British Army Diamond T Tank Transporter with Centurion Project

[Bonkin]

18 hours ago, secu54 said:

I just re-read all the topic, amazing work Bonks, I really love all the détails. Searching and linking it to a familly history what a great way to build models.

 

Cheers

 

 

Thanks Secu .

[Bonkin]

I've now moved on to the securing of the Centurion to the trailer and with the Dyson Trailer kit, a number of shackles, buckles and chains were provided, some of which I've started to assemble:

 

Carefully studying the reference pictures I have though it seems that the Accurate Armour instructions do not necessarily match what seemed to be the practice in the 1950's. These are the two primary pictures I have for the front and rear:

 

 

Starting with the front, I can see that the Centurions were parked right up against the lockers at the front of the trailer and the attachment is by the turn buckles alone. The left one seems to be left dangling (but I'm sure it wouldn't have been), and the right one looks to be looped back on itself. I can count at least 14 chain links as well (on the right side). The instructions say 8. In addition, it looks like the chains are attached to buckles on the top brackets on the tank, not the lower ones - which may just correspond with the part below... which I've drilled through to enlarge the hole so that I can use a pin to secure it to the tank.

 

I'm sure I can see the hooks (top right in the picture below) left dangling as well, so these I plan to use fit as well. Also the turn buckles are wound right in to a much shorter length...

 

... so I trimmed them down to this, plus added a blob of super glue to the ends of the turn bars in order to match the pictures.

 

So the assembly starts to look a bit like this (noting that I'll fit the chains later after I've determined how many links I need for the rear):

 

Started to paint and doing a trial fit with the rod for the pin:

 

 

And trial fitting on the Centurion...

 

 

I'm finding this part enjoyable but extremely fiddly. Smaller hands and better eyesight would definitely be a help. Without bifocals my glasses are going up and down as much as my eyebrows!

 

Thanks for looking.

[Bullbasket]

On 02/01/2019 at 12:52, Bonkin said:

I'm finding this part enjoyable but extremely fiddly. Smaller hands and better eyesight would definitely be a help. Without bifocals my glasses are going up and down as much as my eyebrows!

I hink that it's the small details such as these, that make a model stand out. They give it life. With regards to the glasses; try varifocals with Zeis lenses. I wouldn't have any other.

 

John.

[Bonkin]

On 03/01/2019 at 16:13, Bullbasket said:

I hink that it's the small details such as these, that make a model stand out. They give it life. With regards to the glasses; try varifocals with Zeis lenses. I wouldn't have any other.

 

John.

Cheers for the comment and tip John .

[Bonkin]

Well it doesn't look like much but blooming' eck getting these chains on was hard. I think mainly because I'm trying not only to match the reference photos, I'm also trying to use them to actually fix the tank securely.  I started out my weekend work by dirtying up the trailer bed and placing a couple of oily stains:

 

The rear chains were straight forward once I'd figured out how best to attach them to the tank and had adjusted the chain links 7 or 8 times .

 

The grab hooks apparently were not at the ends, they were mid-way in the chains. Also, it was generally standard practice to have the tank forward on the trailer so that it was attached to the front with the torsion bars rather than with any chain links.

 

In this picture you can see the trailer number plate as well.

 

Nice and tight .

 

The front was altogether more difficult to get under tension. Like I said, it doesn't look like much but this is after about 4-5 repeats of taking them off and putting them back on again I got to this stage. In between attempts I did manage to fix the air lines though (and one of those had my on my hands and knees searching the carpet under the bench for the end piece which unfortunately pinged out of my tweezers just as I was about to glue it).

 

You can just see (on the right side), that the paint has been rubbed off the metal chains so I need to do some re-touch work. The other thing I need to do is a bit of repair work to the torsion bars. In my several attempts to get this right the loops on ruddy things have broken parts which I need to replace.

 

Next up, (other than some repair work), is the tractor ballast box parts.

 

Thanks for looking.

[Bonkin]

I've struggled to find the time to get on with this of late - but thankfully this weekend I've been able to spend a little time hunched over at my bench. Aside from fixing the door handles back on I've worked on the winch cable end and the ballast box contents.

 

Studying various pictures of the winch seems to show that the cable was looped back and then fixed in two positions. Despite there being a hook on this model (to the left of the rollers) for the cable to be stored on, my Dad's recollection is that they were generally left hanging down - which is how I've shown it. Basically I folded the cable back on itself and glued it, then wrapped it in two places with a couple of strips of masking tape which I then sealed and painted green.

 

Next up was the trimming and cleaning up of the many ballast blocks, planks, pins and winch blocks (shown below). In real life these things were 50kg each and my Dad thinks there were around 250 of them. The technical books indicate that something between 7,125kg and 13,236kg was actually needed - which would fit with his recollection. He also said that when stacked they were well below the top lip of the ballast box - because planks and other kit was laid over the top of them.

 

Rather frustratingly I can only get 84 of the blighters in the box so it would seem that the pesky things are too big. I've checked things with my Dad and he is happy to forgive this misdemeanour - since most of them will be covered up anyway! Still... it is rather annoying as I want it to be right. 

 

Anyhoos, I painted the blocks a steelish colour and then added some darker rust/grime. It doesn't show up too well in the pictures - but I'm showing them hear so my Dad can check them, i.e. he may decide they should be darker.

 

Here they are in the box:

 

 

I've also worked on the other kit for the box and will finish this off during the week. Next weekend I hope to take it down to him to hand over and there is still a bit to do:

 

1. Headlamps

2. Fix chain links

3. Complete ballast box components

4. Electrical cable between tractor and trailer

5. Final touch-up and weathering

6. Joining tractor and trailer

7. Final reveal pictures

 

Thanks for looking.

[JeroenS]

Wow this is great work! I wasn't aware of this thread but I'm going to read all of it tonight. As it happens I'm doing a small scale version of a transporter/tank combination and this is an excellent reference. Well done so far!

[Bonkin]

On 11/02/2019 at 07:02, JeroenS said:

Wow this is great work! I wasn't aware of this thread but I'm going to read all of it tonight. As it happens I'm doing a small scale version of a transporter/tank combination and this is an excellent reference. Well done so far!

Thanks Jeroen .

[Bonkin]

So my Dad, being a follower of this thread, called me the other night to say that the winch cable would never have been left hanging down the way I have left it. In fact he went as far to say that he would be on a "fizzer" for something like that... which I think means a charge. In any case, I've amended it as per his instruction, including making it more circular rather than teardrop shaped:

 

 

Today I've managed to do a number of the final items, including the ballast box contents, headlamps and chain repairs. All I really have left to do now are the fire extinguishers on the Centurion and the final connection of the trailer to the tractor. I'm going to leave this until tomorrow though... when I transport it South to present to my Dad. These follow on pictures are not so much final reveals... but almost final. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally the fire extinguishers... 

 

Almost done.

 

Thanks for looking.

[Hamden]

 

Outstanding attention to detail has produced a stunning result a superb representation!

 

  Roger

 

[Kev The Modeller]

Wow what a build and you're first AFV   

 

I just love these tribute builds, especially with a family link   I'm sure your dad will be thrilled.  An outstanding build fantastic attention to detail     

[junco]

Excellent work, great build.

Cheers

Neil 

[German Armour]

 Your dad is going to be happy! Great job!

[BadKarma75]

Fantastic work, a really nice tribute to your dad 

Matt

[Bonkin]

On 17/02/2019 at 19:51, Hamden said:

 

Outstanding attention to detail has produced a stunning result a superb representation!

 

  Roger

 

Thank you Roger. Much appreciated .

 

On 18/02/2019 at 17:28, Kev The Modeller said:

Wow what a build and you're first AFV   

 

I just love these tribute builds, especially with a family link   I'm sure your dad will be thrilled.  An outstanding build fantastic attention to detail     

Thanks Kev. He certainly was thrilled. Also, as I think I said at the start, I've determined that building AFVs is far harder than building aircraft .

 

On 18/02/2019 at 18:43, junco said:

Excellent work, great build.

Cheers

Neil 

Thanks Neil .

 

On 18/02/2019 at 18:52, Panther II said:

 Your dad is going to be happy! Great job!

Cheers .

On 18/02/2019 at 19:34, BadKarma75 said:

Fantastic work, a really nice tribute to your dad 

Matt

Thanks Matt .

[Bonkin]

Thankfully it survived the journey South without damage... this was a huge relief. So the last work to do was to make the connection between tractor and trailer permanent. 

 

 

 

This was a bit of a struggle but managed carefully with tweezers and a quick spray of superglue activator.

 

I didn't bother with the electrical cable. This was actually a piece of solder but my Dad said it wasn't always connected... the only lights being a night light at the rear and some side lights at the front of the trailer. This was justification enough to coil it up and to place it in the ballast box:

 

The good news is that my Dad was really delighted with it... and he wrote a few words for me to quote here:

Quote

To all Britmodellers following the British Diamond T/Centurion Tank project of Bonkin's - this is a message from the "Old Man", previously known as his Dad. I would like to thank all contributors from Lou in Utah to Hamden "a very obsesssed member" for your support and suggestions in following this build. In performing this marathon kit build has required a gread deal of patience and skill in completing the job, i.e. the cupola in the Diamond T roof better known as the bren gun hatch and in particular the winch cable guide apparatus, a special thanks to Steve Farrier for his photos from the Dorset Trade Fair.

 

The question has been will his Dad like the model when it has been finished. Well the answer is I think it is not only a wonderful gesture on the part of my son, but a magnificent work of art. I AM DELIGHTED with the result and will always be delighted every time I look at it. Thanks again to you followers for your support and patience.

Well there you have it. I've included some final pictures at the link below... and finally, here is one of "the old man" himself.

 

 

And here it is on display:

 

 

Thanks all for following, and your advice and support.

 

Cheers,

 

Drew.

[keefr22]

I've just read the thread from start to finish after following the link in your RFI post Drew, and thoroughly enjoyed it! What a magnificent bit of modelling and I can see why your dad was so pleased with the end result - it looks absolutely stunning! I was also interested in the discussions about Bronze Green(s) as I've a few braille scale armour kits that will need to be painted that colour one day - I think I'll take the easy way out and get some of that MRP  paint!

 

Once again, great thread and a fantastic result!

 

Keith

[Vaastav]

Looks excellent. I am sure your dad is very pleased.

The Indian Army used these as well though they were always far more battered and dented.

Is it just me or is the rear most roadwheel of the tank on the right side of the truck a bit out of alignment. Sorry to nitpick, but it is rather visible.