"Whatever Happened to the Plastic Tank?" Topic
2 Posts
All members in good standing are free to post here. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the posters, and have not been cleared with nor are they endorsed by The Miniatures Page.
In order to respect possible copyright issues, when quoting from a book or article, please quote no more than three paragraphs.
For more information, see the TMP FAQ.
Back to the Modern Discussion (1946 to 2013) Message Board
Action Log
20 Jan 2015 1:00 p.m. PST by Editor in Chief Bill
- Removed from Modern Media board
- Crossposted to Modern Discussion (1946 to 2005) board
Areas of InterestModern
Featured Hobby News Article
Featured Link
Top-Rated Ruleset
Featured Workbench ArticleHundvig is not a real big fan of pre-painted minis, and he positively despises randomly-packed "collectable" ones - so why is he writing this article?
|
Tango01 | 19 Jan 2015 9:35 p.m. PST |
"The Advanced Composite Armoured Vehicle Platform (ACAVP) was often called the ‘plastic tank' although it was neither. The aim was demonstrate how an advanced plastic/glass fibre composite called E-Glass could provide comparable protection with steel and aluminium with a reduced infra red and acoustic signature and significantly improved corrosion resistance, especially against salt water. A separate spall liner, common on steel and aluminium vehicles, could also be eliminated Development started in 1993 after a 2 year feasibility study and progressed through a number of stages until mobility, safety and survivability tests concluded. Only the hull was composite, all the other components were straight out of the existing vehicle parts bin, running gear, engine and transmission from an Alvis Warrior and turret from a Fox for example. The trials did reveal a few failures in some of the automotive components but reportedly, the hull exceeded all expectations…"
Full article here link Amicalement Armand |
Lion in the Stars | 20 Jan 2015 7:48 p.m. PST |
The K21 IFV has an all-composite hull. The one critical downside that I know of is that once the composite armor takes a big hit, you pretty much need to replace the whole vehicle as the composite delaminates across a large area. And the composite materials tend to be much more expensive than the equivalent amount of armor steel, which makes the disposable vehicles a lot more expensive… |
|