Resurrection of a Centurion

[AgentG]

A few months ago a co-worker brought me a box with some of his old builds. By old, I mean 30-35 years ago when he was a teenager. All were Tamiya and all required some TLC. I started with the venerable 1/35 scale Centurion.

 

First thing I did was put her in a vat of stripper.

 

 

 

He couldn't remember, so my best guess is she was painted with good old Testors square bottle enamel. Flat Brown and Dark Green were the most likely of colors.  

 

Getting there.

 

 

Well, fast forward three whole months. It took soaking that long plus a couple applications of oven cleaner to get where I wanted to be.

 

 

 

 

From there I began the body work and replacement of lost or broken parts. I used CA glue and accelerator for most of the gap filling.

 

Primer shot.

 

 

Hmmmm, needed a new one. 

 

 

Scratched from sprue, rod and CA glue. 

 

Base color.

 

 

 

Camouflage.

 

 

 

If you notice, I scratchbuilt the bazooka shield too. 

 

Any idea for a source for markings?

 

More to come.

 

G

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jim Wasley]

You sure had a job there,taking all the old paint off I,m not sure if I would have been that game to drop one of my models into that stripper,I kind of like the look of it when it came out before the primer went on,no matter what way its nice to know the model is getting another life,look forward to seeing finished kit.Cheers

[Kris B]

You put lots of afford in this project. I am looking for final. 

[HL-10]

Lovely save on that Centurion!

Star Decals do a couple of sets for th Centurion. You can get them from Hannants.

[Bullbasket]

Nice job with the Cent G. I did something similar with Tamiya's Cromwell a couple of years ago. As HL-10 said Star Decals, assuming you're still doing a Mk.lll.

 

John.

[Badder]

Very nice save and clever scratch. I say clever, but I have no idea what 'CA and accelerator' is. Can you explain what the accelerator is and what it does?

 

Rearguards,

Badder

[Troy Smith]

11 minutes ago, Badder said:

Very nice save and clever scratch. I say clever, but I have no idea what 'CA and accelerator' is. Can you explain what the accelerator is and what it does?

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

speeds up curing of superglue, to almost instantly.

Quote

Accelerators

Besides water, cyanoacrylate polymerises also in presence of alcohol and basic compounds (including weak amines). The latter can be used to produce a superglue “kicker” – a compound which triggers quick polymerisation of the glue.

see http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2004/10/stuff_eng_tech_ca_glue.htm

 

sometimes called a "kicker"  as well as "accelerator"  

 

Often in a spray bottle, but can be applied by brush, decant a little into a container.

 

I  have some which is  leftovers from uPVC windows

HTH

Edited July 12, 2017 by Troy Smith
add details

[Troy Smith]

14 hours ago, AgentG said:

 

Any idea for a source for markings?

 

Ask  nicely on a modelling forum

 

 

[Badder]

Just now, Troy Smith said:

speeds up curing of superglue, to almost instantly.

Thanks for the quick reply Troy. So do you just use it to speed up the process or do you use it to 'freeze' CA and get it to form features/details, like you would do with a putty?

 

Cheers,

Badder

[Troy Smith]

10 minutes ago, Badder said:

Thanks for the quick reply Troy. So do you just use it to speed up the process or do you use it to 'freeze' CA and get it to form features/details, like you would do with a putty?

 

Cheers,

Badder

I've only  used  it to speed up setting,  but you  maybe able to use in the way you suggest, given your creativity I'm sure you can come up with some new techniques  

 

in the link there mention of use of baking soda,  and also use of Bicarbonate of soda, but some form (maybe baking powder) can break down over time.   I'll need to track down the debate on this.

[Badder]

Just now, Troy Smith said:

in the link there mention of use of baking soda,  and also use of Bicarbonate of soda, but some form (maybe baking powder) can break down over time.   I'll need to track down the debate on this.

I discovered that you can create some interesting water effects if you dribble CA into freshly poured Woodland Scenics 'Realistic Water'. It congeals and forms a 'snotty' substance which can be teased into strings, or lifted up to form frothy ridges, lumps and bumps in the 'water'.

As for Bicarb, I've fixed that with thin CA, and it sets like rock.... good for certain types of snow/ice/slush. So I guess the opposite is true and you can use Bicarb to 'set' CA'.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

[Troy Smith]

Interesting,   I read somewhere one 'kicker' was tri-chloro-ethane,  which used to  be the thinner in Tippex,  and I think  may well be  in the non environmentally friendly one,  which maybe worth experimenting with?

 

Cheers

T 

[AgentG]

Bicarb and CA make a good filler for major gaps and such. Sands beautifully, takes paint like a champ.  I have used it quite a bit in my auto builds. Holds up well, some are 15 years old now. 

 

G

[FrancisGL]

A very cool project, please, could you tell me how you've used the stripper, immersed it in a container with pure or diluted liquid ?, and for how long ?, what brand have you used ?.
Very interesting what accelerator of the CA, how do you use it, for example to glue small parts would serve ?, and how is the procedure of application? ...

 

Maybe that will help you for the marks...

 

http://www.militaryfactory.com/imageviewer/ar/gallery-ar.asp?armor_id=13

 

Cheers G.

[AgentG]

I initially used a product called "Bleche White" available here in the states as a whitewall tire cleaner. I mixed it about 75-25 with water and let the parts soak in a closed container for two months. That worked fairly well but I wanted more of the original paint off. I then used "Easy Off" oven cleaner in a spray can. I used the same container and sprayed the parts liberally with the foaming oven cleaner. One month and several applications later I was able to scrub the paint off. 

 

CA works well with PE and small, non critical parts which won't be subjected to any stress. It is a must if working with resin. I usually use a piece of fine wire with a small loop at one end to carefully drop accelerator where it's needed. For large areas I apply the CA glue and use a piece of small diameter plastic or metal tube to flood the area with a bigger drop of accelerator.  

 

G

[FrancisGL]

Thank you very much for the info and so soon. Now that you talk about it, you see that it has been a long and complicated process, I thought it was work for a couple of hours ... lol, and that you have used "generic" procures, and not specimens.

Recently, I had to use something to remove the paint from an old kit, and I tried with a specific product for that, namely the AK Stripper (with a S ...... on the label ... lol), and I have That to say, that although it is a dirty process, in an hour, with an old picel and a soft rag, had removed everything, having to pay more attention to the small pieces / nooks, being more difficult to "attack" them, and if not I had the problem of breaking pieces, it would have been even faster (because, if I broke some small pieces ...), it may be helpful.

Cheers G.