ASAD-BABIL "LION OF BABYLON" IRAQI ARMY FEB 1991

[Meter rat]

They hate a contest eh !!

I think I am now in bad books, and the browny points have gone.

[HERMAN BIX]

Glad I could assist

[Herr Dr. Professor]

I thought maybe "dazzler" referred to Bix's wife, either because of her gorgeousity or her ability to lambaste him one. But hesitant to draw hasty conclusions, like any normal American in suspenders, I says to myself, "What's a dazzler?" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzler_(weapon)

[Mithras]

Im calling the dazzler almost done. Still to add a cover plate for it.
Compromising extreme accuracy for a degree of RC practicality and robustness, I wound solder wire around the body using gel super glue all the way.
While not a perfect replica of the small welds around the shell in pictures, its going to be close enough and should withstand any handling or in this case, postage brutality.
I used brass channel to carry the shell, again using gel super glue to keep it in place, and brass square & channel to represent the vibration dampers on the mount.
There is a lot of gel glue in this to try to secure this feature to the turret, & I will be devastated if it doesn't even make the delivery trip
The assembly will receive welds around it using Tamiya 2 part putty , but the ultimate key is to make the thing stay on the turret.
Last thing I want is a cross Pacific journey to find when the box is opened its in need of a rebuild

Next mission is the smoke candles.

This is gorgeous. I'm beyond pleased. This looks fantastic to me. Very much the image I had conjured in my head of what it might look like in scale.

[Mithras]

I thought maybe "dazzler" referred to Bix's wife, either because of her gorgeousity or her ability to lambaste him one. But hesitant to draw hasty conclusions, like any normal American in suspenders, I says to myself, "What's a dazzler?" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzler_(weapon)

In this case, this was a Chinese manufactured part said to be capable of scrambling anti-tank missiles. Nobody seems to know whether they were ever used. If they did, they obviously didn't work. History shows us that China -never- exports, or imports, weapons that do not work. That would be along the lines of armoring a tank with aluminum, selling shells filled with coal dust, and swapping out paint rounds for the real things. That would not be above board. No sir.

[tankme]

The problem with dazzlers is that they A: have to be turned on to work and B: have to be facing the oncoming threat. Now, here is the rub. They have the same problem the Moskva had...the Moskva had all kinds of anti-ship missile defenses, but they have to be turned on to work. Apparently they don't operate the way American missile defense systems work which is automatically. Problem with non-automated systems is that they have to first detect the launch and then a person has to realize there is a threat to switch the system on. If you kept the dazzler on all the time transmitting, its like a "shoot here" sign. Additionally, what kind of threat is coming your way? Is it even going to be affected by your dazzler or is it a TOW missile being flown by wire? But you say we know what kind of missile it is because we are being lit up by laser designator...well that designator could be a Cav scout from a different angle painting you.

So to wrap this up, decent idea - hard to implement.

The Trophy defense system is great in the fact it doesn't care what the projectile is, it just kills it.

[Mithras]

The problem with dazzlers is that they A: have to be turned on to work and B: have to be facing the oncoming threat. Now, here is the rub. They have the same problem the Moskva had...the Moskva had all kinds of anti-ship missile defenses, but they have to be turned on to work. Apparently they don't operate the way American missile defense systems work which is automatically. Problem with non-automated systems is that they have to first detect the launch and then a person has to realize there is a threat to switch the system on. If you kept the dazzler on all the time transmitting, its like a "shoot here" sign. Additionally, what kind of threat is coming your way? Is it even going to be affected by your dazzler or is it a TOW missile being flown by wire? But you say we know what kind of missile it is because we are being lit up by laser designator...well that designator could be a Cav scout from a different angle painting you.

So to wrap this up, decent idea - hard to implement.

The Trophy defense system is great in the fact it doesn't care what the projectile is, it just kills it.

Oh, I agree: it's not an entirely unreasonable idea. And I don't blame them for trying. However, I wonder whether they actually worked in the first place, or were simply pawned off on the export market by the Chinese Army that knew damned well they didn't work.

[HERMAN BIX]

This is gorgeous. I'm beyond pleased. This looks fantastic to me. Very much the image I had conjured in my head of what it might look like in scale.
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Im relieved about that Mr Mithras, its one thing to promise a model, another to deliver the project that fits the minds eye of its owner.
The mission continues

[HERMAN BIX]

Tonight was smoke grenade discharges .
The ERA T72 has half gaps for the old position and a bracket for the new position, both no good for me.
Marked and drilled in new holes and used the drill like a dremel to create a slot that each tube can go into.
Nice and sturdy and in the right place.
I will add angle base mounts and conduit to them next.
Not far off texture on the turret now then the race downhill to join the turret back onto the hull & make ready for paint

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[Ecam]

Herman, I don't know if that third picture was intended as I didn't see a mention of it in your narrative. BUT! I'm intrigued, I see pneumatics, liquid cooling, solenoids, rheostats and a big ole honking motor. What the heck is that?