AUTHENTICAST/COMET Continuation Page keywords = Comet Authenticast Comet Metal Products Slonim ordnance tank armor armour track self-propelled artillery gun cannon rifle airplane spotter ship naval navy South Salem Wyandotte
Updated: 19 Jan 2005, 23:50 ET
(Created 01 Jan 2005)
[Ref: This is authcmt6.html (URL http://home.att.net/~Berliner-Ultrasonics/authcmt6.html )]

S. Berliner, III's

AUTHENTICAST/COMET
Continuation Page 6

Consultant in Ultrasonic Processing
"changing materials with high-intensity sound"
Technical and Historical Writer, Oral Historian
Popularizer of Science and Technology
Rail, Auto, Air, Ordnance, and Model Enthusiast
Light-weight Linguist, Lay Minister, and Putative Philosopher

Comet Auth Part-Color Logo Comet Auth B&W Logo

Comet Auth Full Color Logo Comet Auth Waterline Logo (Logos from 1945 Catalog)

This site has now been visited times since the counter was installed.

Please refer to the Ordnance page, et seq.

INDEX:

On the main Authenticast/Comet page:
Comet Metal Products, Inc.
AUTHENTICAST

On Authenticast/Comet continuation page 1:
Comet Metal Products History

(collected and moved there 02 Jul 03)
1945 Comet Metal Products AUTHENTICAST Catalog

Tank Scale of 1:108
1945 Comet Metal Products AUTHENTICAST Price List
AUTHENTICAST Ship Models.
AUTHENTICAST Miscellany.

On Authenticast/Comet continuation page 2:
1950s Fitted Case of Tanks

(continued on Cont. Page 5).

(01 Jan 05)
Atomic Cannon
Honest John
USS Northampton - CLC-1
South Salem Studios
Comet, AUTHENTICAST, South Salem, and Related Links

On Authenticast/Comet continuation page 3:
Comet Then and Now and Map.
The Greater World of Comet AUTHENTICAST - A History. Red, White, and Blue Boxes.

On Authenticast/Comet continuation page 4:
WWII Tank ID Box.
1:500 Ships Price List.
Old AUTHENTICAST Photos.

On the Authenticast/Comet continuation page 5:
1950s Fitted Case of Tanks, 1-50 (continued from Cont. Page 2).

On this Authenticast/Comet continuation page 6:
1950s Fitted Case of Tanks, 51 - 100 (continued from Cont. Page 5.

On the Authenticast/Comet continuation page 7:
1950s Fitted Case of Tanks, comments (continued from Cont. Page 6).

On the Authenticast/Comet continuation page 8:
South Salem Studio's U. S. Ships Navy Case
Comet Authenticast HELP! (19 Oct 07)

On the Ordnance Continuation Page 1:
MORE ORDNANCE APOCRYPHA

On the Ordnance Continuation Page 2:
RAILROAD GUNS.
ATOMIC CANNON.
SMALL ARMS.

On Ordnance Continuation Page 3:
CALIBER (Calibre).
Anzio Annie.
SMALL ARMS (moved from Page 2 on 13 Apr 00)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Russian Armor.
HELP!

Comet "Authenticast" 1:432 Aircraft Models,

and see Airplanes on the main Comet/AUTHENTICAST page.

Comet Metal Products Co., Inc.
AUTHENTICAST

Comet Auth Full Color Logo Comet Auth Waterline Logo (Logos from 1945 Catalog)

1950s Fitted Case of Tanks

51 - 100

Almost as promised on Comet/AUTHENTICAST Continuation Page 2, "{I will add the other pictures here}", I hauled out that fitted case yet again, again (30 Dec 2004) and opened it for the THIRD time in perhaps six or more years and the IGC (InterGranular Corrosion) proceeds apace! They are NOT falling apart along glue lines; I think I see what's going wrong. Comet did NOT glue them together; they "spot welded" them ("spot soldered", really) and the solder must have been tin-rich. The tin migrated into the base metals (lead and zinc) of the castings and that probably caused much of the IGC. Looking carefully at the photos of the most severely damaged models, you can see that most of them have "blossomed" with IGC at two places, one where a chip of paint was missing (or where the paint coat was bad) and the other wherever parts were soldered together. In addition, some have "sweated" IGC under the paint, probably where the surface was poorly prepared (or not prepared at all); these give some of the most dramatic (if evanescent) results in that the paint simply flakes off in great sheets, carrying the exact imprint of the underlying metal before it was disfigured by IGC!

So, on 30 Dec 2004, I created a reference scale sheet (bad mistake) and reshot the head on views of the left and right case halves and set about shooting each individual model. Not all went as planned; I discovered (afterward) to my horror that my semi-automatic digital SLR camera (Olympus D-500L) is not quite the WYSIWYG device I thought it was. The fool thing (I'll never accept the blame!) decided to do its own focusing, so I had to reshoot a few, and its own aperture setting, with the result that it selected the scale sheet instead of the models and every single one of the 100 photos had to be artificially lightened!

I added links which will refer directly from Cont. Page 5 and this page to comments on Cont. Page 7. (05 Jan 05)

Oh, well - here we go, repeating some of the information from Cont. Page 2 for continuity and adding commentary below each individual image:

(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[These first two photos (only) are thumbnails, click on images for larger pictures]

The cubbies have (or had) tiny, typed labels, numbered from 1 to 100 from upper left, across and down on each side:

   1  2  3  4  5  |  51 52 53 54 55
   6  7  8  9 10  |  56 57 58 59 60
  11 12 13 14 15  |  61 62 63 64 65
  16 17 18 19 20  |  66 67 68 69 70
  21 22 23 24 25  |  71 72 73 74 75
  26 27 28 29 30  |  76 77 78 79 80
  31 32 33 34 35  |  81 82 83 84 85
  36 37 38 39 40  |  86 87 88 89 90
  41 42 43 44 45  |  91 92 93 94 95
   46 47 48 49 50  |  96 97 98 99 100

which are (or were) held in place by the old, shiny clear tape which is browning and drying out out after all these years.

Now, I am going to play a little game here; I am identifying these photos in a triple manner; I will be placing the official Comet AUTHENTICAST model number and catalog description (with 1945 price, if applicable) directly above the images. Then, directly UNDER the image goes the real ID of the item modeled in brackets [ ], and under that, in braces { }, is my best guess.

Where two pictures exist side-by-side, I've used the slash to separate notes,

[ / ] and { / } and a hyphen if nothing applies [xxx / -] or {- / xxx}.

(05 Jan 05)

The German "PzKw" (more properly "PzKpfw") refers to PanzerKampfwagen (armored war wagon = Armored Fighting Vehicle). (05 Jan 05)

Other conventions: (19 Jan 05)
WWII - GMC = Gun Motor Carriage (also General Motors Corporation)

HMC = Howitzer Motor Carriage
Later - SPG = Self-Propelled Gun

SPH = Self-Propelled Howitzer

Thirty-four detailed shots follow the second 50 cubby shots and are fully cross-referenced to all the 100 (hopefully).

Rather than clutter up the listings with even more codes, just be aware that the 5000-series was British, the 5050-series was Japanese, the 5100-series was German, the 5150-series was American, and the 5200-series was Russian (not a particularly open-ended numbering system, was it?).

51 - {5207? JOSEF STALIN III HEAVY TANK $?.??} / 52 - 5169 "76MM SHERMAN" (76mm Medium Tank M4A3) $1.50:
AuthTanks51

(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[JS-III / -]
{This is one with a common nail for a gun /
see note with comment 111}

53 - 5010 CHURCHILL INFANTRY TANK Mark VII $1.50 / 54 - 5163 QUACK Ľ TON AMPHIBIOUS "JEEP" $1.35:
Auth Tanks 53 Auth Tanks 54
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{see also 12 - I believe this was the "Black Prince", not a Mark VII* / "Seep", not "Quack"!}

* - The Mark VII had a fabricated turret on a slightly wider and stronger hull but was only armed with the British 75mm QF gun (a re-bored 6 Pdr firing the same round as the Sherman), while the Black Prince was the last (not terribly successful) version with a big 17 Pdr gun, which the model seems to have. (07 Jan 05)

55 - {Utility Trailer not available in 1945} / 56 - 5172 T17E-2 ARMORED CAR $1.75:
Auth Tanks 55 Auth Tanks 56
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{- / see comment 108}

57 - 5154 HALF-TRACK M3A1 $1.35 / 58 - 5181 2˝ TON 6x6 TRUCK $1.65:
Auth Tanks 57 Auth Tanks 58
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{- / seems to be a 10x10 (duals on rear axles), see also 78}

59 - {M42 Duster not available in 1945} / 60 - {Honest John not available in 1945}:
Auth Tanks 59 Auth Tanks 60
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{Twin 40mm AA on M41 chassis, successor to M19 on M24 chassis / -}

61 - 5171 T17E-1 ARMORED CAR $1.75 / 62 - 5156 PRIEST (105mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7) $1.75:
Auth Tanks 61 Auth Tanks 62
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[ / ]
{see comment 108 / see comment 106}

63 - 5011 "SHERMAN VC" $1.50 / 64 - 5170 T9E-1 AIRBORNE TANK $1.35:
Auth Tanks 63 Auth Tanks 64
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / M22 (T9E1)]
{see comment 106 (that's Five-C}; the VC is an M4A4 retrofitted with a 17-pdr gun and with
the bow MG removed for additional arms storage / see note at 30} (07 Jan 05)

65 - 5158 GENERAL STUART (Light Tank M5A1) $1.35 / 66 - 5200 KV 1 HEAVY TANK $1.75:
Auth Tanks 65 Auth Tanks 66
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{see comments 101 and 123-116 / -}

67 - {M46 Patton prototype} / 68 - 5054 MEDIUM TANK 2597 $1.25:
Auth Tanks 67 Auth Tanks 68
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{see comments 110 and 11o / -}

69 - 5167 SLUGGER II (90mm Gun Motor Carriage M36B1) $1.35 / 70 - {Atomic Cannon not available in 1945}:
Auth Tanks 69 Auth Tanks 70
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{see comment 109 / -}

71 - 5179 GENERAL PATTON M46 $2.00 / 72 - 5201 KV 2 HEAVY TANK $1.75:
Auth Tanks 71 Auth Tanks 72
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{turret pin sheared off / (KV 2 gun is original; M45 is not)}
(06 Jan 05)

75 - {Missile Crew not available in 1945} / 76 - 5204 T70 LIGHT TANK $1.35:
Auth Tanks 75 Auth Tanks 76
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{the missile crewmen were stored in cubby 75 but belong with the Honest John missile launcher / -}

77 - {M3 Medium not available in 1945} / 78 - 5183 U. S. TROOP CARRIER, 2˝ TON $2.00:
Auth Tanks 77 Auth Tanks 78
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{see comment 111 and 112 / see 58 and 100 and comment 119}

79 - 5052 TANKETTE 2592 $1.10 / 80 - 5055 TANKETTE 2597 $1.10:
Auth Tanks 79 Auth Tanks 80
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{Ishikawajima 2592 (based on Vickers Carden Lloyd) / -}

81 - 5162 SCOUT CAR M3A1 $1.30 {?}/ 82 - {M48 Patton II not available in 1945}:
Auth Tanks 81 Auth Tanks 82
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{see also 5 / -}

83 - 5106 PzKw III MEDIUM TANK Model M $1.50 / 84 - 5159 WOLVERINE (3" Gun Motor Carriage M10A1) $1.35:
Auth Tanks 83 Auth Tanks 84
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[PzKpfw III Ausf. M / -]
{see also 1 and 21 and comment 105 /
see also 36 and comment 109}

85 - 5105 PzKw II LIGHT TANK $1.10 / 86 - {Dodge 3/4-ton WC not available in 1945}:
Auth Tanks 85 Auth Tanks 86
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[PzKpfw II / -]
{unique suspension / -}

87 - 5180 WALKER BULLDOG $1.75 / 88 - 5109 PzKw 38T $1.25:
Auth Tanks 87 Auth Tanks 88
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[M41 Light Tank / PzKpfw 38t]
{see also 47 - why two? / Czech(Tscheschische)-built}

89 - {M44 155mm SPH not available in 1945} (19 Jan 05) / 90 - {modified from civilian vehicle}:
Auth Tanks 89 Auth Tanks 90
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[M44 SPH (19 Jan 05) / -]
{note the "huge" blossom of IGC at right rear / 4-door taxi(?)}

91 - {M47 Medium not available in 1945} / 92 - 5053 MEDIUM TANK 2596 $1.35:
Auth Tanks 91 Auth Tanks 92
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{M47 had an interim turret on the M48 chassis, but the M47 model
seems to have a different hull than the M48 model / -}

93 - 5171 T17E-1 ARMORED CAR $1.75 / 94 - {T98/M52 105mm SPH not available in 1945} (19 Jan 05) :
Auth Tanks 93 Auth Tanks 94
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / M52] (07 and 19 Jan 05)
{see also 61 and comment 108 /
the T98 became the M52} (19 Jan 05)

95 - 5205 STZ ARMORED CARRIER $1.25 / 96 - {M103 Heavy not available in 1945}:
Auth Tanks 95 Auth Tanks 96
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{- / 122mm gun so long that model must have turret reversed to fit in cubby}

97 - {M26 w/Commander not available in 1945} / 98 - {M46 w/Commander not available in 1945}:
Auth Tanks 97 Auth Tanks 98
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{see comment 132}

99 - {SU-122 not available in 1945} / (1)00 - {seated personnel from 5183 Troop Carrier}:
Auth Tanks 99 Auth Tanks (1)00
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{note large sheet of paint lifting off roof /
the crewmen were stored in cubby 100 but belong on the Jimmy with benches (78)}

Well, now, that about does it! Next, the detailed shots and comments (keyed, but only in some vague semblance of logical order); because of AT&T Worldnet's limitation of 30Kb per page, this had to be moved to yet another new page, Comet AUTHENTICAST Continuation Page 7.

I will have to get back to finish these listings.