My Beaut Aussie Cent

[Derek Attree]

Hi Stephen
Really cool parts in some photos hard to tell if its the model or a real one

Regards

Derek

[Stephen White]

Thanks Derek. Hope you enjoyed War and Peace (= Jaw and Peas).

Tested the smoke system today, after its over-enthusiastic performance at Tankfest. I'm still getting the hang of YouToob video editing.



Regards

Stephen

[michael hilton]

Hello Stephen, I am enjoying your video.....that's one cool 'smokin' Cent....which oil do you use?. My 251 is on 'baby oil' as at my age, I have no further use for it .
I tested my smoker during this last week, it appears to be a much improved unit, a quick burst on start up and plenty of volume. Filled the workshop (small bedroom) in no time at all .........
Your 'Cent' has my respect, a model of the highest engineering quality....regards Mick.

[Iacopo Di Giampietro]

Hi Stephen
Really cool parts in some photos hard to tell if its the model or a real one

Regards

Derek

I always tell myself: it often happens to me too!

Congratulations, Stephen: your research and study of detail is unbelievable! Keep it up!

[David Gray]

Hi Steven the exhausts look great I have just installed the unit on my panzer 111
Compared to the first unit i had with my
2007 late tiger , it is a 100% improvement
I am useing graupner smoke oil , the smoke is not as thick as baby oil and apears much finer and more realistic

[David Gray]

Hi Steven the exhausts look great I have just installed the unit on my panzer 111
Compared to the first unit i had with my
2007 late tiger , it is a 100% improvement
I am useing graupner smoke oil , the smoke is not as thick as baby oil and appears much finer and more realistic ,I will lost
Some pictures of it
David gray

[Stephen White]

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. David, I'm using the proverbial Johnson's Baby Oil. Seems OK but I'd be interested to compare with some of the commercial smoke fluids.

When the Infra Red upgrade was introduced, a strong steel beam assembly was bolted to the upper surface of the gun mantlet to provide a mounting for the IR searchlight. This was usually stowed in the turret basket and fitted at last light when needed. This is David Hay mounting the searchlight on 064 in Nui Dat, Vietnam, in 1969:



The assembly is relatively simple except for the reinforcing of the mounting block:







I decided to fabricate in steel to give strength and allow brazed joints. The key to accurate assembly is jigging. I prepared an aluminium distance block which I clamped between the two side pieces to establish the correct angles and set the sides perpendicular. The brazing was then quite straightforward:















Regards

Stephen

[Paul Wills]

You have a good eye for detail Stephen, I must have a chat sometime to get advice on soldering.

Paul.

[simon_manning]

that will be a nice extra to add, i enjoyed making mine on the panther, great stuff. regards simon.

[Stephen White]

Summer is a time for family.....however

The shot deflector forward of the cupola was a simple piece of milling:





Making the shot deflectors to scale confirms David Wilkin's observation that the nose of the cupola needs to be broadened. Measuring up the cupola indicates some easy to fix changes.



The top surface of mounting ring should slope outwards at 5 deg, such that the sides are 115mm at full scale:



The holes for the mounting bolts need widening to 60mm at full scale (ie 10mm at one sixth):



The nose of the mounting ring, as noted, needs broadening and the slope reduced substantially to 27 deg. This can be confirmed by measuring the side of the blade vane sight, which conforms to the angle of the mounting ring:



David eyeballed 32 deg which is a pretty good estimate. I'm certainly following in David's footsteps here, so thanks for posting David. First step is to remove material to allow fillets to be added:



More to follow, grandchildren permitting.

Stephen

[davidwilkins]

Hi Stephen,

I am always looking forward to seeing your updates and in particular how you are going to do your upgrades to the cupola area. I originally cut a 30 degree angle but decided to increase it to 32 degrees I wish I had gone the other way now but I am still pleased with the General look of my cent.

Many thanks for posting such detailed information on the Centurion and how you are tackling the upgrades, looking forward to the next update (grandchildren permitting).

Regards

David

[Stephen White]

Thanks David, I'm following your lead on this bit.

The small Proxxon bandsaw is excellent for roughing out the fillets and, with the 24 TPI blade, can cope with 12mm aluminium. The mating surfaces were then trued up on the mill and the fillets fixed with countersunk bolts and epoxy:



Next to mill the fillets, 5 deg slope for the top and 27 deg for the nose. This is one case where I kept the rotary table horizontal and took up the angle by tilting the milling head. Re-setting the head afterwards is relatively easy with a digital angle guage mounted inverted on the spindle. The cupola nose is also wider to meet the scale shot deflectors:



The mounting bolt recesses were slot drilled to 12 mm and the cone head bolts turned up on the lathe to 8mm:





For surface preparation, I use a one part modelling filler, sanded and then any final blemishes taken out with an excellent Japanese acrylic filler, Mr Surfacer 500:





I've not made cone bolts for the remainder of the cupola mount, as it will be covered with the flexible membrane used on the full size to waterproof the cupola ring (and because I'm idle).











Regards

Stephen

[Kevin Hunter]

More amazing stuff Stephen. Recent details you've added, the searchlight retaining bolts in the turret basket, the mounting bracket on the mantle the and now your work on the cupola have all been quite fantastic.
Your Cent is no longer just model - it will be worthy of any museum.
Kevin

[Stephen White]

Nice one, Kevin. Thanks.

The commander's cupola on the Cent packs in a lot of kit:



It is rotatable, contains the commander's optics, mounts a small spotlight and the flex .30 Browning commander's MG and has hatch lockable in three positions. The optics include:

- Seven fixed Episcopes, No 7, Mk 1 with X1 magnification.

- One Episcope, No 8, Mk 1, which can be tilted and the object prism elevated to give a view of the ground close to the tank, invaluable in Vietnam.

- One X10 binocular, with graticules to aid the commander's range estimation and allow correction of indirect fire. This sight could be replaced with an IR sight.

These optics were intended for observation only. In addition, for sighting and fire control, the commander was provided with:

- One RCP(Reflector Cum Periscope) sight, with X1 magnification and a moveable ocular of X7 magnification. A reflected graticule form the collimator, which is linked to the gunner's sight, is seen by the commander, who is therefore able to lay the gun accurately on an inconspicuous target in a very short time.

The Binoculars, Periscopic, AFV, No 2, Mk I/1:



and the episcopes and RCP sight (top, centre):



The kit cupola is very close to the original, just needing the outer lip angle to be reduced to 5 deg, the protective cover between the fixed and rotating parts to be added and material to be removed from the inside to reduce the apparent thickness to scale. I thought of all sorts of over-complicated ways to make the protective cover, including resin castings but it pays to go back to the original - I found some pond liner which is a very good simulation and it sits well on the sloping surface. Like David Wilkins, I bought a circle cutter for the mill which came in useful for cutting the retaining ring for the cover.













Next will be to correct the alignment of the episcope seatings. The template is a photo of the part from the AFV Club 1/35th kit, which is pretty accurate, adjusted with reference to photos and measurements of 064 from Paul Scott:



I have a copy of Pamphlet 15, the Royal Armoured Corps Armament Manual for Centurion, dated 1964, if anyone is interested.

Regards.

Stephen

[davidwilkins]

Hi Stephen,

Great work as usual, I was really looking forward to this part of your build as I was convinced that I had made the rubber seal far to wide but after looking at your latest up date I think I am only about 1mm out so I feel a lot about my own efforts. However I can now see where I did go slightly wrong and that was how I fitted the rubber seal.

I see that you machined material off the top of the cupola, I removed mine from the base to lower it into the cupola base this then lead me into making a new centre for cupola.

I am mow really intrigued on your next steps as looking at photos of the cupola there is still a slope past the rubber seal before it goes horizontal for mounting the periscopes.

Looking forward to your next update.

Regards

David