Now this is something different.. an interesting looking vehicle!



Hisham

WOOOOW, very cool, I still have the old Solido one kicking around somewhere

Good to see someone finally interested in French vehicles. The choice is not the best though. I would have preferred the AMX13 in the background
One strange thing is the FL10 turret which is correct but less common than the FL11. The HB turret is perfect for the AMX13 so hopefully this is one of their next projects.

Sweet! hope there's more to come S35, ARL-44, AMX-50 anyone?

I, personally, would have preferred to see a newly tooled, up-to-date VAB 4X4.

Hisham

Christmas was a month ago Hisham.......

I remember seeing these as Gate Guards/Monuments at a German Barracks I was staying at supporting a school back in 1997. I had no clue as what it was at the time..but remember it being neat looking at the time. I think I'll get one if I can get a decent price on it.

I also still have my old Solido EBR! Bent barrel, one rubber tire, and all. My specimen does offer one a great opportunity to see real paint-chipping at scale!

This was one of my very early fav AFV - I'll be in line for the kit!

Couple of factoids about this... IIRC, the original design actually dates back to 1938 - 39... the engineers and bureau folks squirreled away all the draft design work and kept all their lips buttoned so those Germans never got wind of what would have been a rather advanced A/C! Development resumed in 1946, I think, with rapid run to production. Aside from the "drive from either end" provision similar to that seen in German 8-rads, this car offered a novel solution to on - versus off-road operation: those non-steering central all-metal wheels were slightly undersized and so the car travels smoothly and easily as a 4-wheeler on the pavement, but has sure-footedness in the rough! Less energy needed to move it (on road) and less wear n tear on complex suspensions such as on the 234 8-rad cars.

Less visible but rather cool is another technological novelty... the EBR is a mid-engine "sportscar"! It has its mo-mo right beneath the turret - a special flat "horizontally-opposed" engine that is about 8 US inches thick, IIRC! Probably a little hard to service unless one pulls that turret out, but... Does make for a compact vehicle. That turret is also a pretty different approach, as all can see...

All in all, it IS French...

Way cool! I WANT one of these on my shelf!

PS: Would be nice to see some WWII French A/C, a new VAB, etc., etc., etc. But that's the XMAS wish-list This one looks to be closer to a real bird-in-hand and I'll gladly take it. Others will come (maybe even that ugly little AMX-13 thing)!

Bob

Here are the two variants of the EBR. The FL-10 is on top, the earlier FL-11 just below :







More info on Chars-français and here (in French) :
http://mvcgfrance.org/tech_ebrre.htm

HTH

Frenchy

Frenchy
I did remember from a book a long time ago a super Sherman Israeli version with the turret of the EBR. Am I wrong??
Cheers
Seb

Yes please!

I'm not interested in a lot of post war armour but this is one subject I really like. I even thought of doing it in resin or scratching it

Looking forward to this

No, but I guess you're talking about an Egyptian variant based on a Sherman M4A4 hull, which was re-engined with the GM 6-71 twin-diesel engine from the Sherman M4A2 (The tanks were converted in France ):



Many were captured by the IDF during the Six Day War...

Frenchy

Just out of curiousity, was the EBR ever actually used in any conflicts?

Hisham

According to Wikipedia, by the Portuguese in Africa and in the Algerian war. If it is on the internet, it's true

It's true that EBRs have been used by the French in Algeria, but I guess many of them there were FL-11s...

Anyway here's a FL-10 belonging to the 3eme RCA (Régiment de Chasseurs d’Afrique) in 1957 in Algeria:

http://www.anciens3rch-3rca.fr/tinc?key=vfJQWbe0&fs_settings=3,14,1,5,800,740

Here's the weird looking Panhard Flat-twelve engine :



Frenchy

I'm very hapy
http://www.areamilitar.net/DIRECTORIO/TER.aspx?nn=53&p=77

José César

I have three pics of EBR's in Angola and they all seem to be FL-10 (at least two are for sure).

Here's one from West Sahara:

(from Magnum Photos)

Cheers,
/E

I'm mostly a WW II modeler, but I've always liked the French armoured cars.They've always been elegant to me. The EBRs have been amongst my favourites for a long time and I'll definitely get one of these. You have to think that eventually either an FL11 version will come from HB or that some enterprising souls will produce a conversion.

A friend of mine recently completed a resin EBR-FL11 and it looks simply sweet. A very attractive vehicle.

Gotta get me one!

Paul

I'd love the FL-11 version to come out. And I agree that if the FL-10 turret leads to a new AMX-13, that would be so wonderful! Quite frankly I never thought I'd see a 1/35 injection molded kit of this in my lifetime.

Are there any other variants , APC , Command Track , etc built on this vehicle ? Thought they used a turret less version during DeGaulle's funeral ?

Another kit to save up for

There was an APC variant called EBR ETT :


More pics on WarWheels.net

AFAIK, only Portugal bought some (28) ...Here's one of them :



Here's the turretless EBR used for De Gaulle's funerals (it belonged to the Gendarmerie)



Talking about other EBR variants, some had been modified for AMX-30 crews underwater escape training :

In use
http://servir-et-defendre.com/viewtopic.php?f=109&t=3160
Now :
http://servir-et-defendre.com/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=3157

HTH

Frenchy

OK, because I know nothing about this vehicle I need to ask a question. What are the central all metal wheels for? Very interesting looking vehicle, I may have to get one of these.

Thanks for all the info. Frenchy

That turretless one in the pic, is it the vehicle that carried De Gaulle's casket in the funeral?

Hisham

These wheels (made of Alpax - an aluminium alloy) are lowered for off-road use, to improve traction. They are raised for road use. They also act as add-on armor.

Frenchy

Cory;

The EBR is functionally and technologically - speaking really a sort of chimera - the 4 rubber-tired wheels provide both power and steering when on hard road surfaces. The middle pairs of all-metal wheels are smaller (well-seen in the last few pics posted this thread) and serve to add traction, support and power when the vehicle is crossing soft or very rough ground. Think of them as being "available additional rollers" to avoid "high-centering" on what is otherwise a rather long wheel-base. (Lots of other wheeled AFV have various "rollers" added to improve x-country and obstacle-crossing ability - US M... and French WWII half-tracks, many "esoteric" trucks and prime-movers, etc. are all examples). Mostly these "accessories" are non-powered and are located at front or rear ends/beneath bumpers to ease vehicle approach to a barrier. The EBR takes its rollers to the middle and powers them up.

Someone will post and correct me, I think (HOPE, If I'm really wrong in this...!): Those EBR middle wheels could be raised and lowered as desired- Those tech diagrams strongly suggest this ability and it would be both very rational and pretty easy, technologically, to do. This would make the EBR much more adaptable - 4 rubber on the road for economy and ease (and less wear on French roads...) - all 8 down when the going gets rough!

The EBR looks at first glance to be very similar to both the WWII German 8-rad cars (SdKfz 231/232 and 234/ series) and to the diversity of post-war 8-wheel AFV (Soviet/East Bloc series, US (Stryker and LAV), other makes). But it is really different...

Those German 8-rad cars had 8-wheel drive coupled with 8-wheel steering (quite complex), and all wheels were in contact with the ground when on the level road. Post-war 8-wheelers typically follow "8-wheels driven and all on the level road" design, though the very complex 8-wheel steering has gone away in some makes...

So the EBR is pretty different - both in its 4 - on-road / 8 - x-country drive, AND its ONLY 4 steering (2 front 2 back rubber - tired wheels). A rather different concept and technical approach to providing a high-mobility wheeled AFV!

Hope this gives you just enough teaser to go for more!

Bob