Chieftain No. 34

[John Clarke]

Hi Mark
On most tanks the wading rail seems to be clipped at the back armor plate as it is supplied on the model.
Only the odd surviving tank has the full wading rail present.

But some tanks shown here, have the wading rail clipped early, just after the gun bumper stop rail rear. Not something I would expect would be easily attached without welding back.
Or was wading a non essential add on?

Complete wading rail

Standard rear end clipped rail.

Even more wading rail clipped

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[Stephen White]

Ah, there's a very good reason for that. When I first stepped onto a Chieftain, in 1971, the rails were intact, although whoever thought that wading a Chieftain was a good idea must have been away with the fairies. Apart from anything else, the L60 would have been bound to pack up at the most embarrassing moment. When I was observing our Soviet friends "over there" however, they waded their T-64 every year at the bridging site at Kehnert with no great fuss. Great fun to watch.

The game went like this. One of the crew, in a moment's inattention, would overfill the diesel tanks and diesel pooled around the wading rails. You then headed off to the next war and at some point went down a slope. Now the driver sat in his open hatch with the wading rails either side of his head. Result - a very P....d off driver with a deluge of diesel down his neck.

If that wasn't a problem, then putting your sleeping bag down on the back decks was bound to cause upset if diesel had been spilled. The tank commander (ie me) always slept on the outside, so that he could be woken without disturbing the rest of the crew. Guess who got to sleep in diesel? That is until someone had the bright idea of dispensing with the wading nonsense. Yes, the good men of Vickers had provided drain holes but they could be easily blocked even if a diligent driver with a sense of self-preservation regularly unblocked them.

Ah, the smell of diesel in the morning......

Stephen1

[Charles A Stewart]

Evening all.

Thanks for input, some good photos of the engine hatch handles, more please if that's OK.

I had a go this afternoon, but not to sure about result or the end ones yet.

That phrase "Hurry up and stop" springs to mind. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the process, albeit as my first such build it is challenging (pun intended

Cheers all Charles

[John Clarke]

Thanks Stephen. All makes perfect sense now. I was going to be a bit short on the wading rail after making a few alterations at the front end, shaping etc which shortened the front end piece by around 20mm.
I suppose there were few opportunities during Batus exercises to do some wading too, so the missing rail won't look out of place.
Charles, pictures what ever you want if I've got them. Don't forget Phil's wonderful Chieftain build too. An excellent source of material. Allows you to see what can be achieved with the kit. :mrgreen
I thought it was, stop the ride I want to get off!

[Richard Goodwin]

Hi Charles,

Am a bit behind the drag curve here........good choice re the beacon; it is expensive for what it is but looks soooo realistic Hopefully you remembered to order some replacement caps for that just in case moment......?

Some good detailing going on here, keep it up! Looking forward to the finished covers

[Charles A Stewart]

Good evening all.

Thank you John /Richard for your comments.

I could use some detailed photo of the engine covers, if that's OK. I have been looking at Phil's build, that's wot tempted me to have a go. The hatches needed something .

As to replacement winky pot cover, hindsight is a wonderful thing, I hope won't detach. However I refer the honourable gentleman to Johns idea: Boots make up dept. & a pot of Tamiya clear orange. I did buy 5 of the units , have sold two, keeping two(one for chieftain & one for the CVR(T)). Which leaves one, any interest?

Have a good evening.

Charles

[John Clarke]

Hi Charles
I think your doing pretty well with the deck covers. I've broken one Ariel shot down into separate pictures, compared it to other tanks and it looks pretty standard Mk5 onwards.

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[Richard Goodwin]

I refer the honourable gentleman to Johns idea: Boots make up dept.

Honest your honour, twas just after a replacement for my winkie! You'd prob get more offers than the frozen food area though

[Charles A Stewart]

Richard, very true

Cheers John, thanks for references.

Charles

[John Clarke]

I think I'd need to see the winky pot inquesion before making a decision May one take a peek if it's not too impertinent?

[Charles A Stewart]

Hi John.

I hope these images help.

The weld at the base needs redoing, I dismantled the mount and drilled through the retaining screw and it hasn't quite settled back down.

Paint job IS rough, I used a rattle can, sprayed other bits at the same time which were fine, so more careful sanding required. Getting there

Cheers Charles.

[John Clarke]

It is a nice winky pot.
As for the paint job.
It's a tank!
Not Bentley
A ruff finish prevents slips and trips

[andymusgrove]

Hi Charles

Photos as discussed -Winky Pot Stalk without Pot

Thats me in the turret

Cheers

Andy

[Mark Heaps]

Spilled diesel on smooth paint made for an extremely slippery surface & hazerdous. When re-painting in unit lines, sand , grit or kitty-litter would be used on those surfaces likely to be tread on.

[Charles A Stewart]

Good afternoon.

Thank you for the input, Andy is the post for the pot that one sticking up, left of aerial?

I have posted my reference,(MK11), but hope to getaway with modeletic licence.

I was thinking of using some Mr surfacer 500 spread around the top of the turret to maybe simulate the rougher surfaces. At this stage I still need to practice spray painting. I am using the Bailey bridge for this practice, awkward places, planning and you'll get no closeup photos(for now).

On the subject of Winky pots I have resolved the German VAT issue, They are about £40 ea. Anyone interested, let me know, but the order has to be above 153euro.

Cheers Charles