More amazing work.
Did you sort yourself out with the extra peri/episcope? I guess when you ordered them you hadn't bargained for doing the loaders 'scope too.....
Kevin
Kevin, hi. Thanks to Simon Manning, I'm sorted thanks. It was the episcope under the hinge of the commander's hatch which caught me out, although when I ordered the job lot from Mike S, I was working on the Pz III and the Cent was but a distant gleam in Gill and Mark's eye.
I'm still trying to decide whether it's worth doing the bottom half of all the commander's optics. If I do, I'll be another nine short. I'm not convinced though. With a figure in the open hatch, you won't see anything of the interior.
Next the protection ring over the optics. This part is slightly wider than the kit one and 2.5mm thick at scale. I'm building up confidence that with a fine gas torch such as the Proxxon one and careful use of heat sinks, it's possible to use Lumiweld to braze quite small aluminium pieces without frying them. The iron bar serves two purposes, firstly work holding and secondly acting as a heat sink to allow the joint area locally to get to the required 630 deg without melting the piece itself. Here are the vertical support pieces which were welded on the real thing:
The nick out of the wider post above allows the seat locking catch to rotate clear of the hatch.
The last parts are really pushing the limits of aluminium brazing, the two small lugs for the commander's flex MG mounting:
Just to finish off the cupola ring, added the mount for the commander's spotlight, trial mounted the episcopes and drilled and tapped 7BA/8BA to secure the ring to the cupola (I wasn't brave enough to attempt brazing it with the risk of disassembling the whole thing).
You make it look so easy Stephen.....
I'm curious about the position of your .30 mount - I think I've seen some with brackets on the raised part of the ring over the periscope, i.e. Roughly 90 degrees from yours. We're these mounts "either / or", and was there a particular preference among commanders?
Regards
Kevin
Kevin, it's a good question and I'll ask my Australian contacts for their experience. It's certainly the case that the flex MG could be seen mounted in either location:
From the Vietnam photos I have, the position on the ring is more usual.
The Illustrated Parts List for the Mk 5 does not show there to be any mounts on the binocular-periscope guard. I'm wondering if they were introduced as a later mod. The Mark 3 in the Tank Museum at Bovington doesn't have them either.
I think I can answer that, Stephen. In 1957, the Commander's .30-cal flex mount was authorised, and issued as a modification kit in 1958. The kit included the two mounting lugs which were to be welded to the existing cupola ring, 6.85 inches apart, with the centreline between the lugs at 28.5 degrees to the left of the cupola centreline (the line through the mid-point of the hatch hinge line and the centre of the hatch disc. The angle's origin was the centre point of the hatch disc.)
In late 1970, an additional position was authorised for the Australian tank fleet, being on the top of the peri-bino guard. The EMEI was issued in early 1971, but rather than being a kit, the modification was a set of instructions for the manufacture and fitting of the two lugs to the top of the guard. Crew Commanders were then at liberty to choose either position for the .30-cal flex mount by relocating the 'Platform, MG Mounting'.
Evidence shows that tanks already deployed to South Vietnam before the 1970/71 modification came into existence were rarely, if ever, fitted with it in-theatre, but those that were refitted in workshops upon return to Australia (such as 064) were so fitted. Tanks deployed to South Vietnam after the modification was authorised were fitted with the lugs on the top of the guard. When the Australian Centurion fleet was disposed of in the late 1980s, the majority of tanks were fitted with both positions for the commander's .30-cal.
Thanks for your input Mike, that's very interesting and explains part of the mystery for me. Now to solve it for British Cents (necessary for my Mk11). I'm wondering if the Australian modification followed on from a similar mandate by the British MOD?
Regards
Kevin
I could not say for certain in this case, but where a modification originated with the British MOD, there was usually a cross-reference between the British authorisation number and EMER with the Australian authorisation and EMEI. This was certainly the case with the 1957/58 mod to mount the commander's MG.
However, neither the internal correspondence about the 1970/71 modification nor the instructions themselves included any references to it being prompted by a British modification. This leads me to think the 1970/71 modification originated in Australia. This is reinforced in my mind by the fact that the tanks that arrived in Australia in 1971 from British stocks in Hong Kong were without the later modification.
Stephen,
Your Cent is progressing well, so much detail you've added since I peeked last. The tank-fest pix were stunning - they looked 1:1 till I saw the chap standing behind. I love the grass mashed into the tracks and wheels - really adds to realism.
Your brass work on basket and other fittings is amazing. I need to get some of the Lumiweld and give that a try on Aluminum. Looks fun.
Will you be making a brass .30 cal browning for the Commander? That would be something to see!
As always your work inspires many! Thanks!
Best regards,
Bob
Having the ability to braze aluminium has been such a breakthrough for so much of the model. Can't recommend having a go too many times!
As for the .30, it's a nice idea but luckily, very good metal ones are available commercially. If you want to see some remarkable small scale weapon modelling, the Internet Craftsmanship Museum has a whole section online:
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That would be something to see!
