Greyhead

Does anybody have any decent 3 view drawings of Vickers and / or Lewis machine guns there are prepared to share? I’ve “Googled” to no avail; it’ll be sometime before they become a “must have” item but it’s better to be prepared in advance.

Greyhead

I decided to look for models rather than the real thing and “bingo”!!

Check out the links below if you’re going to need to build a Vickers or Lewis


Lewis machine gun

http://arizonamodels.com/manuals/Lew...1be3dc2721a009

Vickers machine gun

http://arizonamodels.com/manuals/Vic...1be3dc2721a009

The kits are expensive but the plans are for free!

wonwinglo

Grahame,Williams Bros used to do excellent WW.1 gun sets,they were idea for making your own guns and using these as patterns.

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'And there I was oil on my goggles from a broken pipe,then I looked at the altimeter,all I could see was the makers name !'
www.wonwinglo.scale-models.net/

Bunkerbarge

They are pretty comprehensive instructions there Graham and probably enough to be able to make your own from.

If they are anything like your "Office" they are going to be worth seeing!

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“Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack, Butting through the Channel in the mad March days"

Greyhead

Unfortunately Williams Brothers items are as rare as hens teeth at the moment, I’ve had a pair of 5” wheels on order for about 6 months now. As for the guns, with these instructions / plans they shouldn’t be too much trouble. The water jacket on the Vickers seems to be the only slightly difficult piece, I’m thinking of litho plate with the flutes pressed in using a similar method to the strengthening ribs on the undercarriage.

But as I said they’re not urgent so I’ve got lots of time to think / experiment.

wonwinglo

Yes Grahame the Williams Bros factory was closed sometime last year,the family decided to call it a day after illness started to affect the business.
Not sure whether there are any moves to save the extensive range of products offered by this company,you could also try Proctor Enterprises who do a very extensive range of model accessories,I know that you derive a lot of pleasure from making the bits yourself,but no harm in taking a look at how they have tackled some of these more difficult to model items.

__________________
'And there I was oil on my goggles from a broken pipe,then I looked at the altimeter,all I could see was the makers name !'
www.wonwinglo.scale-models.net/

alan2525

Have you tried contacting the Imperial War Museum - they have a massive archive and someone there would probably be up to the challenge of finding what you are after.

They also have an online reference collection

http://www.iwmcollections.org.uk/inair/



Lewis M1914 (air)
Catalogue or Negative No.: FIR 9406

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Kiwi

Contrary to many rumours Williams Bros are NOT out of production, they are ,however, under new management and are being produced in Texas instead of California
www.williamsbrothersmodelproducts.com

Greyhead

Thanks for the info, although I’ve now got excellent plans / instructions to make the Vickers and Lewis guns you can’t beat photos of the real thing to get the finishing touches right.

According to my local model shop the “new” Williams Brothers are, quite understandably, concentrating on re-stocking their American outlets first so here in the UK it’ll be a while before new stocks arrive. It might just be a “blessing in disguise” if it forces me to make some spoked wheels for the SE5a.

wonwinglo

Grahame the agent for Williams Bros in the UK,used to be Flair Products,whether they are still going to import I do not know because the company was taken over last year and streamlined their stocks ? good to know that someone has had the foresight to carry on with the Williams lines.

__________________
'And there I was oil on my goggles from a broken pipe,then I looked at the altimeter,all I could see was the makers name !'
www.wonwinglo.scale-models.net/