I bought this kit at the Armortek open day last October, it was only intended to be a standard , "out the box " build.
I like to paint as I go, painting individual parts makes sure all the corners and unseen areas gets some paint. It also helps to make the joints corrosion proof. Outside the hull joints have been sealed with milliputt and inside with JB weld. Hopefully it will be waterproof up to the top of the suspension level. I decided the world did not need another "green" tank, so this will be a far eastern one, in Desert Sand colour.
- The sunny October weather was good for painting
- Good progress was made
I used locktite 480 to bond the tyres. For the return tyres a clamp was made to hold whilst the 480 set. A 65mm hole saw produced the exact size hole. Four 150mm jubilee cost the same as a pack of ty-wraps. I rolled some aluminium the same width as the tyre with a joggle where it overlaps. With the jubilee clip it gives a nice even pressure for the full area of the tyre. You have to be very careful not to over tighten the clip, just enough to keep the tyre in contact with the wheel.
- Return tyre clamp
- Main wheel with jubilee clamp
- All the joints on the track guards have been silver soldered to add strength
All the joints on the track guards, side bins and turret bins have been silver soldered to finish the joint and strengthen. New lids have been formed for the turret bins with returned edges.
- Another sunny day
Just completed a turret basket. Having looked at some real ones and some photo's, I came to the conclusion there was some latitude in fixing methods, materials and style. I decided to copy the one at Bovington.
Small diameter brass tube needs to be constantly annealed as it work hardens very quickly. Squeezing the ends and bending can cause it to crack. I decided to use 5mm diameter Bundy tube, it's a copper nickel alloy used for brake pipe on vehicles. had to make a bender in order to get the correct radius.
- Bender from the scrap box
. I started with making the end frames and fitted them to the turret. Next the two centre part frames was made and fitted to the turret. This helped to develop the correct profile of the turret. I could then measure and cut the rails. I made some diagonal clips with 2.5mm radius grooves milled at right angles to hold the joints. All the joints were silver soldered using H5 flux. Using a MAP gas torch the joints soldered quickly and easily. Where you have to solder multiple joints close together, flux all the joints, so if you do remelt a joint it will flow instead of oxidizing.
. More to follow
