AUTHENTICAST/COMET Continuation Page 5 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: 06 Jan 2005, 01:00 ET
(Created 01 Jan 2005)
[Ref: This is authcmt5.html (URL http://home.att.net/~Berliner-Ultrasonics/authcmt5.html )]

S. Berliner, III's

AUTHENTICAST/COMET
Continuation Page 5

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 the 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 the 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 the 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 the Authenticast/Comet continuation page 4:

WWII Tank ID Box.
1:500 Ships Price List.
Old AUTHENTICAST Photos.

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

On the 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

1 - 50

Almost as promised on Comet/AUTHENTICAST Continuation Page 2, "{I will add the other pictures here}", I hauled out that fitted case yet 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 dramartic (if evanescent) results in that the paint simply flakes off in great sheets, caarying 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 this page and Cont. Page 6 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 or link to comments.

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)

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

1 - 5100 PzKw III MEDIUM TANK Model C $1.35 / 2 - 5153 GREYHOUND (Light Armored CarM8) $1.25:
Auth Tanks 01

(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
["Model" is "Ausfuhrung"; PzKpfw III Ausf. C. / -]
{see also 21 and comment 101 / -}

3 - 5152 GENERAL SHERMAN (Medium Tank M4A3) $1.50 / 4 - 5151 HEAVY TANK M6 $1.75:
Auth Tanks 03 Auth Tanks 04
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[No one ever used the word "GENERAL" / -]
{see comment 106 /
the tracks on the M6 were split so the outer halves could be disconnected
for rail shipment (a similar arrangement applied to the PzKpfw VI Tiger - see note 10, below)}

5 - 5162 SCOUT CAR M3A1 {custom} / 6 - 5150 75MM GUN MOTOR CARRIAGE M3 {halftrack} $1.50:
Auth Tanks 05 Auth Tanks 06
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[Car has homemade crane in place of 50 cal. MG / -]
{see comments 117-118 and 126 / -}

7 - 5163 QUACK Ľ TON AMPHIBIOUS "JEEP" $1.35 / 8 - GERMAN - 5112 3 TON ARMORED HALF-TRACK {sic} $1.50:
Auth Tanks 07 Auth Tanks 08
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[it was NEVER a "Quack"; it was a "Seep"! / The Wehrmacht didn't have HALF-tracks; they were ¾-tracks!]
{see comments 115 / -}

9 - 5003 HUMBER ARMORED CAR Mark II #1.35 / 10 - 5107 "TIGER" PzKw VI Heavy Tank $1.75:
Auth Tanks 09 Auth Tanks 10
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / PzKpfw VI]
{- / Tigers had removable outer road wheels and narrower tracks for rail shipment
(see note 4 above re 4 M6 Heavy}

11 - 5000 COVENANTER IV $1.35 / 12 - 5001 CHURCHILL INFANTRY TANK Mark II $1.75:
Auth Tanks 11 Auth Tanks 12
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{- / see also 53 Churchill Mark VI}

13 - 5002 UNIVERSAL CARRIER $1.10 / 14 - 5161 M29C CARGO CARRIER "WEASEL" $1.50:
Auth Tanks 13 Auth Tanks 14
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{a.k.a. Bren Gun Carrier / the windshield on the Weasel came off and was glued back long ago}

15 - 5004 CARDEN LOYD CARRIER Mark VI $1.10 / 16 - 5005 VALENTINE INFANTRY TANK Mark V $1.35:
Auth Tanks 15 Auth Tanks 16
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{- /-}

17 - 5007 CRUSADER CRUISER TANK Mark III $1.35 / 18 - 5009 CROMWELL CRUISER TANK Mark III $1.35:
Auth Tanks 17 Auth Tanks 18
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{weird early model with auxiliary turrets for secondary armament;
left gun broken off and replaced by pin (see also 25 and see comment 133-134) / -}

19 - 5155 HELLCAT (76mm Gun Motor Carriage M18) $1.35 / 20 - 5103 PzKw IV Model G $1.50:
Auth Tanks 19 Auth Tanks 20
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{fastest tracked vehicle (60mph)! / PzKpfw IV Ausf. G (see also 29 and comment 107)}

21 - 5100 PzKw III MEDIUM TANK Model C $1.35 / 22 - 5101 PzKw I LIGHT TANK $1.10:
Auth Tanks 21 Auth Tanks 22
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[PzKpfw III Ausf. C / PzKpfw I]
{see comment 101 / -}

25 - 5007 CRUSADER CRUISER TANK Mark III $1.35 / 26 - 5157 GENERAL SCOTT (76mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M8) $1.35:
Auth Tanks 25 Auth Tanks 26
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{see also 17 and see comment 133-134 /
I see that I drilled out the barrel end on the M8, which NO ONE called a General Scott!
M8 HMC shares turret with LVTA4 (42) - see comment 122}

27 - 5051 AMPHIBIAN TANKETTE 2500{?} $1.10 / 28 - 5108 8 WHEELED ARMORED CAR $1.50:
Auth Tanks 27 Auth Tanks 28
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / SdKfz 232 (or 234?)]
{- / see comment 104}

29 - 5104 PzKw IV Model F $1.25 / 30 - 5170 T9E-1 AIRBORNE TANK $1.35:
Auth Tanks 29 Auth Tanks 30
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[PzKpfw IV Asuf. F / M22 (T9E1) Locust]
{see also 20 and comment 107 / see also 64; the Locust
was specifically designed to fit in the British Hamilcar glider (bigger than our Waco CG-4A)}

31 - 5174 TANK RECOVERY M32 $2.00 / 32 - 5165 GENERAL PERSHING (Heavy {sic} Tank M26) $1.75:
Auth Tanks 31 Auth Tanks 32
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / M26 Medium]
{see comment 106 / see comment 110}

33 - 5203 T34 MEDIUM TANK (76.2mm Gun) $1.50 / 34 - 5201 JOSEF STALIN HEAVY TANK $1.75:
Auth Tanks 33 Auth Tanks 34
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / JS-I]
{direct descendant of Christie / JS-I has a nail for a gun barrel}

35 - 5206 T34/85 MEDIUM TANK $1.75 / 36 - 5168 SLUGGER (90mm Gun Motor Carriage M36) $1.35:
Auth Tanks 35 Auth Tanks 36
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{- / see comment 109}

37 - 5164 KING KONG (M12 155 Gun Motor Carriage) $2.00 / 38 - 5102 48MM {sic} PANZERJAGER PzKw I Chassis $1.10:
Auth Tanks 37 Auth Tanks 38
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{Long Tom (not King Kong); see comment 124 / 47mm Panzerjäger}

39 - 5111 75MM STURMGESCHUTZ $1.50 / 40 - 5160 WILLYS "JEEP" (½ {sic} Ton, 4x4, Truck) $1.75:
Auth Tanks 39 Auth Tanks 40
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[Sturmgeschutz III / the Jeep was a ¼-ton truck]
{see comment 105 / -}

41 - 5176 LANDING VEHICLE TANK (LVT4) $2.00 / 42 - 5175 LANDING VEHICLE TANK (LVTA4) $2.00:
Auth Tanks 41 Auth Tanks 42
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / may more properly be LVT(A)4]
{see comment 120 /
LVTA4 shares turret with M8 HMC - see comment 122}

43 - 5178 MEDIUM TANK 105 HOW. M45 $1.75 / 44 - 5166 GENERAL CHAFFEE (Light Tank M24) $1.50:
Auth Tanks 43 Auth Tanks 44
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{The M45 had a common nail for a barrel until I replaced it with this hand-tapered one
see comment 127 / -}

45 - 5173 DUKW (Amphibian) 2˝ ton 6x6 $2.00 / 46 - 5177 UTILITY TANK {sic} M44 $2.00:
Auth Tanks 45 Auth Tanks 46
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / M44 Armored Personnel Carrier (NOT a tank)]
{The canopy over the DUKW driver's compartment has all but come off from IGC /
see comment 125}

49 - 5182 COMMAND CAR $.75 / 50 - 5110 "PANTHER" PzKw V Medium Tank $1.75:
Auth Tanks 49 Auth Tanks 50
(30 Dec 04 photos by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[- / -]
{odd - this is a TWO-door (see also 90) / NOT "Royal Tiger", as marked -
see comment 129}

Detailed shots and comments (keyed, but only in some vague semblance of logical order) follow after 51 - 100.
Because of AT&T Worldnet's limitation of 30Kb per page, this had to be continued on yet another new page,

Comet AUTHENTICAST Continuaton Page 6.

I will have to get back to finish these listings.