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Up Armored Scimitar LEP. with Bar Armor.
Keef1648
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Posted: Monday, March 31, 2014 - 08:02 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi Keith

Any more progress on this build? Really interested to see how it looks and compare it with my scratch built effort from a couple of years ago

I've just started work on a Scimitar 2 after putting it off for 2 years! Will be using Accurate Armour's Spartan and going to experiment with the Warrior Bar armour PE from them as well. I'll start a post about it when I get the chance...


it is my understanding from a good source, that a master is being put together/worked on for the Scimitar 2 (Spamitar) and may (with luck) be available by the end of the year.

I will resume this Scimitar build as soon as my Scorpion is completed.

Keith.
Keef1648
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Posted: Friday, June 27, 2014 - 11:47 PM UTC
Well as some of you are aware I have finished the Scorpion early so this afternoon I will prepare the working area for continuation of this Scimitar that Terry (Castoff) has worked hard on providing the updated parts for.

No doubt I will place it on a small Vignette base in the end.

Keith.
dvarettoni
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Posted: Saturday, June 28, 2014 - 11:38 PM UTC
can't wait for the next one !!!!!
dave
Keef1648
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Posted: Monday, June 30, 2014 - 11:35 AM UTC
The Scimitar has seen many changes during its life in service since the early 70s.
After the Bosnia and Kosovo incidents the CVR range was fitted with mine protection under the hull in 2002.

In 2003 they were then fitted with Kevlar armour made by Plasan Sasa of Israel, in time for op Telic.

From 2004 forwards due to increased RPG attacks and tactical changes brought about by conditions in Afghanistan, vehicles were upfitted with Enhanced Bar Armour (Slats).

The conversion seen in this build represents a Scimitar from that period in time. It would be another 3 years before the ECM equipment was fitted.

Most of the Scimitars were plain Green (no Black) but later were painted in the desert Sand color. The majority of the slat armor was issued and left Green... Later some were changed to the Sand color as well...

The Scimitar's life is coming to an end and most on active service are being replaced by the Scimitar Mk.2 (Spamitar) a combination of late Spartan hulls with Scimitar turrets and full compliment of enhanced ECM and slat protection and sight upgrades.

Anyway here is where we are after a good day in the shed yesterday.



Some of the turret has been completed with the bins, Plasan panels and front slat support arms in place.

You can also see some items stowed and hanging on the smoke grenade dischargers and the renforced plate around the coax area...






Terry Beal (Ex LG and owner of Castoff Models) has supplied all the Resine conversion items needed including the newer hull with diesel engine grills and plates.


That will do it for tonight, more next weekend (I hope).

Keith.
Keef1648
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Posted: Sunday, July 06, 2014 - 01:31 AM UTC
A little more progress yesterday afternoon.

Hatches and some draped 'kit' installed.


Covers added to the radiator intake decks, indicator and sidelights in place plus standoff supports for the Plasan armour added to the side.
Part of the moulding around the drivers hatch is missing so I will 'scratch build' that later.


A better view of the drivers 'kit' draped over the smoke grenade launcher (obviously the vehicle is not in a 'combat' recce location) but a safe area... Some of you will notice the 'kit' has been replaced with a later version from the earlier photo in order to be more accurate with the time frame I have in mind.


A 'Slave lead' or inter vehicle power cable wound around the launcher for swift use and access.


Turret rear.


Keith.
SdAufKla
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Posted: Sunday, July 06, 2014 - 02:56 AM UTC
Looking good, Keith.

I take it that you have a display scene in mind already. Hopefully you can bring it to the next meeting for a firsthand looksee.

BTW, I've been without a phone since last Monday and my three-day baby-sitting adventure. The long holiday weekend along with an increasingly hectic situation with house guests didn't help trying to get back in the net. I hope to be "coms up" by COB tomorrow. If any of the gang has been wondering what's happened to me, I didn't fall off the edge of the world, just off the edge of the pool!

See ya Wednesday!
Kallisti
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Posted: Tuesday, July 08, 2014 - 11:48 AM UTC
Looking good so far - Terry sent me some of the test shots when he was developing so I could compare it with the stuff I was scratch building at the time. Was very nicely moulded. We swapped schematics at that time and we both found corrections to our plans from each other.

The resin stuff is much easier to work with than scratch building it

I used Terry's LEP upgrade set as the basis of my earlier build, but he's done more work on the turret since and it looks very nice.

Here is my effort with scratch built bar armour from 2 years ago:

Keef1648
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Posted: Wednesday, July 09, 2014 - 11:40 PM UTC
Andrew, thank's for sharing and I do admit to saving the picture from the first time you posted it here on Armorama.

Unfortunately a couple of pieces of the Plasan had fallen apart (and cannot be fixed due to the location of the break) during the shipping process and the rear hull bar with support arms is unusable.. Terry is aware of my plight and no doubt he will replace the items needed.

Strange to see two 'slave' leads around the dischargers as only one per vehicle is issued!

A great effort though and my hat is off to you for scratch building the slats..

Keith.
Kallisti
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Posted: Friday, July 11, 2014 - 02:33 AM UTC
Ahh didn't know about the singular slave lead - these guys have obviously borrowed someone else's, or looking after it for them

Good luck with the spares and I will be looking forward to seeing this build up!

By the way I found a set of photos by Andrew Chittock that show some excellent detail for the vehicles of this period. You can see them from here onwards:

http://andrewchittock.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Tanks/G0000MpPO..vG8kA/I0000FZEbMYbl5OQ
Keef1648
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Posted: Sunday, July 13, 2014 - 11:31 PM UTC
Not too much to report but I did manage to get a bit more done yesterday...

Some of the Plasan armor in place now and along with one or two of the original kit items the Scimitar is starting to come together.

And before somebody chimes in with the front bins being incorrect, these are the first issue bins as seen on the early Sabre CVR(T). and the later ones were of a slightly different shape (angles) and the bins turned around. Both were seen during this time frame.

They were initially mounted this way in order to keep them in line with the front of the vehicle.


The hull rear bin is in place along with the rear lights and lifting eye. The mesh exhaust cover will be added after the basic paint job is complete (before the slats are added).


The right side is almost complete and getting things to line up wasn't as simple as it may look.


The air intake for the NBC system had to be shortened to sit closer to the hull and a more pronounced downward angle created.
The space at the rear is for the water Jerrican holder but as you know some were moved and or suplimented by attaching them to the rear bin (hull).

Unfortunately the front piece of Plasan armor fell apart within the small parts bag and I am waiting for a replacement from Terry Beal (Castoff Models).. But much more can be done to the model while I wait.


Keith.
Keef1648
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Posted: Sunday, January 04, 2015 - 06:09 PM UTC
Finally a small update.

I sat down for a couple of hours and with a steady hand and a couple of scalpels I removed the fine Resin web between each of the individual turret slat windows and then proceeded to lightly sand each one. Care has to be taken as connecting bolts are moulded in to the adjoining uprights.





I have to wait for a replacement slat support arm (missing) to arrive from the UK before I can attach them to the turret.

Only two hull side sets, one front set, one rear wrap around hull set and a very small lower hull set to clean up and then they can be attached to the hull and a primer coat can be applied.

Keith.
SdAufKla
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Posted: Sunday, January 04, 2015 - 07:08 PM UTC
Nice to see you back in the saddle making some progress on this one, Keith.

Maybe you'll bring it to the next club meeting for a looksee?
dvarettoni
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Posted: Sunday, January 04, 2015 - 09:27 PM UTC
looking good keith
dave
Kallisti
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Posted: Wednesday, January 14, 2015 - 02:44 AM UTC
Good to see this coming along again!
Keef1648
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Posted: Saturday, April 23, 2016 - 06:11 PM UTC
Well after tucking this beastie away for a while and moving on with other projects I decided to seek it out after being 'guilt tripped' by a couple of friends and try and move it towards completion.

I do have a Vignette in mind but more about that in due course.

So, with that said, a couple of steps forward with the turret Slats.

After locating the box with the Scimitar and parts tucked inside I spent almost 45 minutes trying to find the two sets of instructions, one for the update set and the other for the basic plastic kit.
As usual with these things, they were right under my nose, well almost. You know the story, put things where you can find them (not).

I found it very difficult to get the things attached to the arms and then to the turret. The three items had to be supported and leveled before the cyno glue could be used and it was one of those times when four hands would have been nice.

So after a frustratingly long period of time and lots of test fitting and adjustment I managed to get them attached.
I still have to go back and add a small amount of heat to the right side and straighten things up but that can be done before I start painting.







Lastly I need to add the turret lifting rings and the last antenna arm, holder and base.

After that I will spray a base color primer coat on the whole thing including the wheels and sprockets.. Vallejo paints now have their colored primers to help blend with the finish of your chosen paint scheme.
The old method of using either White or Gray (Grey) primer is now, old hat for some of us...

The wheels and tracks will have to be installed before the hull Slats because it would be almost impossible to do it after they are in place, apart from that, the whole thing will be far to fragile..

I do have a problem to overcome first and that is I am missing two armor attachment parts and arms.
I cannot get them from Terry Beal (Castoff) because he is out of touch and his web site is no longer available.
He is dealing with PTSD unfortunately and I can only wish him well.....

So, I will have to try and copy the two parts and make them (scratch build) from 'Plastruct' and 'Evergreen' modelling supplies, using the originals as templates. Yes I know I can do it but it will take time and patience, frustrating to say the least.

Hopefully I will start on this this afternoon.

Keith.
SdAufKla
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Posted: Saturday, April 23, 2016 - 07:27 PM UTC
Good to see you back on it, Keith!

It's also nice to see another one of your "slatty armour" projects getting one step closer to finished.

I know you've said that the armor has been, well, let's say a bit frustrating, but it is coming along quite well. I'll be looking forward to seeing more as you progress along.
Keef1648
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Posted: Sunday, April 24, 2016 - 04:24 PM UTC
Thank's for the comment Mike.

Well yesterday I built the two missing front slat armour support frame and arms using the two that came with the update set as templates.

I also replaced a couple more items with Evergreen due to warping, quicker to do that than try and reshape things. Final antenna base added along with a slightly adjusted turret lifting eye. I had been warned about the final placement of these items by Terry when I received the kit.

No pictures at this point but I will take some after I have washed the vehicle and added the base coat/primer. next Sunday (I hope)..
I can then add the wheels, tracks, mudflaps and begin the process of painting the exhaust before adding the shield.

Keith.
Keef1648
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Posted: Sunday, May 01, 2016 - 04:38 PM UTC
Well the rain moved in yesterday afternoon and that confined me to my shed for a couple of hours (thank you weather god)..

The model was 'gently' washed and then given a coating of Plastic Prep and left to air dry. This ensured everything was nice and clean and free from any form of oil on the models surface.

I mixed a dark Green Vallejo primer paint with a little NATO Black and then sprayed this base coat over the Scimitar.


This will form the basis of the shadows and detail once the lighter Green is applied and blended. I have some pictures of the Green Scimitars during Op Herrick, with copious amounts of dried mud and sand stuck to the vehicle.

The start of an idea for the base perhaps.
The heading on the pictures indicate vehicles of, The Blues and Royals but I will need to confirm the dates.

More next weekend I hope.


Keith.
Sandbox
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Posted: Sunday, May 01, 2016 - 04:49 PM UTC
Making some good progress. Care to share your technique for getting an apparent even coat of paint on all the various surfaces of the model? In my mind, the slat aromour would tend to interfere with getting paint evenly onto the surfaces behind them.
Keef1648
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Posted: Sunday, May 01, 2016 - 05:12 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Making some good progress. Care to share your technique for getting an apparent even coat of paint on all the various surfaces of the model? In my mind, the slat aromour would tend to interfere with getting paint evenly onto the surfaces behind them.


The turret is not attached to the hull first of all, having removed the tabs from the ring and that helps with removal and placement. It can be glued in place when the display position is chosen.

I turned the turret upside down and sprayed the inside of the slats with the airbrush nozzle pointing outwards, both downwards and upwards. Flipped it over and repeated the process.
Then I sprayed them from the outside, nozzle facing down and inwards and left them to start drying and moved to the hull.

Under the hull and suspension first.
Next, right way up and placed on a small (Tamiya) turntable and carefully coated using a 7psi pressure setting and light coats applied.

Done and back to the main parts of the turret and the same setting used to complete the job, underside first etc.

The wheels, Idlers and sprockets have also been painted. The rest of the slats will be painted first and then affixed once the wheels, mudflaps and tracks are in place.

I hope that helps.

Keith.
DaGreatQueeg
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Posted: Sunday, May 01, 2016 - 06:02 PM UTC
Nice to see the paint going on and the build progressing again nicely, great stuff!

cheers
Brent
Keef1648
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Posted: Saturday, May 07, 2016 - 05:33 PM UTC
Yes a little more progress on the Scimitar and the monkey bars (slats).

The wheels were painted and then attached to the hull after a little more work with the tracks.

The AFV Club kits have an issue and that is the tracks, they are far to short and impossible to show the correct 'sag' (tensioning) required for accuracy.
There is an option of course, always is, and that is individual track links (metal) by Fruil but they are not only expensive but time consuming, as I well know from using them on my Scorpion.

The second option is a set of Resin tracks from Castoff but currently unavailable due to the owner and one man operator, Terry Beal (Ex LG.) undergoing an intensive Combat Stress disorder evaluation and course of treatment.

I wish him well and a swift recovery.

The third option and the one I chose to use is, to add a couple of links from leftover stash item tracks and lengthen the track.
I also have thought about how to get the track to 'bow'... more about that later when I sort it out.

Here are a some update pictures.




A very light green was mixed with a little Yellow and sprayed with a little splatter over the upper portions and lower hull of the vehicle and then toned down with a wash. A light tan and yellow mix will follow along with a pin wash.


Some of the personal stowage has been picked out but not finished, also the hatch pads painted. More detail work will follow, such as periscopes, antenna bases, Fire extinguishers, add the cable reel, coax gun barrel and then work on the wheels and tracks before adding the hull slats.

A long way to go yet, this is not the base, just something to make the plastic tracks conform a little.


Keith.
afvaficionado
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Posted: Sunday, May 08, 2016 - 07:02 AM UTC
Hi Keith
Nice work.
Thought this might be of interest - http://spykerworkshop.webs.com/scorpion-tank -
I rec'd mine last month & have been slowly working on it, doing the torsion bars of late. Intending to build it as a NZ Scorpion.
Apparently it has the same problem with lack of track sag, due to the track tension design, and being RC, the tracks need to be tight to stay on.

Mal
Keef1648
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Posted: Sunday, May 08, 2016 - 04:35 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi Keith
Nice work.
Thought this might be of interest - http://spykerworkshop.webs.com/scorpion-tank -
I rec'd mine last month & have been slowly working on it, doing the torsion bars of late. Intending to build it as a NZ Scorpion.
Apparently it has the same problem with lack of track sag, due to the track tension design, and being RC, the tracks need to be tight to stay on.

Mal


Very interesting, thank's for sharing the link.

Keith.
Keef1648
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Posted: Sunday, May 08, 2016 - 05:06 PM UTC
Yesterday I managed to get a little more accomplished albeit small steps but these things take time and the addition of the slats makes it much more fragile to handle.

Fire extinguishers done, lights painted. Water Jerricans added, cable reel on.

I posed the beastie on a small base for effect.


Of course there is a long way to go yet and more details to add such as the mud flaps a Kinetic tow rope and then the hull slats and supports.


Slowly coming together and I am not going to rush things.


A couple more for interest sake.


So here it will sit until my next visit.

Thanks for looking in.

Keith.
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