Hi Jerry,

Thank you for the supportive comments, just wish I had your modelling skills to do just deserves to the kit, .

Hopefully you'll continue to enjoy the build and, please, feel free to comment and/or offer advice.

Cheers, ,

G

Hi Jerry,

No apology needed, your continued support is greatly appreciated, . I will get myself over to the 'AA' campaign later today and check out your build.

Thanks for the positive feedback on the turret seam, to be fair the step between the mating surfaces could have been my fault, but part of me thinks that it was so noticeable in some areas that it might have been a combination of the kit fit and my lack of skills...least that's what I'm trying to convince myself, .

The mantlet cover is coming along slowly, not sure how realistic it is, but it gives me chance to practice my sculpting, .

Thanks for the feedback on the RP Toolz item, it's that time of year when wishes do come true, so I'm thinking of putting it on my list to Santa...who knows, ?

Thanks again for your continued support, and cheers, .

G

Hi Gary,

Thanks for the feedback on the RP Toolz handles jig, your feedback is similar to that from Jerry, so definitely one for my Santa list, .

Not sure where the nearest angling shop is, but there is a model railway shop in the nearest city to where I live. I'm sure there will be angling shops too, so will give them both a visit after the Christmas period is over...far too many people out there at the moment, .

Thanks again for the feedback.

Cheers, ,

G

Some more options for handles that I had forgotten about.

The Small Shop, Photo Etch Bending Tool-Wire Assist Bending Comb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEins79NPqY

UMM 3D Hand Grab Bender
http://umm-usa.com/onlinestore/product_info.php?cPath=21_225&products_id=2979

Different price points for everyone.

HTH

Your tank is looking good.

Hi Ryan,

Thanks for the information on handle bending jigs, the Historex Youtube clip is very informative. Along with the posts from Jerry and Gary, your information has convinced me to invest in a jig.

Just have to decide whether I go for the RP Toolz one, or the Small Shop one, ?

Thanks again, and cheers, .

G

Hi all,

A little bit more progress, though not much, . I have, more-or-less, finished the hull top plates, the last two parts being the driver's roof and the glacis plate.

Again, the driver's roof had a number of the small plastic 'stubs' that, again, I decided to remove (see images below), though I'm pretty certain that they wouldn't be problematic if not removed.





When installing these two elements make sure that you fit the drivers roof panel first. I thought it would be a good idea to fit the glacis plate first, , thinking it would provide a much better method of locating the drivers roof...I was definitely wrong, again, .

Although not immediately obvious, the driver's roof is fitted at a slight angle, sloping downwards from the back to the front. The top edge of the glacis plate actually sits on top of the of the bottom edge of the driver's roof, thus creating a small step (see image below).



There are no obvious signs of 'drainage' holes included on the kit parts, so I imagine this step might have acted as a water trap when it rained...I wonder if, in reality, it seeped in to the driving compartment, ?

Luckily, I'd only dry-fitted the glacis plate, , had I glued it in place I'd have been in trouble it would have made it very difficult, if not impossible, to fit the drivers roof afterwards, .

I need to do a bit of filling and cleaning-up, but all of the hull deck panels are now in place (see image below).



A part of me thinks that this area has been over-engineered, and that the likes of Tamiya would have moulded it in a few less pieces. To create the deck roof, it has taken 6 elements (7 if you allow for the 'louvred' deck element being a 2-part sub-assembly).

Cheers, ,

G

Glad I could help

If your dreaming big, the small shop has a rolling and bending assist in one. Great package for the discerning modeler this holiday season.

0.3 up to 0.5 mm drillbit

Hi Ryan,

A big help, thank you, .

I had noticed the 'rolling' facility, but there is a difference between the Small Shop and RP Toolz jigs of nearly £18 (about US $23). I'm not sure if I'd use the 'rolling' facility, so not sure if I can justify the difference, ?

Cheers, ,

G

Hi Robin,

Brilliant photos, thank you very much, it answers my question about drainage.

I'm tempted to try and add the holes, there's not a lot of depth to play with, but I can always fill them in if I mess things up.

Cheers, .

G

I understand. I think I have a UMM rolling assist version that I don't recall ever using either.

Hi Ryan,

I've finally bit the bullet and gone for the RP Toolz jig...fingers crossed I don't regret saving £18, .

Cheers, .

G

Hi all,

This morning I have started to remove the moulded-on armoured cabling on the turret, ready for the application of a thin wire replacement (see images below).







I have tried to leave a very faint 'track' of where the original ran so as to follow with the replacement.

However, I do have a question, I'm presuming that the 'trench' that runs around the top of the turret is continuous, and that the 'bridges' (ringed in 'red' on the images below) are there purely for ease of moulding the cables in-situ? In reality, I'm presuming that the cables span the 'trench' unsupported. If that is the case, what would be the best way of cleanly removing the 'bridges' and making the 'trench' continuous without creating a right 'dogs-dinner' of a job, ...any suggestions please, ?





Al advice greatly received and appreciated.

Cheers, .

G

WARNING

I bought a set of those handle benders and they are cr@p

the problem is that there is not enough gap between the walls of the 'trench' and the bit that fills it to make the handles to accommodate the wire itself, so he wire then gets stuck in the trench and you cannot extract the created handle without distorting it so much that it ends up being useless, don't waste you money on them.

MJH

Cutting trenches:
Step 1: Knife job (unless you have miniature chisels).
Make shallow horizontal cuts along the edges of the trench. Place the edge of the knife along the side of the trench and across the bridge, press down gently to make a cut about 1/3 millimetre deep. Make a slanting cut from the top of the bridge at the other side of the trench down to the bottom of the first cut to remove a triangular piece of plastic. Repeat on the other side of the trench. You will be removing triangular pieces until you reach the bottom of the trench.

Step 2: Sand down the thickness of a hardwood stick (ice-cream handle or similar) to fit inside the trench. Glue fine sandpaper on the edge and sand away the remnants of the bridge in the bottom of the trench.

Gluing sandpaper to pieces of hard wood lets you crete all kinds of shaping tools. Sandpaper on a slant cut end of a toothpick also has a purpose in life ...



I do not recommend any form of power tool unless you can rig the turret in a coordinate table in a milling machine. There will be a mess otherwise .....

/ Robin

Hi G,

The Cent is coming along nicely! For clearing out the ‘trench,‘ the advice Robin is giving is sound if you don‘t have a modeling chisel.

And Robin, thanks for the pics of the drainage holes around the glacis - that will come in handy for me when I start, too.

Mark, what you said certainly applies to some bending jigs but not the RP Toolz jig, which has grooves but no trenches for the wires to get stuck in:

http://www.rptoolz.com/?p=186

I‘ve used it a lot in the last couple of years and gotten good results, anyway.

Jerry

I have an album of early turret castings (111 & V) with no fittings if that helps: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.1167905213403718&type=3


Al

Nice sharp chisel blade followed by a few passes with a square profile file,

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the words of warning, is it the RP Toolz jig you're referring to as not being very good, or does your comment apply to the Trumpeter jig?

Cheers, .

G

Hi Robin,

Your advice is much appreciated, as always, thank you. Your drawings paint a thousand words and make it easy to understand, .

I appreciate that some of my questions must seem a tad basic but, being a novice, often the 'tasks' are new to me, but not to the more experienced modeller...so I'm never too proud to ask for help, ...I'm certain too that your advice will benefit others.

I will let you have an image of the end results, .

Thanks again, and cheers.

G

Hi Jerry,

Thanks for the encouragement, I have had a go at clearing out the 'trench' as Robin kindly suggested and will post an image a bit later.

I have added the 'drain' holes to the glacis as per the images Robin kindly provided. Robin was very supportive on my first build last winter, and is proving equally so this time around...thanks Robin.

I will see about purchasing some modelling chisels as a number of people have referred to them.

Look forward to seeing some images of your Centurion build,

Thanks again, and cheers, .

G

Hi Al,

Thanks for the link to your images, they're excellent, thank you, .

Would you object if I copied some of them? as I think they will be very useful to my build.

Cheers, .

G

Hi Robert,

Thanks for your suggestion, methinks I definitely need to invest in the chisels, .

Cheers, .

G

Hi all,

As per the suggestions I had a go at cleaning out the 'trenches' (see before and after images below).

Before:


After:


Now all I have to do is reinstate the cabling, .

Cheers again to everyone that offered advice, .

G

Hi all,

I've tried reinstating the armoured cables (see images below), they're not perfect, but hey-ho! .









Having looked at the images I have decided to reduce the amount of curvature on the left-hand cable (see image below).



I have also added the cable 'block' to the rear cable. This is shown on the instructions but wasn't moulded in-situ (see images below)...not sure why, .







The 'block' is just a blob of two-part putty, it will need cleaning/tidying up once it has cured, .

Cheers, .

G