No idea, i'm afraid, don't speak a word of Flemish, and experience with Babelfish has shown it to be very unreliable! Certainly looks like they've got the proportions right though, and looks like they're using the Brussels Mk IV as a guide. Just goes to show it can be done though
I'd say it would be static. The location of the braces at the rear of the tank means that it can't have the drive sprockets fitted (at least not where the originals were). A fine effort so far; it looks right even without the outer skin.
I don't know if anyone has had a chance to visit the Poelcapelle 1917 Association website lately, but it looks like they intend to make their replica a runner. Based on pictures of a scale model on the blog, if the vehicle is intended to move under its own power the drive sprokets woud be located behind the sponsons between the track frames. At least that is what pictures of the scale model shown on site suggests. The scale model as built by some local students, and what can been seen of the basic internal structural layout matches the current structure of the full scale replica. The amount of structural steel around the cab alone suggests an engine mount.
Rob et al - I can't do Flemish, but German isn't that far off, so you can usually get the gist.
Do you want me to have a go?
J
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Anyway, I think I have tracked down Mr. Vanbeselaere, and have sent him a message asking if he will tell us.
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I have received the following very kind reply from Johan Vanbesalaere:
It's indeed my intention to get it able to move by own power and to look as realistic as we can.
Don't ask me when it will be ready, who will pay and how it all will be done. I'm taking one step at a time, but with the above as our aim. So far we do not get much support in our region, a big funding project was turned down and our local council is not in favour of placing it back again our market place too. But the more resistance we meet, the stubborn and more determined we get
However we can use whatever support we can get and especially from abroad.
Let me also point out that the tank should be on the outside as realistic as possible, but that we do not make it as it once was. We would like it to be selfmobile, that would open a lot of possibilities with it, so everything we do now is with that in our mind. Time will tell if we will succeed.
Our project grew out of the fact that Poelcapelle was once very touristic but isn't it at all anymore. We living at Poelkapelle see that other villages in the surroundings do attract tourists and do invest in it. So we took the intiative ourselves, older people telling us to put back again a tank at the market. We searched to buy one, but soon found out this was impossible, then we looked for one, fell upon Philippe near Cambrai and so I started searching for relics around Ypres and I'm still am !!! But although I did find out about some interesting places it's almost impossible for me alone to get authorisation. But I keep on trying. It's my dream to find one time such a relic around Ypres. And if there is one, I will.
In the meantime we decided, my being a mechanical engineer, to build one ourselves as they did in New Zealand ! (Presumably Peter Jackson's)
Researching the relics I gathered lots of information about all those tanks around Ypres. At first concentrating on Poelkapelle, my old schoolmaster who started this study already in the 80's wrote with my help (he's more than 80 years old and in the meantime while writing his wife died in an accident) a booklet. Have a look at : http://www.tankmuseum.org/librarybookreview_0208.html
In a further step I would like to get it more detailed, I do have much more information already and extend it to the whole salient. A work I guess that will never be definitely completed, but fascinating to work on. Let me tell you also there are only a few of us : myself the promotor and doing a lot myself, and about 4 people helping me. All being volunteers, working elsewhere and not getting paid for it, just in our freetime. We're not at all commerical, just wanting to put again life in our village as it once was the case. Some other non-tank projects are also being pursued.
Well, I hope this tells you already something. I would appreciate if you could help us getting it known elsewhere so we can get whatever support especially out of the UK. This would boost it here also locally, as now everyone is not believing us we will succeed, telling us tanks were of no use an are not an important subject around Ypres. So any interesting contacts you can think of let me know !
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"Sometimes things that are not true are included in Wikipedia. While at first glance that may appear like a very great problem for Wikipedia, in reality is it not. In fact, it's a good thing." - Wikipedia.