Churchill Mk3 number 67

[Gary Richardson]

" Mr Surfacer 500 was used to give the block and covers some texture."

Hi Gary - would be able to share the technique you used to achieve the armour plate surface texture?

Just getting to this stage in my Churchill build

C

Hi Chris
I quite like using high build primer then dragging a small sponge across it. You can see the effect on the turret roof, this is for large armour plates and gives the look of the drag marks which occur during the manufacturing process. It works especially well on the Tiger deck plates and turret roof. Be advised high build primer dries very quickly so have the sponge ready, I use a small piece of natural sponge as it seems to work better. Do a test on a scrap bit of metal and try to do the drag mark in one smooth motion. Also make sure any marks are irregular as would occur on real plates.
For the air intake boxes I used Mr Surfacer 500 and simply dabbed it on with a small bristle brush, soft brushes don't work. Only do a few small sections at a time as it is easy to overdo it. This is the air intake box of the Mk3 AVRE at the Tank Museum to give you an idea. I suspect the pitting is just erosion from before she was restored so ignore that.

For the exhausts I use a combination of Mr Surfacer stippled on plus I added some very fine brass chips ( iron filings also work if you want natural rust) from the lathe residue near the joints for the rust effect.

Hope this helps, PM me if you needs more specific info. Also look at my Tiger 1 build as I used a lot of the effects on it.

Regards
Gary

[Chris Singer]

Wonderful! Thanks Gary - I’ll get busy with the sponge!..

[Gary Richardson]

Hi all

Earlier today I posted 'AVRE tows a 17PDR'. While this worked very well I did have a problem with the rear section of mudguard. The tracks were catching it and have distorted both mudguards. At first I thought it was the rows of nuts and bolts I have added but the paint on the underside of those is untouched. The witness marks are on the rear edge of the mudguard so it looks like the front edge of the spud is colliding with the mudguard.
It has been at least 3 months since I last ran the AVRE so I am hoping it was just a couple of tight track pins causing the track to ride up as it crested the rear sprocket.
I did a trial fit of the rear curved mudguard as fitting this may solve the track riding up but there is a problem there too. The tracks are so close to the hull there is very little room with the EX303 and the mudguard fitted for the tracks to pass by. The only solution I can see at the moment is to remove part of the flat inner section of the mudguard EX0318M leaving just a 10mm arc for strength.
Has anybody else noticed this and how did you get round it.

Regards
Gary

Reworked mudguards now in place.

Oops, we have a problem.

[Adrian Harris]

I've noticed something similar on my AVRE. From memory, there's a void in front of the sprocket. The track seems to cling to the sprocket and be pushed down into this void. This inturn causes the following links to ride up off the sprocket and clash with the mudguard. We were looking at it at one of the shows last year and I ended up taking most of the mudguards off to check clearances of the hull and mudguard fasteners.

Adrian.

[Chris.Marshall]

Hi....

If track is 'clinging' to sprocket, then look at the sprocket tooth profile. A friends Panther was 'hanging onto' the track a bit too much. It was fully cured by re machining the sprocket to a properly prototypical tooth profile. There are some marked subtleties between the 'as machined' sprocket and the prototype. The 'chamfering' instruction I believe only takes one part way to the true profile which certainly on the Tiger ( the one I know very well ) is quite a bit different, subtle, but that I believe makes all the difference in the track engagement and release. Friends Panther was hugely improved with these subtle changes.

All the best,

Chris.

[Gary Richardson]

Hi Adrian and Chris

Thanks for your insight. Clinging to the sprocket makes sense, I did a bit of chamfering prior to assembling them but it looks like I need to remove the sprocket assembly and thoroughly check them out.
Might have to wait as I need to reset the suspension arms on the Tiger 1 so its ready the upcoming shows.

Regards
Gary

[Chris.Marshall]

OK ! let us know how you get on when you get there....

C.

[Chris.Marshall]

OK ! let us know how you get on when you get there....

C.

[David Battson]

Hi Gary,
Clearance over the sprocket seems to have been a problem on the real thing aswell. When I was researching Churchill it looked to me that the top of the mudguards was banana shaped ie. they curved up at either end over the sprocket and idler. The amount of curvature seems to have varried with different versions - something to investigate?
David

[Gary Richardson]

Hi Gary,
Clearance over the sprocket seems to have been a problem on the real thing as well. When I was researching Churchill it looked to me that the top of the mudguards was banana shaped i.e. they curved up at either end over the sprocket and idler. The amount of curvature seems to have varied with different versions - something to investigate?
David

Hi David
Nice to hear from you, hope you are keeping well. I jacked the tank up on the trolley and ran the tracks unloaded, they ran well and didn't foul the mudguards but there was only about 3-4mm clearance. I will try running it outside loaded up and see if the problem replicates itself. It may only happen with a load on the tracks. In any event this may become a problem in muddy/long grass conditions as debris accumulates under the mudguards.
I will leave the mudguards bent as it adds a bit of realism

Regards
Gary