Paul & Robin's Centurion

[paul&robinmargle]

So, here is the full time holiday report
The aim was to get as much done as possible and I think we did

A lot of painting and a lot of wheels, I'm glad we didn't get a tiger, 24 is enough.

Rear grill is glued

I created a bracket behind the idler out of balsa wood strengthen with resin and epoxy glued. There should be two but I didn't think there was room.

Similarly we made ribs for the drive houses from MDF, they need to be coated etc.

And here are my additions to the drive case front.

Happy new year

Robin

[sean kerambrun]

as usual.. very nice work..

Sean

[paul&robinmargle]

This week Paul ordered 'The Green' (as we've been calling it - "we can't fit that part until 'The Green'", etc.) We went for Satin Deep Bronze Green military vehicle paint from the site I mentioned in a previous post, ordered Tuesday arrived Thursday. It seems quite thin, I've sprayed it quite thick but may change to two thinner coats

Wheel back

Has a lovely finish and I love the colour.

Robin

[neil pudney]

hi robin, good to see your centurion is taking shape nicely. I got stuck in to building the hull of mine, (centurion No 14) today after much waiting and pondering over what to start doing first. Ive got about half of my tracks done now, i decided early on to paint and weather them but didn't realise just how long it would take!
I had all the parts laid out on my workbench ready to do the hull over xmas and after several hours work today the hull shell is built. I don't know how you got on but i found it harder than i thought it would be. I'm not the fastest in the world though at putting things together and checked, double checked and in fact triple checked everything.This being my first armortek kit i wanted to make sure it was done right.Like a dummy i missed putting on the gun cradle mount which is mentioned as the first thing to do !! and had to take off the rear grille mounts so i could access the holes for the bolts to fit it.
I thought the rear grille supports looked wrong when i ftted them as the tops are not in line with the tank hull edges but looking at your pics its the same and the grill is fitted so i know its not wrong. That's the bonus of us slower builders peeking at what others have done. Its very reassuring to see yours coming along. I reckon at the speed im going it will take quite a long time to finish the centurion going on how long its taken me to do the little i have already but its going to be so rewarding. Well keep the info and pics coming i really enjoy watching others models taking shape and sharing the info is so helpful.
best wishes,neil

[paul&robinmargle]

Hi Neil,

We're aiming to get the hull and running gear together first ready for the motion pack, not even thinking about the turret/track guard parts yet.
The hull does have to be carefully and slowly tightened, we used a steel ruler to make sure it all stayed square (on the second go ) but still ended up with a gap at the front plate, I'm pretty sure it won't have any effect on subsequent parts placement so I filled it with a weld.
For the absolute beginner I do think the instructions and diagrams could be a bit clearer - a suggestion to Armortek.

Robin

[Kevin Hunter]

Hmmm, missing the gun cradle probably an easy oversight Neil, especially as it doesnt appear in either the coloured or exploded parts drawings in the manual.
Happily for us beginners the labelling of individual parts is excellent - so we could identify the part and then it was pretty straightforward to establish where it went and why it went first. Forum build photo's helped to confirm it was in the right place (thanks Robin / Stephen ).
Cheers
Kevin

[neil pudney]

Hi robin, i only have one complaint about the armortek kit, the instructions. Mind you i'm used to tamiya, hasegawa etc type instructions for plastic kits and R/C cars. I personally found the diagrams no real help to be honest it took me quite a while to sort out even the basic hull. I think close up photo shots of literally each assembly stage would be ideal.Experienced armortek tank builders im sure will have encountered all sorts of issues over the years with their own builds, the forum is a real bonus for new builders like me.Of course as the parts are added and the weight builds up it gets even harder to move things around and i certainly do not want to have to go back and undo what i have already built. The only slight gap i had was at the rear of the hull, about 1.5mm which can be filled so no real problem. The rest fitted very well. Another issue although minor was a couple of cap head bolt heads sitting proud slightly,again a simple remedy there so no real problem.I have the motion and sound pack on order and am not going to go much further until i have the motion pack so will get the hull cleaned up, etch primed and dummy welds added etc. As this is my first armortek build i didnt know what to expect but so far am really impressed by the way the parts have been produced, packed and labelled.I really dont know how gill does it, i think i would go loopy trying to pack more than one kit let alone the amount she has to do,well done Gill !
I will put some pics on the forum when i really get going, im going to take photos of it all just for my own benefit really.

[paul&robinmargle]

Hi Neil,

I too ended up with a few bolt heads sticking out on the hull sides in visible locations and am not sure what to do about them, is it easy enough to file them down with a hand file?

Robin

[neil pudney]

Hi robin, luckily i only have the 2 bolts to sort out, it really is a minor fix, i would leave the bolts untouched, i drilled into the alloy side plate just enough (about 1mm or so)for the bolts to sit deeper so that the heads were flush with the sides, they can then be filled later. It would have been a bit harder to grind the heads.
Obviously just go a little at a time, check then reseat the bolt until flush.
Im afraid i havent the tools to alter my kit anymore than minor fixes like this, Im sure all the rest will be ok !
I know as i was putting all this together just how hard it is even with precision cut parts to get perfect fits on this size of model.
Let us know how you get on.
regards,neil

[paul&robinmargle]

Didn't have a lot of time this weekend and could do no more painting because of the temperature.
I just glued m2 nuts on all the centre hubs and filled them - 84 I assume other people cut the heads off bolts, but we don't really have that capability.

Robin

[paul&robinmargle]

Hello again,

After being snowed in at home away from the workshop last weekend, we're now a week behind schedule
Paul cut some grooves in some nuts for the sprocket hub, I think it looks pretty good.

Sprocket centre

We also added some small lengths of brass rod to the road wheel hubs.

Road wheel centre

Although very windy, we got some more green on (I just noticed that smiley!)

Robin

[paul&robinmargle]

Just another quick picture of another part I've been working on:

Bogie house

All added with plastic and Milliput. I hope I'm showing you don't need machining/metalwork skills to modify parts (although I'm not an expert in plastic either ).

We've bonded half the tyres with epoxy, and will do the rest after lunch.

Robin

[paul&robinmargle]

Construction may have slowed a bit, but we're working on little bits here and there.

Here's the outer drive case with smears of Milliput for texture. Not sure what it'll look like until it's painted - I may redo it, I'm sort of making these techniques up as I go

Robin

[paul&robinmargle]

Hello,

We received the motion and sound packs last week, batteries are on order. Initially it looked mega complicated, but after read the booklets a couple of times I think we'll be fine. Just need to decide where and how to mount things. We're complete novices at R/C, but my brother-out-law does planes, cars & heli.

Robin

[Kevin Hunter]

You're making good progress Robin, and I like your additional detailing.
Out of curiousity what batteries have you opted for? I'm new to this level of RC too!
Cheers
Kevin