Accurate Armour's Austin Champ (Kit K140).
South Carolina, United States
Joined: January 23, 2008
KitMaker: 1,240 posts
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Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2012 - 08:11 AM UTC
Moving away from the armoured side of things I decided to take on an easy project and built Accurate Armour's Kit of the old Austin Champ, kit number K140.
As usual it comes well packed in a very stout box with some decals (transfers) and a Brass photoetched fret of detailed parts.
I laid out the parts and checked them against the inventory and all present and correct (I hope).
First up was the individual suspension units and the front to rear torsion bars. Fuel tank and guard, exhaust pipe, box, tail pipe and front skid plate.
The moulding is very crisp and requires little or no cleanup (excellent) this is going to be a quick build.
Dash board in place, followed by the engine, consisting of block, air filter, exhaust manifold, header tank, fan and radiator.
Gratings in the footwells installed at this point.
NOW is the point to decide if you are going to have the top up or lowered, Mine will be down so it is glued in place at the rear of the cab (both are supplied in the kit)stowed support bars come later.
The engine is not glued in and can now be removed for painting.
I spotted a mistake in the numbering of the gratings in the pictured instructions, these should be reversed (Parts E12 and E13.)
Well That's it for today, I may be lucky to get some more done tomorrow, if not, next weekend.Keith.
AMPS Member, certified field judge & Always something on the workbench!
Illinois, United States
Joined: March 24, 2006
KitMaker: 1,816 posts
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Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2012 - 12:24 PM UTC
Looks good. Keep up the good work and updates here. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress as I have this kit in the stash.
Patrick Keenan
Editor - WarWheels.net
IPMS/USA Armored Car/Wheeled Fighting Vehicle SIG Leader
Texas, United States
Joined: March 17, 2006
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Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2012 - 12:42 PM UTC
Looks like a nice little truck and pretty good detail on it. I have their humber 1 ton truck looking forward to build. Have you run into any issues with any of the parts for the chassis? I’m building a land rover 109 and some of the parts don’t fit well as none of the wheels sit flat on the ground. Keep up the good work.
Cheers
On the workbench:
T-62M
ZTZ 99 MBT
Lav-25A2 with MILES Gear
M7 Priest X2
Canada
Joined: December 30, 2011
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Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2012 - 12:51 PM UTC
South Carolina, United States
Joined: January 23, 2008
KitMaker: 1,240 posts
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Posted: Sunday, August 19, 2012 - 12:59 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Looks like a nice little truck and pretty good detail on it. I have their humber 1 ton truck looking forward to build. Have you run into any issues with any of the parts for the chassis? I’m building a land rover 109 and some of the parts don’t fit well as none of the wheels sit flat on the ground. Keep up the good work.
Cheers
I bought two early production runs of the AA LR009 SAS Land Rover 110 and these came with white metal chassis frames that never went together for me because they were kits within the kit, needed cleaning up soldering together and straightening out (crucial to the rest of the build)?
Luckily Derek Hansen in his wisdom replaced them with the Resin ones of later production runs which were one piece assemblies.
I have found that due to the weight of the finished item, the axels and coil springs at the rear are not strong enough and over time the wheels have now attained an inward lean at the top and splayed out at the bottom... I will have to remedy that (later).
A little gentle heating and twisting of the frame (chassis), then rubbing of the wheels (when fitted) on some fine sand paper should resolve your level issue.
The Rovers underside, engine bay, transmission and drive train is far more complex than the Champ.
I hope you can sort it out, they are lovely kits.Keith.
AMPS Member, certified field judge & Always something on the workbench!
South Carolina, United States
Joined: January 23, 2008
KitMaker: 1,240 posts
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Posted: Monday, August 20, 2012 - 12:24 AM UTC
AMPS Member, certified field judge & Always something on the workbench!
South Carolina, United States
Joined: May 07, 2010
KitMaker: 2,238 posts
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Posted: Monday, August 20, 2012 - 01:35 AM UTC
They say that good things come in small boxes, and that kit is proof of that - so much packed into such a small container.
You're making amazingly fast progress here, Keith. A testament to your persistance and AA's engineering and quality.
I'll be looking forward to seeing this one first-hand at a future meeting.
Happy modeling!
Mike Roof
AMPS #1632
Chapter Contact
AMPS Central SC
Visit us at http://www.ampscentralsouthcarolina.org
South Carolina, United States
Joined: January 23, 2008
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Posted: Monday, August 20, 2012 - 03:59 AM UTC
A little bit of information for those unfamiliar with the Champ >
The Austin Champ was designed by Alex Isigonis (Designer of the Austin Mini Car) at the end of WW2 to
meet the requirements of the British Army for a fast attack combat vehicle to replace the American Jeep.
The Champ was built with a 24 volt electrical system and a reliable Rolls Royce designed engine,
enabling the vehicle to out-perform all of it's contemporaries with few problems.
It had superb torsion bar suspension, five forward and reverse gears (tranfer lever), giving it a tremendous cross country ability.
The Austin Motor Company were awarded a military contract to supply vehicles (Austin Champ) to the Army, which involved the manufacture of a design identified as FV1801 which was the vehicle developed at Chobham to a MOD design.
The contract included the manufacture of the engine at Cofton Hacket Works (Shadow Factory) to a Rolls Royce design identified as B40, one of a family of engines designated B40, B60 & B80.
The manufacture of this engine, of which about 15,000 were produced, involved the installation of a new manufacturing plant at Cofton Hacket.
This was the first significant investment since Austin took over the whole site around 1951 from the Admiralty, although the shadow factory built aircraft it came under the umbrella of the Admiralty and not the Air Ministry.
Type WN1 was the military version which was powered by the Rolls-Royce B40 engine which was *waterproofed and electrically screened*.
It was fitted with a snorkel above the offside wing for wading up to 6ft.
Fitting of pioneer tool brackets for the shovel and pickaxe, folding windscreen with associated resting blocks, wing mirrors and large rear light boxes.
The British Army took 11,731 Champs, some way short of the original contract for 15,000.
POINT TO NOTE, they were all painted in semi gloss Deep Bronze Green.
The Australian Army were also supplied with 400 vehicles.Keith.
AMPS Member, certified field judge & Always something on the workbench!
Canada
Joined: December 30, 2011
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Posted: Monday, August 20, 2012 - 12:28 PM UTC
South Carolina, United States
Joined: January 23, 2008
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Armorama: 1,192 posts
Posted: Sunday, August 26, 2012 - 11:45 PM UTC
AMPS Member, certified field judge & Always something on the workbench!
England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: August 03, 2011
KitMaker: 34 posts
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Posted: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - 03:24 AM UTC
Hi Keith,
Nice work on the AA Champ.
SMLE though stands for Short Muzzle Lee Enfield, which was the.303 used early in WW2, this was out of service before the Champ arrived. By the time the Champ came along it was the No4 Lee Enfield (still .303) that was in full service. Identified by the muzzle extending out of the forestock, by some 2". The L1A1 7.62 came along a while later.
I have in service pictures of British troop in Champs equipped with LE No4.303
Best Regs.
Howard @ KFS
(ex Champ owner, now producing 1/24th Champ kits, see Military Range on
www.kitformservices.com)
England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: August 12, 2005
KitMaker: 14,499 posts
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Posted: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - 05:44 AM UTC
Hi Keith,
Excellent build, coming along really well.
Al
'Action this Day'
Winston Spencer Churchill
Canada
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Posted: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - 07:07 AM UTC
United Kingdom
Joined: March 16, 2010
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Posted: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - 08:11 AM UTC
Quoted Text
SMLE though stands for Short Muzzle Lee Enfield, which was the.303 used early in WW2, this was out of service before the Champ arrived. By the time the Champ came along it was the No4 Lee Enfield (still .303) that was in full service. Identified by the muzzle extending out of the forestock, by some 2". [
SMLE = Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield! It was the replacement for the original Lee-Enfield - the Rifle, Magazine, Lee-Enfield.
Magazine obviously showed that the rifle was magazine fed unlike previous single loaded rifles such as the Martini-Henry.
Short was because it was a shortened version of the original Magazine Lee-Enfield.
England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: August 03, 2011
KitMaker: 34 posts
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Posted: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 - 09:48 PM UTC
I bow to your more accurate description of S.M.L.E
(I think you'll agree though that Short Muzzle is an easier version to remember for identification purposes ?)
However, the SMLE was still long out of service by the time the Champ came along. The No4 Lee Enfield being accepted for service & replacing the SMLE in 1941.
Howard.
South Carolina, United States
Joined: January 23, 2008
KitMaker: 1,240 posts
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Posted: Thursday, August 30, 2012 - 12:13 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Hi Keith,
Nice work on the AA Champ.
SMLE though stands for Short Muzzle Lee Enfield, which was the.303 used early in WW2, this was out of service before the Champ arrived. By the time the Champ came along it was the No4 Lee Enfield (still .303) that was in full service. Identified by the muzzle extending out of the forestock, by some 2". The L1A1 7.62 came along a while later.
I have in service pictures of British troop in Champs equipped with LE No4.303
Best Regs.
Howard @ KFS
(ex Champ owner, now producing 1/24th Champ kits, see Military Range on www.kitformservices.com)
It retained the SMLE (although incorrect) through most of its life and it never appertained to the length of the barrel.
I went through the snipers course in Warminster (UK) and qualified on the L42. and became a small arms instructor with the L1A1 amongst the mix. During our early tours in NI our snipers carried the Lee Enfield.
In 1964 as a member of the Junior Leaders Regiment (RAC) we rode in Champs and I can attest to the FN not fitting the holders nor were they good for the Sterling SMG.
For a complete explanation try this > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee-Enfield Keith.
AMPS Member, certified field judge & Always something on the workbench!
South Carolina, United States
Joined: January 23, 2008
KitMaker: 1,240 posts
Armorama: 1,192 posts
Posted: Thursday, August 30, 2012 - 02:34 AM UTC
Howard I would also like to point to the statement below one of my pictures and add a further note >
Quoted Text
As the FN 7.62 Rifle was now the order of the day these were useless items as they did not fit. The only thing they did do was catch on your trousers as you entered and exited the Champ.
The early L1A1's came with a wooden Pyramid shaped front stock and wooden Butt and could not succesfully clip into the Champs weapons holders.
This was changed to a Black man made material to lighten the weapon and a little rounder, however it was was even worse for the Champ, luckily the Rovers were appearing by this time..
Anyway, back to the build, windscreen clamps location sorted now and I will add more over the weekend.
Keith.
AMPS Member, certified field judge & Always something on the workbench!
England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: August 03, 2011
KitMaker: 34 posts
Armorama: 33 posts
Posted: Thursday, August 30, 2012 - 03:24 AM UTC
Keith,
Sorry, not trying to get bogged down with this.
I don't disagree that the SLR does not fit the Champ weapon clips. You're quite right on that.
All I'm pointing out is that the SMLE barrel finished flush with the end of the forestock...or the stock flush with the end of the barrel to look at it another way. Same thing.
I did not say the barrel length was different. What I was getting at is that the No4 is easily identifiable from an SMLE by the muzzle extending past the stock & to call a No4 an SMLE is incorrect regardless of who does it.
As a former ACF cadet Sgt Major instructor & a serving soldier before that & a cadet before that from 1968....like you I am experienced with both weapons. No one I know refers to a No4 as an SMLE.
No real point continuing. The Champ carried No4 LE & nothing else. At least we can agree on that.
H
Portugal
Joined: April 10, 2010
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Posted: Friday, August 31, 2012 - 01:42 AM UTC
Great work!!! Its a very Nice kit
California, United States
Joined: November 27, 2004
KitMaker: 322 posts
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Posted: Friday, August 31, 2012 - 02:35 PM UTC
Quoted Text
[b]A little bit of information for those unfamiliar with the Champ >
The Austin Champ was designed by Alex Isigonis (Designer of the Austin Mini Car) at the end of WW2 to
meet the requirements of the British Army for a fast attack combat vehicle to replace the American Jeep.
Keith.
American Bantam, originator of the American jeep, was an offshoot of the British Austin Company.
American Austin Car Company wad founded in 1929 to assemble and market the Austin 7 automobile in the USA as the Austin America. Sales were good at first, but dropped off quickly and the company went bankrupt.
A Austin salesmen, Roy Evans, bought the company and reorganized it as American Bantam in 1935.
South Carolina, United States
Joined: January 23, 2008
KitMaker: 1,240 posts
Armorama: 1,192 posts
Posted: Sunday, September 02, 2012 - 12:05 PM UTC
The primer coat is done and needs to cure.
Trying some new primer paints by Vallejo, they are specifically matched to different paint colors.
This one being number 73-607 UK Bronze Green.
The final paint coat will be the same color.
Off on Vacation next Saturday so it will be a couple of weeks before any further work can be done.[/b]
Keith.
AMPS Member, certified field judge & Always something on the workbench!
