Tony C Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 As my son would "Dad, you're just to anal"! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valenstitch Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 2 minutes ago, Tony C said: As my son would "Dad, you're just to anal"! Well on here that is a massive vote of confidence! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longshanks Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Stunning piece of work! Kev 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valenstitch Posted April 2, 2017 Author Share Posted April 2, 2017 Just a swift update for a sunny and warm sunday! All this clobber has to fit in the gunners side of the turret, it should go, I just have to figure out the sequence! The FCT got it`s lifting eyes! The slots for them are there but for some reason the eyes don't appear on the manufacturers opinions and nor do the parts appear on the sprues! Next up the collar went onto the FCT interior! A bit of fettling yet to go, but another win! The fit is good! So the FCT finally takes shape! Here is the view through the Commanders hatch................. And through the front of the turret................. And from down under.............................. Through the Operator's hole.......................... And finally the Gunners..................... On to the next job! Time to crack on with the Main armament, this is some lamination in progress! This will eventually become the cradle for the 120mm! To give an idea of scale her are the three main components, Kit mantlet, Cradle casting and Breech ring, the cradle is about 5.4cm long, the cradle will have the buffers mountings fixed to the sides to appear as part of the casting and the recuperator will be fitted underneath. On Conqueror the recuperator protruded quite some distance beyond the breech almost touching the back of the turret ring, there were even deflector plates on it to assist the spent case in its journey to the mollins gear! So there it is for sunday lunchtime! Ta for lookin` no "G" Granto 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 As usual, outstanding. Nothing more to say. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etienne Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 2 hours ago, Bullbasket said: As usual, outstanding. Nothing more to say. John. +1 ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 Very well done..., cheers mate 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longshanks Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 Awesome work................ Kev 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widow 65 Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 Coming along nicely, detail is amazing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valenstitch Posted April 3, 2017 Author Share Posted April 3, 2017 A swift monday update! It`s a bit misty! Right modeling! I've cleaned up my laminated cradle tube and started on the shape of the casting, The bottom end of the "tube" in the fot will attach to the inside of the mantlet, the breech ring will be at the other end, the two tubes on the sides are for the recoil buffers, the block on the top is the elevation bump stop. All of this needs cleaning up and refining before a coat of Mr Surfacer to give it that cast look! Although I don't suppose any of this will be visible once she`s all buttoned up! The breech and the recuperator will be visible though through the open hatches. And finally I fitted the FCT control box! Job jobbed, time to fix some lunch before I toddle off to work! Ta for lookin` no "G" Granto 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valenstitch Posted April 4, 2017 Author Share Posted April 4, 2017 Grotty weather, cant spend long in the shed, got an interview, but modeling is modeling! so here`s what I did! Here is the gun cradle, the recoil buffers go through the tubes on either side of the cradle, there are a couple more pieces to go yet to build up the basic shape, suffice to say that the breech ring butts up to this end, the recuperator, which runs the gun back into battery after recoiling, fits under the "shelf" that has been fixed to the underside of the cradle, on the actual vehicle this is a riot of casting and big welds! And from a slightly different angle! The breech ring is awaiting shaping! And finally the FCT with the commanders control box fitted, right, scoff and a shave then off to arbeit! Ta for lookin` no "G" Granto 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valenstitch Posted April 6, 2017 Author Share Posted April 6, 2017 An hour or two of pre-work shedage! Here`s the breech of the 120mm starting to take shape! You can see the angles on the breech ring from here! This is still very rough, but it`s coming together, And although a little out of focus the arrangement of the buffers and breech ring give an idea of the size of the main armament! The recoil buffers are not fixed yet, the barrel would fit inside the cradle with the breech ring attaching to the aft end, there is a collar that connects the breech ring to the recoil buffers, it goes in between the cradle and the breech ring, the recuperator sits under all of this, protruding to the rear slightly to the left of centre, the buffers control the gun in recoil and the recuperator returns the gun to battery after recoiling. The collar is next on the list then the recuperator and then I`ll detail the breech with all the various bits and bobs, guard rails, nuts and bolts, so still some work to do here! Time for scoff and then off to work, see if I get an "interview without coffee" for clipping a pallet stand with a forklift yesterday! Ta for lookin` no "G" Granto 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 More and more attention to detail - waiting impatiently for the next instalment Roger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony C Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 12 hours ago, Valenstitch said: Time for scoff and then off to work, see if I get an "interview without coffee" for clipping a pallet stand with a forklift yesterday! If it's anything like my place, the interview may involve party balloons, or rather blowing into a little straw attached to a small box, so see if the Ribena you drunk, was a little stronger than it should have been! Although apparently, it's fine to leave the warehouse bay door fully open, without any retaining bar in place, so that the little darlings can see how they will feel, after a 4 foot drop onto concrete! Hope that they supply you with Jelly & Ice Cream... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valenstitch Posted April 7, 2017 Author Share Posted April 7, 2017 9 hours ago, Tony C said: If it's anything like my place, the interview may involve party balloons, or rather blowing into a little straw attached to a small box, so see if the Ribena you drunk, was a little stronger than it should have been! Although apparently, it's fine to leave the warehouse bay door fully open, without any retaining bar in place, so that the little darlings can see how they will feel, after a 4 foot drop onto concrete! Hope that they supply you with Jelly & Ice Cream... I was actually parking up behind one of my colleagues to go on break, he had a load on so the gap was tight but in my opinion "do-able", nice and slow, left hand down, opposite lock, glance left to check the swing and bang! caught the stand with the last cm of straight edge on the tip of the left fork 4 cm from the ground! If I had been 1 cm to the right it would have glanced off on the taper, Loggi Team leader laughed and said forget it, Production manager and his team leader went to town with a full H&S report, performance review, dna swabs, genealogical profile you name it, I`m just waiting for Harrison Ford to turn up with his little eye camera/bellows replicant identifier! Lucky this is England, if it was elsewhere, for example a country where there are less stringent laws regarding the ownership of essential home defence items such as AR15`s people might be driven to creating senior management vacancies! At the cost of a couple of mags! And sorting out the coffee machine! Not that I am advocating taking a grievance into my own hands you understand, but some people should get a grip on reality! A ding on a pallet stand and a tree gets murdered to document it! Rant over....................Seriously I`m over it! No I am, seriously! Granto Just off to find my Gatling gun! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripaman Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Absolutely stunning detail Granto Regards Richard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valenstitch Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 Grrrrrrrrrr! Shed lovely and warm, only got a slight bollocking over my "incident" on the old forklift, so that goes in the win column! However, I had to deal with two "Drones" in Debenhams regarding the return of a shirt, WTF has happened to the retail trade in this country? All I want is a shirt with a double cuff, 18 inch collar and sleeves long enough that I can "shoot" my cuffs, after all, the cuff of the shirt should protrude half an inch below the suit sleeve AS ANYONE WITH AN OUNCE OF STYLE SHOULD KNOW, ESPECIALLY IF THEY WORK IN A CLOTHES SHOP! However this elementary detail has apparently not made it as far as the goons employed by Debenhams who looked at me as if I had asked where the gimp suits were on display! M&S had nothing, no shirts and no bloody staff so I gave up and came home where I accomplished everything on line! I refer the Honourable Gentlemen to my previous rant regarding suitable equipment for home defence and how lucky they are that the Darwinian theory of natural selection is thus defeated by not only the British education system but also the draconian laws regarding the ownership and legitimate use of semi-automatic assault weapons! RIGHT TANK STUFF.............................................. DISASTER! Ok, so I knocked this up, this is the safe end of the 120mm gun, well safe if you are not behind it when it goes off! I measured this to within a Gnats Knacker, it`s spot on for scale, but look.................. Small isn't it.............................I knew the turret ring was going to cause problems! I looked at some of my photos and the turret ring should be where the pencil mark is by the left edge of the hull, it`s 7mm too small which means that this baby wont fit! For F%&%$ sake! It`s all going to Rat DoDoos! Ars£$%^s! Sweet Baby Moses, the Breech of the 120mm is spot on, the recuperator (the long square then round tube under the breech ring) is within 1mm of spot on, since the cradle fits into the mantlet at the front end which is difficult to measure exactly I`m happy to live with that level of ambiguity, but the recuperator fouls the turret ring at all levels of elevation, the only solution is to open out the turret ring by 7mm, yet another mahoosive job! So tomorrow morning I have to start on opening out this baby, you can see the pencil mark by my thumb, miles and miles of plastic! I am not looking forward to this! So I`m going to drink an obscene amount of cider and take it out on the "Leg Iron" tonight! Ta for lookin` no "G" Granto 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 How are the head and the LI this morning? I had a similar problem when I mated an Asuka 76mm turret to Tamiya 75mm hull. Just marked it out an then nibbled away with a pair of side cutters. It worked! I've no doubt that you'll get there in the end. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 I'm sure you'll overcome this tiny mountain! Roger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valenstitch Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 4 hours ago, Bullbasket said: How are the head and the LI this morning? I had a similar problem when I mated an Asuka 76mm turret to Tamiya 75mm hull. Just marked it out an then nibbled away with a pair of side cutters. It worked! I've no doubt that you'll get there in the end. John. The head is good, but for some reason the "Old Leg Iron" is not her usual chipper self! Must have been something she ate! Granto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valenstitch Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 So here we go again, for an OTB build this is going way off message, talk about "mission creep"! This was the turret ring last night.............. And here it is now! Ditto hull................... All very rough, but the two halves match! And access is much improved to boot! I drilled out the centre of the mantlet and fitted some rod into it, leaving it to set on the drill chuck overnight to ensure it was straight, This enables the breech to slide onto the rod thus.................. This is a nice fit, the breech is secure and plumb as well! And here it is in position in the turret! Even with the FCT in place the recuperator is clear at all angles of elevation and depression! And from outside................... So all`s well that ends well! Phew!....................................................... Of course this has left me with another issue...................... A hoofing great expanse of bulkhead! Yeah it`s like "totes" visible through the coal holes! So now there are air cleaners to build, ready round stowage, oh and the gunners controls that were going to sit on the old turret ring now I have to build the bottom end of the gearbox and probably the turret turntable as well, ah well thats modeling for you! I`m off to me shed! Ta for lookin` no "G" Granto 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longshanks Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 I knew you were just teasing us ...... nice recovery though !! OOB of the box means you take the kit part, look at it and decided you can do better Kev 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 Nice recovery on the turret ring Roger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 Nice scratch on ring turret..., cheers mate 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valenstitch Posted April 18, 2017 Author Share Posted April 18, 2017 Well I got some stuff done over the weekend, not a lot I grant you, what with a wedding to attend and a hoofing great dinner for the family yesterday, oh and helping my lad prime all his Star Wars Storm/Clone troopers, but here's the summery! The breech of the main armament needs its plumbing, so I`ve started drilling holes here and there! This is part of the recuperator gubbins that sits below and behind the breech ring, this will be in place tomorrow and I can start the pipework and the deflector /guard plates as well. I didnt think I would have to go this far, alas the issues with the turret ring have forced my hand! So here is the main turret turntable! And this is the gunners platform! The gunner is jammed into the limited space between the turret ring and the horizontally sliding breech and almost halfway between the ring and the main turntable floor vertically on this bizarrely shaped platform! It`s a bit of a blurred image, but the gunners platform is a larger diameter than the main turntable, the cutout is for the turntable driver, basically a frame that is fixed to the turret ring at the top and the turret turntable at the bottom at a shallow angle to the vertical which rotates the floor with the rest of the turret, this platform sits about halfway up it. And this will be the base of the gunners seat! Bit of work to do here! And finally for today, I removed the the edge from the FCT, I got my sums wrong so I need to try and reduce the size of the FCT turntable by a couple of mil! Yet again the result of deciding to add interior detail after commencing the build! Ta for lookin` no "G" Granto 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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