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Thought I'd put up some progress pic's.







John

Looking good John, I received the BS 298 aerosols ....next day delivery.

I was a little concerned as to how much 'Loctite'to use on the bearings and gear drive....applied a thin bead around the casing and gear shaft. How important is this...is the idea to prevent the gear drive rubbing on the casing ? by locking it on the bearing. I do not have engineering experience.

Progress is slow but steady. I need to check and double check all my 'build'....so photographs and advice are welcomed....Mick

> is the idea to prevent the gear drive rubbing on the casing ?

Yes. Any tanks I've seen where Loctite hasn't been used on the main drive gears have shown witness marks on the sides of the final drive housings.

Not only is this wear in a place which won't be inspected often, it is also adding drag and hence reducing the available running time.

Adrian.

The loctite retainer is used to a; stop the bearing turning in the housing and b; to stop the shaft spinning in the inner part of the bearing. So, effectively it 'glues' the bearing outer to the housing and inner to the shaft. This ensure the rotation is through the bearing and not the bearing itself spinning on the shaft or in the housing.

John

Hello Adrian, Hello John, thank you both for the advice, now I understand.

My gear/shaft is rubbing on the EMD hull bracket 'M5 fastener'. The 'fasteners' are standing proud of the hull. I guess the answer is to countersink the hull side deeper, or file the M5 screw flat.

It's all a learning curve. Thanks again for your help...Mick

Mick,

Countersinking deeper is the best way - that's what I did. There are also a number of other countersunk holes that I also made deeper - I did it as I went along so that the screws were not proud of the surface.

John

Thanks John, spent most of the morning re-countersinking....the gear assembly now fits snug against the hull plate...no binding.

I could not understand why the gear case fasteners would not locate in the hull....finally realised that the gear case holes needed to be drilled out clear, to allow the fasteners freedom to find the small tapped holes in the hull....never mind, alls well.

This tank 'build' is keeping my mind active....love it...mick

Hi John
Nice Comet coming along,you have really got on well with it.
Great

Cheers Phil

Hi John
great progress on your comet
tell me have you been to sleep since it was delivered
paint looks good
best wishes
nick

Keep the photo's coming John and Phil...they are a tremendous help.

The Comet is getting heavy now...I have been carrying the tank out of the spare bedroom into the garage....to spray paint. The wife has banned all spray painting in the house.

I will have to obtain a trolley of some sort.....I have noticed quite a number of 'jack' type trollies used by various builders on the forum....mick

Hello John, I am making good progress with the Comet build.

Now...as you know, I initially purchased four 400ml aerosol spray cans of British Olive Drab BS 298 from the supplier.

I have primed the tank with U-Pol Acid Etch primer.

I made up the suspension units, I decided to spray paint these before fitting.

I have sprayed directly onto the etch primer....the BS 298 goes on well and evenly....however, when dry the finish is patchy and looks like the paint has been 'weathered', with darker and lighter area's....I would attach a photo, but not sure how to do that....any thoughts????.....Mick

Some updates now it has something to sit on!!!

John

Hi John.
That is looking very nice...well done.
Cheers Paul

Hi John
What size nuts and bolts have you used on the wheels? They are looking good!
Steve

Hi John
Great looking Comet coming along,nice to see the tracks on.
Cheers Phil