Centurion No 14
Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2012 6:47 pm
Having received my centurion kit this thursday morning i have eagerly waited until the weekend so that i can start properly checking through the 4 large boxes that have been sitting in my garage since delivery on thursday by UPS. Believe me its taken some self control not to just go out there and start to rummage through the boxes but this afternoon with all my 'chores' done for the week i made it to the garage and took the plunge !
The first box, i have nicknamed it 'The Coffin' was duly opened and with the parts list and a pencil ready the parts check began. It was raining heavily outside when i started but after a few minutes all that was completely forgotten as parts bags and boxes were exhumed from the 'coffin' and laid out on my workbench. Having visited the armortek factory when down on holiday last year and meeting mark and gill for the first time and seeing parts being machined and handling a few parts myself i thought i was well prepared for the delivery of my tank kit. How wrong can one be !
Firstly i was struck by the absolute perfection that the parts have been packed with and labelled. It is absolutely clear from the moment the first parts start to lay out in front of you just how large one of these tanks is and how heavy !!
After finishing Box one it was on to Box 2, (the box holding the turret and barrel and many other parts) The main turret casting is awesome, very heavy, you need to have had 3 weetabix for breakfast before lifting that... The barrel is way beyond what i was expecting, the bore is perfectly machined and along with all the other turret parts is a marvel of modern engineering. After finishing box 2 after quite some time i quickly opened 3 and 4 and will tackle those on sunday. For all of you new to building one of these tanks and trying to justify the cost like i was to begin with, you will soon realise that is has been worth it, the quality is just stunning. I cant wait to check boxes 3 and 4, i had a quick peek at the spare track links bag, you get 10 spare track links, they are like everything else i have seen so far, just outstanding.
Mark and gill have put together something that can only be described as british engineering and workmanship at its best, coupled with a customer service and dedication to its customers that to be honest i have never experienced before in this country. I just know that the coming months are going to give me so much enjoyment and pleasure. Once again Mark and Gill, thank you for providing us modellers with such a high quality product, the best quality scale tanks anywhere.
The first box, i have nicknamed it 'The Coffin' was duly opened and with the parts list and a pencil ready the parts check began. It was raining heavily outside when i started but after a few minutes all that was completely forgotten as parts bags and boxes were exhumed from the 'coffin' and laid out on my workbench. Having visited the armortek factory when down on holiday last year and meeting mark and gill for the first time and seeing parts being machined and handling a few parts myself i thought i was well prepared for the delivery of my tank kit. How wrong can one be !
Firstly i was struck by the absolute perfection that the parts have been packed with and labelled. It is absolutely clear from the moment the first parts start to lay out in front of you just how large one of these tanks is and how heavy !!
After finishing Box one it was on to Box 2, (the box holding the turret and barrel and many other parts) The main turret casting is awesome, very heavy, you need to have had 3 weetabix for breakfast before lifting that... The barrel is way beyond what i was expecting, the bore is perfectly machined and along with all the other turret parts is a marvel of modern engineering. After finishing box 2 after quite some time i quickly opened 3 and 4 and will tackle those on sunday. For all of you new to building one of these tanks and trying to justify the cost like i was to begin with, you will soon realise that is has been worth it, the quality is just stunning. I cant wait to check boxes 3 and 4, i had a quick peek at the spare track links bag, you get 10 spare track links, they are like everything else i have seen so far, just outstanding.
Mark and gill have put together something that can only be described as british engineering and workmanship at its best, coupled with a customer service and dedication to its customers that to be honest i have never experienced before in this country. I just know that the coming months are going to give me so much enjoyment and pleasure. Once again Mark and Gill, thank you for providing us modellers with such a high quality product, the best quality scale tanks anywhere.
