CVR(T)s Scimitar - Spartan - Scorpion (Belgium)

In the early 1970s, the Belgian government signed an agreement with the British company Alvis for the supply of 701 vehicles from the CVR (T) (Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance Tracked) family of armoured fighting vehicle. In compensation, most of the vehicles will be assembled in the workshops of the British Leyland factory in Malines, Belgium. 133 of these vehicles were of the Scorpion type, the Reconnaissance and Fire Support version armed with a 76mm gun and 153 of the Scimitar type, also a Reconnaissance version but armed with a 30mm Raerden rapid-fire gun. 266 Spartan were also ordered. A Reconnaissance and Personnel Carrier version, the Spartan was only armed with a 7,62mm MAG, but its lengthened and heightened hull can accommodate, in addition of a crew of 2, a section of soldier of 5 men or special command and transmission material.

The models are from S&S and their simplified aspect were hardly improved by my few interventions. I was definitely more motivated at the time by fast and large production than by attention to detail. The arrival of new injection kits could certainly in the future push me to review the CVR (T) family. Wait & see... (made 2013-2014)

M109A2 (Belgium) Part 1

An American 155mm turreted self-propelled howitzer, the M109 saw its combat debut during the Vietnam war. The M109 family is still the most common Western indirect-fire support weapon in service. With a crew of four, the long barrelled version (starting with the A1 version) has a maximum range of 18,100 meters. Starting in 1984/85, Belgium received 167 M109A2 replacing his early M109 (short barrel) and ageing M108.

The two first models presented here are the basic wargaming models from S&S. At the time they had the advantage of existing and of not being too expensive. With a little work and a bit of staging, they play their role perfectly on the gaming table. (made 2014)

FV 620 Alvis Stalwart (UK)

The FV 620 Alvis Stalwart is a 6x6 high mobility amphibious truck. The Stalwart served with the British Army from 1964 until 1993, with 125 Mk1 version and 946 Mk2 being delivered.

Let's mention the great book by Tankograd Publishing on the Stalwart which is packed with fantastic pictures.

The model come from S&S and is a basic wargaming one, but with some additions it look quite good. (made 2018)

 

FV103 Spartan (UK)

The Armoured personnel carrier version of the CVRT (Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance Tracked) family of armoured fighting vehicle, the FV103 Spartan has a crew of three and can carry four others men in the rear compartment. Used to carry small specialised groups, such as engineer reconnaissance teams, air defense sections or mortar fire controllers, 691 Spartans were produced for the British Army from the beginning of the 70s to 1986.

© C. Bray

© K. Postmus

© W. Bohm

The resin kit is from S&S Models. As always a little bit spartiate, but with some work and modifications to represent here an air defense section, it does the work pretty well (figures from RH Models). (made 2015)

 

AIFV (Belgium)

The AIFV (Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle) was developed in the US as a replacement for the ubiquitous M113. While in the end the US Army was uninterested in the design, other governments were and among them Belgium. In 1979, they ordered 514 AIFV-B, 70% of them being produced under licence in Belgium. They were several versions, 228 of the AIFV-B C25, armed with a 25mm Oerlikon cannon under turret, 230 of the AIFV-B .50 armed with a 12.7 mm machine-gun cupola and AIFV-B Milan with a Milan anti-tank missile launcher on pintle mount, and 56 of the AIFV-B CP, a command post version with the 12.7 mm machine-gun cupola, a tent, generator and telescopic mast. Starting in 1985, the AIFV-B will begin to replace the M75 and AMX-13 within the Belgian Land Force.

© Christian Bray

© Christian Bray

© Christian Bray

The models are the S&S Models resin one. They are basic wargaming models but are available and affordable. With some modifications and improvements, they do the job while waiting for a hypothetic plastic kit version. (made 2015)