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 2

Released in 2017 (already?), the Riich Model is a little gem but perhaps too complicated (number of parts) and fragile for wargaming... I still have a boxed one, but in the meantime Revell has gone through... (made 2017)

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)

M113A1 (Belgium)

No need to really present the ubiquitous M113 armored personnel carrier. First aluminium hull combat vehicle to be put into mass production, the M113 entered service in the US Army in 1961 and was first used in combat by the South Vietnamese Army in 1962. Some 80,000 M113s of all types have been produced and it was used by more than 50 countries worldwide. Early 1984, Belgium received the first of the 525 units ordered (70% of them produced under licence in Belgium). There were delivered in different versions: troop transport (2 crew + 11 infantrymen), command post, ambulance, engineers, anti-tank with Milan missile launcher, recovery...

© C. Bray

© C. Bray

© C. Bray

The kit is the S-Model one. A very good base to convert to different versions. Figure from RH Models. (made 2014)

Leopard 1BE (Belgium)

First non-German customer for the Leopard 1, the Belgian Army received 334 Leopard 1BE between 1968 and 1971.

Apart from the Belgian FN 7.62mm MAG co-axial and top-mounted machine gun, the Belgian Leopard were at first almost identical to the German ones. Some modifications were implemented in the 70s, like the big external toolboxes and a thermal sleeve for the main gun. Also between 1974 and 1977 all the Belgian Leopard were updated with a weapon stabilisation system and part of them (120) also received a new and very modern for the time Fire Control System developed by the indigenous firms SABCA (the rest were only updated between 1980 and 1985), this version of the Leopard becoming know officially as the Leopard 1 AVLS/SACT.

© C.Bray

© C. Bray

© C. Bray

For all informations about these vehicles and fantastic photo walk-around, I can only recommend the exceptional serie of books by Patrick Winnepenninckx by Trackpad publishing.

The kit is the Leopard 1A2 from Italeri, an old one but still a very good base to work with. (made 2014-15)