diablo rsv

Glad to see you stuck with it, it's looking really good. I seem to go through a period on most of my builds when I feel like giving up on them. With these Cents it's often the effort of replacing all of the handles and tie downs that I find tedious, fortunately the prototypes didn't have too many. The mantlet cover looks to be quite an improvement on the AFV ones despite the extra work. Looks like your through the worst of it... apart from those handles. Good luck with the op. Wayne

Thanks John, It doesn't take too much heat from the hairdryer to make them pliable and they remain so for a minute or two so they can be moulded to the basic shape. Once they are in situ additional heat can be added to fine tune them. The amount of heat required isn't enough to melt the surrounding plastic but I was still cautious. How was Telford? Wayne

Fantastic work Frank! I have been dipping into your build of it over on the WW1Aircraft Models forum. You have spotted a couple of details that I missed on my build that I shall have to add. The way you have done the metal cowlings is excellent. It was the main thing that I was never happy about on mine, using real aluminium has made a massive difference to the look of the model and is something I shall attempt next time. Your spoked wheels are another stand out feature, luckily I had some suitable etch ones for mine but I will definitely be using your method in the future. I missed the fact that the prototype had the MG mounts, it would make sense as I presume the weight of the guns would have had quite an impact on the flight characteristics. I've been focusing on building British armour lately but seeing your work has given me the urge to go back to building WW1 aircraft again, I've got plenty to choose from. Looking forward to your next project, any ideas as to what it may be? Wayne

The tracks on the early Centurions were narrower than the later versions at 20 inches wide and AFV only supply the standard width tracks in this kit and those are the rubber band type. Fortunately Accurate Armour kindly sold me some resin 20'' tracks from their A41 conversion set. A little clean up was required and a couple of the lengths hadn't quite cast properly so some of the ends of the links were missing but these would be hidden by the bazooka plates. I found the easiest way to fit them was to glue the lengths together to make the complete run and then using a hairdryer to soften the resin they could be moulded around the wheels. This was my first experience with resin tracks and I found the fitting process wasn't too bad and the final result is actually pretty good. It's starting to look like a Centurion now. Wayne

And so you should , that looks superb. Wayne.

Thanks Darryl, I was hoping I wouldn't have to add much in the way of detail to this one but I just can't help myself. The texture is Tamiya basic putty dissolved in extra thin cement, I would imagine the Humbrol one would work just as well. At first I thought that's a bit random, someone's parked a Centurion at the roadside, but I guess it's because they were built nearby. I had a peek on Google and I would say it's a Mk.5/2 but I'm no expert. I'm lucky enough to live down the road from Duxford so often pop in to have a look at the real things. I find seeing them in the flesh often gives me the urge to build them in model form. Once you get into your build I'm pretty sure you will enjoy it, the AFV ones go together quite quickly and don't really need much extra work to get a decent result. I imagine the AH ones aren't that different. The lack of mantlet cover is a bit of a pain in the backside though, I feel considering it's such a prominent feature that they could have included something. Wayne Thanks Ed, It's going together quite nicely, I just need to get through the track stage. Wayne

Very nice, it looks like you've put a lot of work into that. Wayne

That looks like an interesting subject. Looking forward to see how you progress with it. Wayne

I used some microscope cover slips to replace the plastic windows on my B-Type Battle bus build. They are pretty cheap and you get loads in a box. You can see how I used them HERE towards the bottom of the page. They will only work for flat glass though. Wayne

Finally I have some progress to report on this build. Most of the construction of this kit is the same as all of AFV's other Centurion kits and seemingly the same as Amusing Hobbies so I thought I would mostly post about the differences in this kit compared to the others. The original release of this kit was from Platz and was part of the Girls und Panzer series but there was an inaccuracy regarding the hull. The kit was basically the AFV Mk.5 with a new sprue for the turret however the prototypes, Mk.1s and 2's had a longer hull at the rear. It was decided on later marks to shorten the hull to save some weight (100lbs). Thankfully AFV have corrected this in their own release and have included some hull extensions, the correct grill and radiators. The final drive housings have reinforcing ribs on them which were only present on the later Mk's so these needed to be removed. There a few annoying ejector pin marks on some of the parts in quite prominent positions. A lot of the sprues come from the original Mk.5 release but the pin marks are surprisingly mostly on the new sprues as can be seen here on the new rear plate. The centre Horstmann suspension unit on the early Mk.'s was also slightly different but AFV only include the latter type. However this will be hidden by the bazooka plates so I decided to let it go. The wheels in this kit are AFV's standard centurion wheels with the vinyl tyres that have the rims moulded into them. They do this so that the distinctive reinforcing ribs can be incorporated and the injection moulding process would make it impossible to do so in plastic. Amusing Hobby have left out these rings completely in their kits. Fortunately there are after market resin wheels available. The early Centurions ran on what were basically Comet wheels which had one less reinforcing ring and a smaller outer ring as explained in this thread HERE by @Das Abteilung. I decided to order some Comet wheels from Brach model in Italy. I still needed to make some alterations to them though as the Comet hubs are wrong, so I had to cut the AFV ones from the wheels and fit them to the Brach ones. The next problem was that the Comet ran on ten wheels and the Centurion has twelve. The Brach wheels aren't cheap and I didn't want to order an extra set just for two wheels so I thought I would be a bit cheeky and cast some myself. I have continued with the rest of the hull and made a start on the turret without any major problems and I have added some texture to some of the surfaces. I will need to add some weld beads here and there and I will also replace the plastic moulded on grab handles with some made from wire and then it will be the dreaded tracks. Wayne

Yikes! I don't envy you, that doesn't sound like a lot of fun. Good luck with it and the interview. The DEF cover does look good but seems a bit of a faff to get it to fit. I will need to sculpt one for my Mk.1/prototype build so I think I will see how that goes before I decide on getting the DEF one for my AVRE build. Wayne

Glad to see it got through Stix, I've had these two lurking at the bottom of the pile for a while, I wasn't sure which one but I think I will build the RFM Firefly or maybe I could get them both done, how long will we have? Wayne

Very impressive work Filippo, loving the attention you are giving to the details. Wayne

I just did, and then some one mentioned that Gecko models were going to make one. The Daimler looks like a nice addition to the stash though. Wayne

Considering the detail they have put into this kit I'm surprised that they haven't supplied a radiator in this version as it is quite visible as can be seen in the photo below. Wayne

This is high quality work Vytautas, well worth the wait. Looking forward to the next installment. Wayne.

Just been catching up with this build thread Nenad and I have to say you've made a cracking job of both of them. The extra detail work you have put in has been well worth the effort and nice work with the pigments. Looking forward to seeing them in RFI. Wayne

Thanks Si, Rather you than me, I actually enjoyed doing the Berlin Chieftain but that would be a step too far for me. Building an ARV would test my patience let alone one with that paint job. I went with the Eduard photo etch for my to be built Cromwell family so I hope they've made a better job of it for those kits than they have for the Cent. Yours look excellent by the way. Which mantlet covers did you go with? I used the AFV ones on my previous builds and was fairly pleased with them. I don't need one for the prototype thankfully but I will need one for the AVRE. Wayne

I had a quick look in my Amusing Hobby AVRE kit and it doesn't appear to be as bad as yours. I had a little trouble getting the track guards to sit square on my previous AFV Club builds and I had to correct them by cutting a groove between the track guard and glacis plate to get them to sit properly. The one in my Mk.1 kit is much better though. Mk.1 top. Mk.5 bottom. Lovely work with the photo etch. I used the Voyager set on my Mk.11 build but most of it is still in the box as a lot of it didn't seem to be enough of an improvement to make the extra work worthwhile. Wayne

There are some images here that should be helpful. https://www.net-maquettes.com/pictures/fv4006-centurion-arv-mk-2-walkaround/

That really is superb Ed, there is much to take in and admire. Wayne

Thanks John and Roger, Seeing how you are cracking along with your armoured car build John I think you should have time to come and join the Centurion party with your Mk.3 Wayne

Sorry Darryl Your more than capable of producing excellent results though and I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing how yours progresses. I agree that the Mk.1s aren't the most aesthetically pleasing of the Centurions but it makes an interesting comparison to see how they evolved into one of the finest tanks to have been built. I have got the Amusing Hobby AVRE and I very nearly started that one. It looks as though it can only really be built into the Gulf war version though as it doesn't have the fascine carrier on it and I didn't fancy doing another desert scheme. I don't know what happened to the AFV Club AVRE, it seems like ages since it was announced. Wayne

Welcome along Dennis, British AFV's are certainly well catered for now, surely there is something to tempt you back to the world of AFV modelling. Wayne

This is really looking very good John and seems to have come together pretty quickly considering the amount of work you have done on it. Wayne