Master list for the new Korean War range - Input required!

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

It's a steam condenser, there should be a tube connecting to the jacket.....assuming you are talking about the one at the front (on the Rt I think).

IanS

[Sunray]

The standard Vickers was water cooled all its operational life.  The only air cooled "Vickers"was the K class - used by RAF and Special Forces, and although made by Vickers was really an LMG 

If you google "Military Factory - Vickers Machine Gun" you will be some very good 360 images

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Er no - Vickers Bertier? - competitor to the Bren, and used by the Indian army, very difficult to tell apart from a bren though. The K was a specific aircraft gun for hand operated turrets, not an MG, although it had much more use as a vehicle mount.

[kabrank]

Hi All

Thanks for the warm welcome

Nice summary of Vickers K from Wiki [with usual warnings regarding Wiki entries]:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_K_machine_gun

[Sunray]

Er no - Vickers Bertier? - competitor to the Bren, and used by the Indian army, very difficult to tell apart from a bren though. The K was a specific aircraft gun for hand operated turrets, not an MG, although it had much more use as a vehicle mount.

The original VB was the direct  ancestor in the VGO or K class design. They share the same working parts/tilted locking breechblock that came off Andre Berthier's drawing board, although the drum magazine and "sawn off smooth external barrel" offer very different optics !
Special Forces chose it not just because it was RAF surplus, but due to high rate of fire and sturdy design.  At 1,200 rpm probably the highest rate of fire amongst any British MG ??   The Royals still had a few in 1950 which is why I flagged it up. The only Indian unit in Korea was medical, so saw no need to mention the VB.  Did the Ishapore gun wallas re bore the VB in 7.62 ? ?  They even had a version of the SMLE Mk in 7.62mm.

The magic of the K design is that its as near as you can get to firing from an open breech in a closed breech design without a fixed firing pin, as the VGO block only went into the lockfire position at the last split second of closing on the chambered round.

One of the Commando figures in Pendraken pack BRF41 is sculpted with a VGO/K class in dismounted action. Forget Rambo, give his base a +1 !

Anyway, its all academic now as Phil Von Lewis has just emailed me an image of his Vickers HMG. I only have a plan view, but with regard to detail and proportion, Techno has just set a new industrial standard in 10mm !

Time to start saving for a Korean/ early Cold War battle group !    

 

[fsn]

In answer to your questions, Techno. Yes, please. Add the water can.



Like this one ... Aussies getting a Vickers ready for action


On the move ... should you decide to do a different Vickers gun pose 

[Techno]

Can already added, Nobby ! 

Cheers - Phil.

[fsn]

 

Excellent. A Vickers Gun without a can is as rare as our local priest Vicar Gunn being seen without a can.

He doesn't have water in his though.

[fred.]

A new Vickers gun sculpt would be welcome - the existing ones look a little squashed.

[Sunray]

A new Vickers gun sculpt would be welcome - the existing ones look a little squashed.

I have to say, and ....for the moment .....you have to take my word for it. This sculpt from Phil is the mother of all Vickers.

The Senior British Staff Officer will grace any game's command stand from Western Desert (like a General O'Conner type) to Korea.

The officer in the beret armed only with pistol in belt will star in very game from late WW2 to Falklands  I think I have found my Mad Mike Hoare !  Gone are the days of taking the figure with the bins from Falklands Mortar section and paring off the 58 ammo pouches  to create a senior officer type.

Gamers will model little exquisite command stands just to accommodate them.

Happy days. 

[Techno]

I have to say, and ....for the moment .....you have to take my word for it. This sculpt from Phil is the mother of all Vickers.

It is ??.......But pleased you like it, James. 

Cheers - Phil

[Sunray]

It is ??.......But pleased you like it, James. 

Cheers - Phil

Indeed- and I can be hard to please as you well know !  :-  Support weapons are a bitch to model as you have balance scale accuracy with exaggeration to detail and the fact that our figures are beefier than 10/12mm would dictate. 

[Techno]

So we're talking bush hat - not slouch hat? i.e. like this?

OK....Silly question. (No change there then.)

Just doing a quick sculpt as my 'prototype' so I can check with Leon & James for the Brits in tropical kit.

In my notes...It mentions bush hats with the right side folded up.
In the pic above (courtesy of Nobby) it shows the bush hats with the brim pushed up above the left ear.

Is that right (or more normal).....
As the lettering on the bren carrier (?) seems to be correct, I'm working on the basis that the negative hasn't been 'flopped'.
Or am I barking up the wrong tree, and the guys in the carrier aren't Brits ?

To my untutored eye, I take the markings on the vehicle to be American ?....Was it one the Brits 'borrowed' ?

All help gratefully received, as usual.

Cheers - Phil

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

The UNIVERSAL carrier is British 55ZT74 is it's registration number, and the circle on rt hand mudguard is symbol for the Commonwealth Division. Troops could be British, Canadian, or Australian - all of who served in that division. Note also the 15cwt in the background. The US Army didn't use any carriers, or maybe a few in very small number ( Philippines in 41, bout 30 I think) as they couldn't see a use for them.

Cheers

IanS

PS _ Bren Carriers mostly got left behind in France in 1940.

[Sunray]

OK....Silly question. (No change there then.)

Just doing a quick sculpt as my 'prototype' so I can check with Leon & James for the Brits in tropical kit.

In my notes...It mentions bush hats with the right side folded up.
In the pic above (courtesy of Nobby) it shows the bush hats with the brim pushed up above the left ear.

Is that right (or more normal).....
As the lettering on the bren carrier (?) seems to be correct, I'm working on the basis that the negative hasn't been 'flopped'.
Or am I barking up the wrong tree, and the guys in the carrier aren't Brits ?

To my untutored eye, I take the markings on the vehicle to be American ?....Was it one the Brits 'borrowed' ?

All help gratefully received, as usual.

Cheers - Phil

Well spotted Phil.  The bush hat is floppy and can be folded in any number of ways -or not al all - In the Korean era, the images , official histories, and even the Opsprey Men-at-Arms (not always correct!) show the hat folded to the Left.  In the case of the Gloucesters, the famous "back badge" (google it !) was used as a pin to support the fold.  This degree of order suggests the decision and  enforcement of an RSM.  They then to like "uniformity".  Since Korea the dress order for wearing of the hat is a more slack.

It is a utility hat, and I have seen them worn in the bush with right fold, left fold, both sides folded or no folds at all.  But this is Korea, so I would suggest a uniform left fold for the sculpts. The brim is small compared to the 1950s Aussie Digger hat.  If you look at the Aussie and Viet Cong figures in the Vietnam range you will see good examples of a sculptured bush hat in slack order and an idea of its size & scale.