I agree, it seems it’s not just a UK/MOD thing either. The Tefal heads seem to want to have something that does everything and typically end up with something that does a lot…badly, instead of something that does a few things rather well. Plus everyone seems to have what I call “not invented here syndrome” in that we seem to re-invent the wheel instead of possibly choosing something from overseas already in service. At least we seem to have gotten it right in the Man SV truck and Boxer.
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Ajax being the prime offender. That should of been killed the moment they found out it couldnt reverse over 8 inches and was making the crews deaf and puke up !! And if with the "so called fixes they think they have made, its still not going to be what everyone asked for …
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“On 24 February 2023 Defence Secretary Ben Wallace described the programme as having “turned a corner” and being “back on track”.”
Good luck with that …
CV-90 maybe? Tried and tested.
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Not modelling I know but you could turn your Ajax comment around and say the Army hasn’t in this case accepted it this time until the fixes were made! We all know it’s very late but in reality all it’s cost the Army is time as GD have born the cost of those fix’s and the lads and lasses at ATDU in Bovington would not have signed off on RGT if they didn’t think it was right.
Uncle Heavy CV90 is an IFV not a recce vehicle😄
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What’s in a name 
Ajax 38 tonnes
CV-90 37 tonnes
Add 1 tonne of recce equipment to the CV-90, maybe switch to a lighter turret with
a smaller gun, who needs a high performance 40 mm gun in a recce vehicle.
The CV-90 has advanced sights that can pick up the warm air raising above an anti-tank team hiding
behind terrain.
Lighter turret, less heavy ammo and use the weight savings to add armour
Seems to have been done already:
Just fork out the ££ and pick up the keys in the reception
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We are of course where we are regarding Ajax; a sad record of the all too familiar abysmal British military procurement fiascos. I am sure the troops will make it work, as they so often do, and I hope, albeit belatedly, that it proves, in due course, a successful platform.
I suspect the CV 90 series (which has many variants and seems to be a very adaptable platform) may well have been a better choice, however, as I say, (and I hate the expression really) we are where we are(!)
I’m still a tad unclear as to what our armoured infantry are going to use with the demise of warrior; I thought Boxer was going to mechanised infantry units but what will the armoured infantry utilise?
I fully admit to being behind the curve a bit; probably just as well I’m out of it all(!)
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As long as the electrical system isn’t designed by Lucas …
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Getting back to Ferret, well, wheeled recce anyway – I do recall that amongst the many images way back then re Vixen, that it was often shown with a ZB 298 radar fitted; now, ZB 298 also seemed to be flavour of the decade although I can’t find out much about it. It seemed to be designed to fit on to everything going from tanks to armoured cars, such as this on Fox:
**
and Saladin:
(these could of course be photo mock-ups just to show what was envisaged)
I clearly recall seeing it installed in Vixen but cannot, for the life of me, find an image with it. I sometimes wonder what became of ZB 298 - I think it was issued to the Infantry - but presumably as a radar was really destiend for say, Corps recce.
Anyway, neither here nor there re Ferret, but just another facet of what was planned for Vixen, by way of general interest.
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Has anybody got a clue whether this is a one off by Airfix or are they going into the1/35 vehicle market with some more kits?(CVRT please)
Has anybody seen sprue shots or a completed model yet? How accurate / good is this kit?
I think at the moment there are just the CAD drawings on the Airfix site. I for one think that as long as the general dimensions and angles are OK, anything lacking I should be able to sort myself. It shows for instance the kit has a .30 Browning whereas mine in Cyprus in '85 had a GPMG mount fitted so that will be one of the first things I’ll address.
All looking about right to me, if those are pics of the kit. Not sure what the big plate is on the spare on one of them as I have never seen that before! Possibly export or could it be NI?
I think it’s a call sign board for the BATUS red-tops:
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ah there you go then, Johnnych01would have likely come back with the same. Forgot all about BATUS.
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I don’t quite know why Airfix chose to concentrate on one of those though presumably it’s a very colourful option, so all power to them really I suppose.
I’ll probably get one to add to an already out of control stash; I have a venerable Cromwell Models one half-built and the Firing Line verision with Vigilant, so in a way don’t really need any more, but since when has that stopped a modeller?!
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Yeah I get most of that, the issue was that it was made out to be the all singing all dancing new platform to suit everyones needs as the CVRTs were… the problem was that a lot of these hadnt actually been configured into actual moving vehicles and the basic Ajax did indeed work fine. Crews from HCR went to be converted onto it as they were going to be the test bed Regt in Bulford. The issues arose when every man and his dog started added bits and pieces here and there and upgrading it even before they had been field tested and by then they were committed to that platform and by then the original weight had ballooned up by probably 10 tons or so.
The changes they were making were deemed as essential to make it work in every role, and if Mr Wallace is now saying "the project has turned a corner " I dread to think what has been compromised or removed to make it work … As all the add ons they introduced were to make it effective and fool proof on the modern (Cyber Digital led) integrated battlefield
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Brian beat me to it lol
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