The cent's slowly getting there ... there is now a commander and flex .30 cal in place and I am starting to "pick out the details". The base is all but finished, and now just needs a bit of a tidy up. I really though the matt Cent looked a little out of place in the lush green, and the "mud" had dried matt and was starting to flake, so I decided to give the lot a touch up of gloss lacquer to simulate the wet tropics, and I like it!



The crew commander is the old Tamiya M113 commander with flak jacket and a Verlinden head. I have the commander talking on the PRC 25 infantry radio, and I replicated the coil lead by wrapping some fuze wire around some rod.



There are deep furrows to represent where the tanks has travelled ... I sort of figured that grass wont spring back up once 52 tons of violent steel has punched through it.







Now I just need some detail paint, a loader and a couple of sets of tow cables and this project's finished!

this is a fantastic build! truly awesome. How did you make that grass? the vegetation also looks really cool.

The grass is a Hornby train accessory, although I think it would look waaaay overscale in HO ... the rest is twigs and bamboo shoots. I've got the lengths of grass, folded them in half, drilled a hole and shoved 'em in - the rounded base makes it easy if you've got the diameter right. The last lot of grass was a golden colour, but I dyed it with food colouring and dried it out in the oven (don't tell the wife!)

This project is very, very close to completion ... I just fitted the tow cables and all it really needs is a loader figure and some aerials.



The kit supplied cable was very stiff, and I found the cable ends to be very fragile as a result. Does anyone know if these items are offered in white metal? I made the clasps joining the two cables by cutting strips from a sheet of aluminium from a drink can.



I fitted one in its proper place and draped the other across the front, as was often done.



I've learnt a few "tricks" on this build and plan to put them in to practice on the several other "Cents" I have waiting to enter the production line.

On this one I was determined to build The Very Diabolical, which was one of the last Squadron to serve in Vietnam in 1971-72, and hence has a host of modifications. However, these are great kits and I think the next one will be (almost) Out of the Box and representing one of the first tanks to arrive in 1968.

As a matter of fact, it's the Easter break here in Australia, so I might just start a new Cent build log this afternoon!

Mick superb work! A very simple but very good diorama!

I really like your figures

great work mate

Just to throw some more VD in to the mix, I recently came upon John Charvat's excellent "Very Diabolical" on AMPS, and he referred me to some more images ... John and I corresponded a while back to exchange references, and his Four Charlie is the first I have seen with the cammed bins (I must take credit for this, as I sent him the snap I had of VD in Vietnam, which I have since shared here):

Just seeing if I can embed youtube videos here ... found this outstanding seqeuence of a Cent in Vietnam 70-71:

Hey, it works!

Comes a time you raise the black flag, bite the bullet and declare a project "finished". Today I installed some aerials, and I reckon The Very Diabolical is done - Mission Accomplished!

I've definitely gone and put the cart before the horse, but I just found these snaps of The Very Diabolical before the paint went on ... it gives you a much better idea of the mods: