Thank you!

Hi MM;

Here are some refernce pictures related to those bolts;

STuG's on the march with spare wheels with bolt inserts:

The raod wheel bracket, the funny looking tube structure is an air filter:

Pictures hosted by Fotki

Good luck wit Your build!

Best Regards

Johan

Chad: sounds cool, hope you'll be posting her when you're done. 

Thank you everyone for the help!  Now those bolts make sense.  Thanks again for the help. 

MM, to answer your second question, i am pretty curtain these are spares wheel bolts. If you look at this cut away wheel, you can see the bots would be easily damaged if the wheel is damaged.

Appreciate the response and great info. Thanks, Rob.

M1GarandFan

Just as a general question, could the tow eyes themselves show a little surface rust from use. I just added a little to my M4A1, but left the cables painted. You REAL armor guys with actual experience would know. Thanks.

 

Depends on the type of tow cable eye. Modern ones and most US WW2 types have a cast metal eye that is one piece and painted. Very little rust on them, even when used the paint might chip or wear down to the primer.

Some types of tow cable eyes are created by making a loop with the end of the cable and securing it with U-bolts.

Sometimes the cables came coated with grease called GAA (Grease, artillery & automotive). Sometimes 100 mph tape (OD green duct tape) was wrapped around the cable. Sometimes the cable is painted the tank color. On the M60 series tank, it was a royal pain to dismount the cables so when the tank was painted, the cables were left in place.

Tanker etiquette is that the stuck tank crew gets their cables off in order to hook up to the pulling tank. Unless both sets are required.

Here is an M1064 (M113 based 120mm mortar carrier) tow cable. It is painted and shows very little wear.

Just as a general question, could the tow eyes themselves show a little surface rust from use. I just added a little to my M4A1, but left the cables painted. You REAL armor guys with actual experience would know. Thanks.

Spray the cables with a dark oily metal color. As your paint dries, your cables will stiffen up. The rods for the wheels mimic the real thing. Don't worry about it. Oh, never show tow cables with hints of rust -- these are vital items for any AFV and they'd be always kept in top condition, covered with a thin coat of oil and free from rust. Any rust or wear or fraying would immediately cause the cable to be discarded as any degradation could lead to fatal accidents