Technicals and Guntrucks

[Jschmus]

I read this in today's NY Times.  It does not fill me with warm feelings about the future of those fighters in Libya:

http://nyti.ms/hmQn8u

If you don't want to read through the whole thing (which is kind of depressing), there's a bit near the end describing a unit equipped with Grad (BM-21) rockets mounted on a truck.  The rockets are connected to a firing mechanism cobbled together out of electric doorbells.   

[Jschmus]

It's a little off-topic, as gun trucks only get a slight mention, but I saw this in this morning's edition:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/world/africa/21rebels.html?hp

It's a wonder Gaddafi's troops haven't rolled these guys into the dirt.

[Old Wombat]

Sometimes numbers count.

Qaddafi has the benefit of trained soldiers, organisation & standardised modern weapons (including a shrinking stock of armour & aircraft) but he lacks the numbers to defeat his people who lack everything he has but have large numbers of people.

The war is stalemated at this time because of that. So, if the Libyan people can get modern weapons & at least some basic training, or if Qaddafi can get some more mercenaries in, then the war is over.

NATO needs to be the one to supply those weapons & be the "saviours of Libya" because, if they don't, al-Qaeda or some other radical group will & the Libyans will turn to them as their saviours.

[rickshaw]

Sometimes numbers count.

Qaddafi has the benefit of trained soldiers, organisation & standardised modern weapons (including a shrinking stock of armour & aircraft) but he lacks the numbers to defeat his people who lack everything he has but have large numbers of people.

The war is stalemated at this time because of that. So, if the Libyan people can get modern weapons & at least some basic training, or if Qaddafi can get some more mercenaries in, then the war is over.

NATO needs to be the one to supply those weapons & be the "saviours of Libya" because, if they don't, al-Qaeda or some other radical group will & the Libyans will turn to them as their saviours.

Which is why NATO is going to start training and supplying the Rebellion forces with weapons.  Enthusiasm is good for morale but an enthusiastic but ill-trained soldier who has no weapons invariably ends up dead when facing even the worst motivated well-equipped one.

[GTX]

One of the problems with the Libyan uprising is that there appears (from my looking at least) to be no organised rebellion as such and certainly no coordinated leadership able to take over.  It is just a rabble of many individuals (let's call them the 'rabbels').  Whether we like it or not, that will only mean more trouble in the future.  It is also IMHO why this is still going on.  You have the Loyalist forces on one side who are at least organised, trained and relatively well armed against the NATO backed 'rabbels' on the other side.  If NATO wasn't there to attack the Libyan loyalist forces this would have been over weeks ago.  I hate to say it, but unless NATO either gets 'boots on the ground' or somehow the 'rabbels' get themselves properly coordinated with some resemblance of a leadership, this is going to go on for a lot longer.

Regards,

Greg

[Mossie]

Mav posted this in the Model News forum, thought it might be of interest here.  An injection 1/35 Technical has been announced from a new outfit called Meng.

A new kid on the block and looks like there'll be plenty of MiG resin kits hitting eBay if this ends up being a winner.

http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/newkitnews/mengmodel.html

Regards,

Mav

[philp]

Here is a fun little site.
http://www.matakishi.com/technicals.htm

[wagnersm]

Maybe not a guntruck, more of a gun-quadracycle.  I would hate to be the guy hiding behind the armor plate.

1899 British with a Maxim machine gun.  I found it at Strange Engines.  The site's URL is http://strangengines.wordpress.com/category/tanks/



Steve

[Old Wombat]

  There's probably a reason some military genius didn't make that standard equipment for machine-gun companies but I can't think of it.

[Weaver]

How about turning one of these into a sci-fi technical?



I'm thinking the weapon should be 60's cheesey raygun: some confection of clear tubes and spiral bits with a dish at the muzzle. Alterrnatively, how about one of the flat-plate beam cannons from Forbidden Planet? 

[Mossie]

Maybe not a guntruck, more of a gun-quadracycle.  I would hate to be the guy hiding behind the armor plate.

1899 British with a Maxim machine gun.  I found it at Strange Engines.  The site's URL is http://strangengines.wordpress.com/category/tanks/

Steve

You know, that could work in a certain way, if not as the pic shows.  The quadracycle could be used to ferry the gun & amm from site to site in support of bicycle infantry.  When you get there, use the quad as a gun mount, or detatch the the gun.

[philp]

How about turning one of these into a sci-fi technical?

I'm thinking the weapon should be 60's cheesey raygun: some confection of clear tubes and spiral bits with a dish at the muzzle. Alterrnatively, how about one of the flat-plate beam cannons from Forbidden Planet? 

I think that would be a great idea, get busy.

[Mossie]

I concur with the gentleman above.  Something by Auric Enterprises perhaps?

[raafif]

You know, that could work in a certain way, if not as the pic shows.  The quadracycle could be used to ferry the gun & amm from site to site in support of bicycle infantry.  When you get there, use the quad as a gun mount, or detatch the the gun.

As shown on a TV ancestry show last week ....
An Aussie despatch-rider did several trips just like that on a motorcycle over an exposed road in WW2 France while under fire , he won a medal then spent the rest of the war in a mental hospital.

[rickshaw]

I concur with the gentleman above.  Something by Auric Enterprises perhaps?

The fictional "Enterprises Auric A.G" or the real Auric Enterprises?