Thursday, August 29, 2013

Couple Fill Their Shed With Collection Of 80 Rare Tanks

One couple's love of armoured tanks has turned their family home into a war zone.

Mechanic Andrew Baker swapped his job mending fork lifts and cars to forge a career buying and
selling Army vehicles.

Mr Baker and his wife have been collecting tanks for more than 20 years and keep 80 in a shed at their family home in Dunchurch, Warwickshire.

Even their two children, Lawrence, 16, and Christian, 15, have inherited the obsession owning a rare ‘Streaker’ tank between them.

Mr Baker said: 'Most of our tanks are modern British Army tanks but our oldest vehicle is a Second World War half-track with an anti-aircraft machine gun on top.

'We have an incredibly rare collection. We are the only place in the world to have a full set of CVRT - a group of 10 armoured vehicles only made in Coventry.'

The value of the tanks depends on the condition and model of the vehicle. Most can be bought for between £10,000 and £100,000. Wao, what a rare obssession!.
Mr Baker said: 'The turreted tanks are the most valuable and if I sold them could be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

'It was just a hobby years ago, I decided to buy a tank and do it up and from there. It just grew and grew and grew.

'It was something a bit different. For years I always liked Scorpion tanks.

'I finally decided to buy one and used my skills as a mechanic to rebuild the tank as a collectors piece.'

The family buys tanks which are in poor condition or in bits.

Mr Baker said: 'We completely take them apart, service them, paint them and put them back
together again.

'Sometimes when we buy the tanks they are already in bits and we have to fit them back together like a giant jig-saw puzzle.

Mr Baker's wife Sally is also a tank enthusiast. He said: 'She joins in with the business, helps organise shows and can even drive them.'





Source:Dailymail.co.uk

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