Chieftain Prototype Build

[Armortek]

The Turret and Front Armour castings arrived at the factory towards the end of last week.
Yesterday we started with the Front Armour plate - the pictures below show the first operation - which is skimming the underside to get a datum as well as adding some features to allow us to hold the piece the other way up on a 5 axis machine to put in all the features needed.

First completed Front Armour piece should be off the machines by Friday. Once they are done, which should take about 40 hours then it is on to tackling the turret .. and then its packing up for shipment !

[John Clarke]

Looking great.

Noticed bollards fitted to the Chieftain on the open day, knowing that this is the prototype and will be different to the production model.

I was wondering what other goodies will be supplied. GPMG mount and a commander search light? Ariel mounts?

Also wondering what sort of smoker is going to be offered with the model electronics.

Did anyone lift the commanders hatch? Is it a hollowed out casting?

Shame I couldn't make the open day, So many questions.

[Armortek]

I was wondering what other goodies will be supplied. GPMG mount and a commander search light? Ariel mounts?

John, as per the first post on this thread - what was on the prototype CAD model was what we were making and shipping.
The Chieftain tank is the most detailed model we have made to date and has featured some new things including steel tracks with rubber inserts, ribbed bins, perspex periscopes, bin latches, etc. At some point we need to draw the line on detail added, especially as after market parts will be available.

[John Clarke]

Point taken

[Armortek]

Machining of the hull front armour well underway now & opened the factory on Saturday to get through as much as possible.

Pictures below show before and after. The second picture is the finished hull front. Does not look like much difference, but the second op involved drilling and tapping holes for all the details as well as boring out the drivers hatch cutout and the turret bearing slot.
With castings every piece is different to some degree, so this is a slow process wit lots of checks.
Turrets casting machining planned to start Tues/ Wed.

Before ......

and 40 minutes later

[John Clarke]

WOW

[Armortek]

Machining of the turret has started.

Gaggle of turrets waiting for the first op.

Turret waiting to start second op

First production turret going through test fit on our validation build.

[Kevin Hunter]

Gaggle of turrets waiting for the first op

Always wondered what the correct collective noun was..........

Kevin

[Adrian Harris]

A 'castle' of turrets sounds better to me, but I suppose that might be confusing

Adrian.

[John Clarke]

Wow

How about a "Band" of turrets, in keeping with the tribal Chieftain, By definition, a band was a small, egalitarian, kin-based group of perhaps 10–50 people.

Very fitting

Gaggle, a group of Geese, are we a group of water foul?

[Steve Stuart]

I thought it was a syndrome of Turrets, or is that some body who can't stop thinking about tanks....
Steve

[John Clarke]

Capture11.JPG (19.86 KiB) Viewed 4126 times

Incredible

[David Battson]

Steve,
I think you'll find that 'turrets syndrome' is something very different......though you may be misdiagnosed as having it if you dropped one on your foot... !!
David

[Mark Heaps]

Yippee, Monique has sent an email saying my kit should be shipped later on this week.

[John Clarke]

Congratulations Mark, "A1 No1" recipient. Did Armortek say anything about the option packs?

Checked my inbox, not a sausage :cry: