10 INCH PNEUMATIC WHEELS

The Kubelwagen has a 240 centimetre wheelbase and independent suspension on all four wheels. The tyres are a post war NATO pattern. The engine is a post war Volkswagen Beetle engine mounted in the rear of the vehicle. The body of the vehicle is a lightweight metal, with a flat base, allowing the vehicle to propel itself like a sled in sand, mud and snow.

Headlights are mounted on the front wheel guards and a tactical travelling light is mounted on the front panel of the vehicle, to the left hand side of the spare tyre, which is mounted centrally on the front panel. Stencilled in white on the front of the left wheel guard is the tactical symbol for a signals company. Mounted on the front of the vehicle is the number plate which is rectangular in shape. The plate has a white painted background with 'WH-280374' stencilled in black paint. Fitted to either side of the bonnet and the engine bay at the rear, are hooks to attach towing cables.

The vehicle is left hand drive and has a gearbox with four forward gears and one reverse, and a hand brake is mounted next to the gear stick. The vehicle has two front seats and a bench seat in the back. The seats have all had their original covers replaced with green canvas.

Stencilled on the two front doors is a vertical grey rectangle with Deutsche Afrika Korps (DAK) palm tree over swastika emblem in white. Another DAK emblem is stencilled centrally on the engine cover at the rear of the vehicle. Stencilled in white on the engine cover is the symbol for towed artillery with the number 8 to the right hand side. This signifies that this vehicle belonged to the 8th Battery of a Field Artillery regiment. The rear number plate, located on the left rear of the vehicle, is square shaped with the 'WH' over the numbers '280374'.

"Mwah-ha-ha-ha, away!"

I remember that the cannon under the bonnet...that's the hood to all you foreigners... was just a toy pirate gun that fired soft foam balls. It was a hit with the kids on the day.

I've done a bit of a digital panel beating on the pictures, added some trim and straightened out the running boards and mudguards, which gave us trouble on the day, but only 'cos we'd decided we'd had enough of building the bloody thing! Hmm, this costume doesn't even exist anymore and I still can't resist tinkering with it. Think I'll just retire to the Home For Prematurely Bewildered Loons.

Although I liked Professor Fate's driving costume as well (especially that Top Hat!) I really preferred the gear he and Max wore when they attempted to break the land-speed record in their rocket propelled railway sled. Didn't take long to knock up the basic tunics and decorate them with Fate's insignia. We even had Henry Mancini's soundtrack with us in a CD player....

Hannibal went straight into a convenient dumpster after his single appearance, though I still have the headlights (brass pot plant holders) and the bulb-horn. The wooden frame was made from planed down tomatoe stakes, a function which they returned to after the build.

I kept the wheels for some time. They were made from agricultural tubing covered in papier mache and then painted with latex tinted black. The wheels were attached to large plywood discs. We had to build eight wheels, with two for spares, natch! Finally threw them out years later, but not before a mouse or two had set up house in 'em.


Please proceed to picture #4