running gear in so few pieces (with a high level of detail) is a major drawcard - I love AFVs, but never really enjoyed assembling the running gear.  I prefer to focus on the fun bits, like adding extra detail and stowage etc.

[Patrick R]

I had an idea for a few other items : stuff like radios, telescopes, periscopes, field telephones etc.

[Laffe]

I wonder if you could do a couple of backpacks or rolls with a curved back, so they fit on the turret of an greyhound or sherman turret.