Combat Dealers star Bruce Crompton and tank restorer Oliver Barnham will be sharing their tank restoration adventures at the TANKFEST Premium Experience, 17-20 September.
The new TANKFEST Premium Experience gives participants a chance to go behind the scenes and discover from the experts what it takes to recover, own and rebuild a historic tank.
Bruce Crompton, best known as the star of TV’s Combat Dealers, will be talking about his latest project to restore a Panther tank to running condition for the Australian Armour and Combat Museum.
The Panther, which was knocked out in Normandy, took an estimated 14,500 hours over four years to rebuild. But the work has retained the authentic appearance and historic features of the vehicle – even using its original Maybach engine.
Oliver Barnham spent over ten years restoring a Second World War Type 95 Ha-Go to running condition, having recovered the tank from a remote South Pacific island. One of only two running examples, Oliver’s Ha-Go made its TANKFEST debut in 2019.
He’ll be exploring the process of restoring this 80 year old Japanese vehicle, explaining how they were able to retain many of the original parts, including the engine – which had not been used since the tank was parked up and abandoned by the Japanese Army in 1945.
Bruce and Oliver will be sharing unique insights from their adventures as vehicle collectors and restorers to TANKFEST Premium Ticket Holders from Friday 17 to Monday 20 September.
