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A couple of Challengers 2 ...


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Hello gents,

 

before holidays in a few days, I took some time to begin a new kit ... perhaps should I say 2 kits ;)

 

The grey one is a Trumpeter Challenger 2, late kit with the retooled turret ... this one will end up as a KFOR tank and the tan kit is from Tamiya, and I plan to build it as a Salisbury training ground Challenger with "orange" sand and green camo.

 

That's why I swapped the road wheels, as the KFOR tanks were equipped with the early plain dish type whereas the late ones received perforated wheels ...

 

There's many differences between the 2 kits' hulls ... mainly around the drive train that is less detailed but also easier to assemble on the Tamiya CR2.

 

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The KFOR CR2 is equipped with a dozer blade that's pretty nice ... just some small details were added or reworked : weld seams on the main beam, the central bracket was modified and most axles were replaced with fuze wire to reinforce the system, and finally the hull's bracket were thickened to fit correctly and some nuts and bolts added ...


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As the Tamiya kit was initially a motorized kit, there is no sponsons so I added some ...


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Next steps in august I guess ... in the meantime, I'll take some days overseas with my wife and kids B)

 

Cheers, E

Edited by Etienne
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I'd like to do one in the BATUS camo scheme of sand and green but apparently my LHS is having a hard time getting a C2 from either Tamiya or Trumpeter.

I would take either one if he ever gets it.  Even if the Tamiya turret isn't completely accurate it will still represent a Challenger 2.

 

The only Warrior I know of is the Academy kit and I've been waiting to get one of those also.  Frustrating.  I hate ordering from the USA as I always get

stiffed on the 30% exchange and the freight being more than the model, besides got to support the local store.

 

Lloyd

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On 18/07/2017 at 11:31 AM, Bullbasket said:

You do like your Challengers. Enjoy your holiday. Going anywhere nice?

 

John.

 

Hello John, we are in Guadeloupe... nothing to do but enjoy the holidays 😎

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello gents,

 

back home and to the work bench after a few days under the sun in the caraïbean sea B)

 

On 28/07/2017 at 4:41 PM, Bullbasket said:

Hi Etienne, Glad that you didn't go camping around St.Tropez :o.

 

John.

 

A few photos of the landscapes ...

 

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So now back to modelling for a few days before going back to work ... my goal was to have the 2 Challengers with hulls and turrets assembled ... I still have much work around the rear plates, lights and so on but you can already compare the 2 kits

 

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The 2 kits are good but have some flaws, different from one kit to the other ... lack of sponsons on the Tamiya but very smart engineering leading to a problem-free assembly when assembly is more tricky on the Trumpeter that is a enhanced version of the Chally, better turret and overall more detailed than the previous versions (standard and KFOR) and with a more accurate drivetrain than the Tamiya. More comparison's pics :

 

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Handles and grills were added on the engine decks ... Trumpeter made a good job with the plastic quality and moulding so I used the kit's handles and Eduard grills when handles needed a total rework on the Tamiya as they were moulded (poorly ...) so fuze wire handles and Eduard grills

 

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And last but not least ... I decided to detail the stowage boxes of the turrets with locking handles (made with butterfly nuts, I could find something more realistic and after a few attempts to make my own scratch ones ...), small tanks (water ?) and other padlocks brackets ... took me much time but I couldn't bear the "void" under the openings :o

 

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The ROMOR armour plates come from another Trumpeter kit I got in my stash from wich I only used the turret to replace the crooked one on my 1st Chally ^_^ ... just a few additions with a better tow cable (only one, the 2nd is rarely seen on KFOR dozer blade tanks) and its retainers, front (Accurate Armour) and rear (scratch ...) and the result is quite realistic compared to photos.

 

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Cheers, E

Edited by Etienne
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It must have been terrible, having to suffer all of that sand sea and sun:D. Glad to see that you are back into the swing of modelling again. They're looking good.

 

John.

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Hello gents,

thanks for your comments, yesterday I almost completed the rear plates setups ... now they just lack the cable reels and the lights.

 

I used the Tamiya kit's drums but installed Accurate Armour drums, and several accessories ... the level of AA resin parts is very heterogeneous, the jerrycan holder, first aid box and towing hook are very nice and detailed, whereas the drums are not on par with the rest and cannot be used as they are, I was obliged to butcher some Trumpeter drum holders parts to adapt the drums :huh:

 

You can see the difference, on these parts, Tamiya's engineering wins but the end result of the Trumpy is rather nice also ;)

 

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Today I decided the Tamiya's Chally deserved a better treatment of the undercarriage ... the return rollers brackets and the tensioning device were under-detailed or bluntly absent ... I made my best to make them look better, not exactly as real but it will do the trick under the skirts ...

 

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... and to finish this busy day, I rebuilt the front plate of the Tamiya's hull ; as a matter of fact, the hull is from the Challenger 1 and very different from the Challenger's 2 so I added the flat handles, the vent (I suppose it's a vent) and the specific reinforced towing brackets with the welds !!

 

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And the driver's hatch handle is the cherry on the cake before I close the workbench for today ;)

 

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Cheers, E

Edited by Etienne
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Well, I didn't mentioned it but I think it's obvious ... I added the antislip coating on the Tamiya's, it a little bit coarse at the moment but I will sand it lightly to have a better finish ... and I think I will also treat the Trumpy even if the antislip coating is already moulded on the kit, a light coat will add realism.

 

Cheers, E

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Really enjoying this. Makes me want to throw mine out (one of the 1st builds I did coming back into this hobby, and by far a long way from what I'm capable of now, and even further behind the quality and detail you're producing). Please keep up the great work and detailed posts.

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Hello gents,

 

the Challys are taking shape ... almost complete but still many details to work on : lights wiring, extinguishers, GPMGs, etc ... and tracks of course ^_^

 

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Some details ... you'll notice that the position of the extinguishers and amber flashing lights is different, Tamiya's is more accurate in my opinion ;)

 

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That's all for today, tomorrow I'll be back to work ... :huh:

 

Cheers, E

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26 minutes ago, Killingholme said:

I think I already know the answer to this, but for someone who will probably only ever build one Challenger II- is the Tamiya twice as good as the much cheaper Trumpeter rival?

 

Will

Hello,

 

depends on what type of Challenger 2 you want to build ... in my opinion, the Trumpeter's are good enough for any modeller, OOB for beginners or with add-ons for advanced builders but to have a really accurate build, some modifications are needed. Furthermore you can choose the kit you want, basic, KFOR with or without dozer blade or enhanced armour.

 

The Tamiya's is better engineered and with crisper details but there's a lot of modifications to do unless you want to build the kit's version, a desertized Chally ... so my answer is no, the Tamiya's is not twice as good, go for the Trumpy ;)

 

Hope this helps ... E

Edited by Etienne
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Hello gents,

 

I made some progress this week end on the Challys ... many details added, next steps will need extra supplies ;)

 

Let's start with the KFOR Challenger ... with it's crew of course, but I still need to find a driver :huh:

 

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What I did in detail : electric wiring of the front lights, reworking of the exhausts that Trumpeter did wrong and telephone wire reel among other things.

 

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... and now the Salisbury Challenger, without crew for now but with skirts (the tank, not the crew :P). 

 

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The main details added, as on the Trumpy, are the front lights' wiring and the telephone reel at the rear ... for those familiar with Challenger on training grounds (Salisbury, BATUS), you'll notice that I wrapped the front fire extinguishers with "canvas" to hide the red color 

 

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That's all for today, cheers, E

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