I too wouldn't mind having some reference photos of Mark 11s in Canadian service to supplement what I have available if anyone is sharing them. I have the Accurate Armour kit in the closet but I also have a couple of the new AFV Club kits and its more appealing to kit bash in plastic.

The four color camo is that the one which is primarily a light tan color? I keep looking at that one but I was always more partial to the 3 tone one. Problem is can I do a Mk 11 in 3 tone and not use hush puppies ? Sounds like I would need those.

Rob

Rob,

You can do a Mk.11 LR in the three colour cam and still use the original tracks. It took a while for the change over to the hush puppy tracks to be completed so it is completely workable.

One of the best books I have that shows Canadian Centurions is "Das Ahornblatt in Germany"..."The Maple Leaf in Germany".

It shows the entire history of Canadian troops and vehicles deployed as part of NATO to West Germany from 1951-1993. The text is all in German but the images are great. It details the units deployed, exercises, and dates. The photos range from black and white to colour and span soft skins to AFVs.

I ordered it from here in Germany:

http://www.christian-schmidt-fachbuchhandlung.de/product_info.php?cPath=21_89_117_13&products_id=24&language=en&osCsid=f0649dd0f89d668da368335f1aa30545

Expect about a six week delivery time to Canada and the U.S.

Me again.... any chance of some detail shots of inside the top hatch of the 100 gal external fuel tank? I'm posing mine open and want to detail the inside. I've already cut the hatch away so I'm committed now.....

Bob

Sorry Bob, I don't have any images of the filler hatch.

Are you planning a refueling scene?

Here's a link to Accurate Armour to show you a small bit of the details.

http://www.accurate-armour.com/ShowProduct.cfm?CFID=427439&CFTOKEN=12268645&manufacturer=0&category=4&subcategory=36&product=607

No, not a refueling scene, I just want to show detail in the hatch. Thanks for the link to the AA tank, that helps.
Bob

For Bob and anyone else interested in building a late version Canadian Centurion Mk.11LR,

I have been going over some references of the late version...meaning circa 1974 and 1975, Canadian Centurion Mk.11LR in the three colour cam pattern and I have noticed something that slipped my eyes previously.

The front section of sideskirts on both sides has two half circle footholds cut in the skirts.

Here is a link to the Maple Leaf Models reference section that shows a late version Mk.11LR with the foot holds. This won't be too hard to replicate using thin styrene for the front skirt, unless you can cut the holes in the brass skirts.

http://www.mapleleafmodels.com/references.html

for a Mk 11, I'd just wait until AFV Club releases it, They have 2-3 more releases of the Cent kit planned.

Jason, I'm pretty certain I have pics of a Mk 13 outside of 8 CH RHQ in Moncton NB. As a gate guard, it's missing the L7 gun, but otherwise has the Mk 13 mods.

Bizarre about the Centurion in Moncton....a Mk.13?

I thought the British were the only ones to use the Mk.13.

The Mk.13 has a split two piece clam shell type Commander's hatch and the later style big, solid, chunky mantlet...resiliently-mounted gun mantlet I believe it was called. It usually did not have a canvas mantlet cover.

Does the one you saw as a gate guard have those features?

Hi Everyone...
I just want to say thanks to everyone that's posted in this thread. I really appreciate the assistance and the discussion about Centurions - my favorite tank!!

I'll post a few progress pics as I go along but here's where I am so far - the Accurate Armour L7 barrel with the thermal padding has arrived and I'm working on it to straighten it out a bit. I've also cut the muzzle off of the kit supplied metal barrel, hacked off the muzzle from the L7 barrel and grafted the metal one on - now my L7 barrel has rifling!! (they're the same diameter - go figure....) I'm building the Friul tracks I ordered from Air Connection (these are my first ones - wow!!), I've reworked the 100 gal external fuel tank a bit to show the fuel hatch opened up and I'm detailing the inside, I've ordered decals from Quartermasters Depot and Rick Chin from Uncle Bill's here in Calgary is getting the Accurate Armour brass detail set and bazooka plates for me (I'll be sure to cut in the half moon steps Jason). I've started building the supsension system and I'll be getting to the road wheels soon. Should I use the kit drive sprockets or the ones from the Friul set? The both fit the tracks but the Friul set was designed for the Tamiya kit and there's a big honkin' chunk of metal I'd have to grind off to get them to fit to this kit....thoughts?

Thanks again everyone - some pics coming soon.....
Bob

hi

referance the flui track they should fit straight on to the AFV kit sprocket.

hope this helps if you want any information just email.

[email protected]

ossie

Hi again John.

I was actually living in 17/21st Lancers accomodation for a year in 1987- ish in Munster, Germany while our living hole was being built.

Small world!

Here are some progress shots so far. No painting yet....

The external 100 gal. fuel tank (scratchbuilt fueling area open):


The suspension (starboard side) with kit supplied metal springs:


The L7 gun (grafting kit aluminum muzzle with rifling to resin barrel):


And a weld seam at the final drive housing:


more in a day or two (I hope....)
Bob

Working on the turret today.....

assembled turret with L7 gun....


3/4 rear shot with replacement cable....


mantlet detail with thermal shielding attachment points.....


byefornow...

I've run into a bit of a snag... I've located the driver's windsreen box to the top front-left corner of the hull, but it will cover what looks to be a small fueling hatch. Will this hatch stay in that location and be covered by the windscreen box or was it relocated to another spot on the hull? There are already two at the mid top deck just in front of the main engine access hatch, but what about this third one? i can't find any references so far that show the layout of the top of the hull on the Canadian Mk 11.

help........?

Bob,

Unsnag yourself.

The bin fits right over the access cap. The cap isn't moved anywhere else on the hull. The front of the bin has two small legs that go from the bottom of the bin to the hull.

Thanks again Jason - is the bin hinged somehow so it can flip up to provide access to the cap?

Not as far as I could tell. It looks like it is just bolted down. It was never originally fitted with hinges when it was mounted on the glacis plate.

Since we are talking about Canadian Centurions,........











Is this a viable paint scheme or just the museum taking some artistic liberties?

cheers

According to Barry Beldam's Armoured Acorn site, its the standard mid-60's Canadian pattern and it wil be the one I use when/if I ever get around to building my AFV Cent.

Purdy, ain't it?

Paul

The AFV Cent is about three down on my "to build" list and i was going to use this tank as my main reference, thanks.

cheers

Those photos of the Centurion Mk.5 finished as a Fort Garry Horse tank from Winnipeg.

The four colour cam pattern was used on the Centurion Mk.5 and Mk.11 in both Canada and West Germany from the early 1960's until it was replaced by the three colour pattern in 1970.

The colours on the FGH Centurion are pretty good for what is available now. The green and brown should be a little darker. The grey should be lighter and was actually an aircraft colour. The brown is pretty close as it was slightly reddish. When I did mine in the four colour pattern it took me about a dozen tries to get the paint mixed the way I wanted it.

Here's an image of my completed Canadian Centurion Mk.11LR finished as the Troop Leader's tank in 1st Troop, B Squadron, Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) in West Germany in 1967.

Information that I have recently come across actually show the callsigns as yellow and not white as I have applied them....best I could do with old B&W photos at the time.

Which photos?

The ones that I have taken were shot yesterday at CFB Petawawa.

cheers

Hi Jason - VERY nice centurion. More pics please.....?

I have the Voyager PE set that I'm working into my Centurion and it's going to be a 'beaut'!! - more WIP shots this weekend, I think. BTW, the green that you've used in your 4 colour scheme....it would be the same green as in the 3 colour one, correct?

cheers


Bob

Sorry Rick,

I updated my previous post. What I meant was that the FGH was based in Winnipeg and the Cent was marked with the FGH motto.

Bob,

You should have come out to the Alberta AFV Modeller Show in September...I had my Centurion there.

More photos and the full article will hopefully be published in an upcoming issue of AFV Modeller magazine.

The green in the four colour cam pattern is different than the two greens used in the three colour cam pattern.

Four colour green- FS34077 Olive

Three colour greens- FS340098 Khaki Drab and FS 34172 Green