OzH Posted June 6, 2014 Posted June 6, 2014 (edited) This will be my fourth group build this year…! I’m in providing the Firefly’s with some Engineer support in the markings of the 5th Assault Regiment, 1 Assault Brigade on Sword Beach, 70 years ago today This is the AFV Club 1/35 Churchill Mk IV AVRE. I was given this model by my brother in law who is a serving Royal Engineer (he wasn't good enough for the Royal Signals), not my normal subject and nor my normal scale With some help from help from Inside the Armour. I picked these up at this February’s Yeovilton show, they certainly look the part! Edited October 5, 2014 by OzH 2
swordfish fairey Posted June 7, 2014 Posted June 7, 2014 Excellent OzH, Thanks for the support.. .....Smudge
OzH Posted June 9, 2014 Author Posted June 9, 2014 I wanted to start his on D-Day and managed an hour or so which I spent familiarising myself with the instructions and checking through the Inside the Armour aftermarket stuff and finally got down to preparing a few of the parts, drilling the AVRE specific mounting brackets on the full sides. D+1 I spent a good few hours getting the road wheels onto the sponsons. This is my first AFV Club kit, the detail is outstanding but, IMHO, the kit is a little ever engineered, the running gear looks fantastic but getting it together was nightmare! Will be interested to hear the other Churchill builders opinions on this!? D+2 more work on the sponsons, Inside the Armour wheels assembled and attached with the etch Idler horn plates fitted, really simple and you will hardly see them once finished, but good all the same! 3
snapper_city Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 Yep, AFV Club kits can be a bit over engineered but are generally nice kits. Iv seen the instructions to the Churchill. Lots of sections just dedicated to the running gear...
Brews Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 Thanks for showing the comparison of the kit parts and resin drive sprockets. That should help anyone to decide whether or not to invest in them. It also provides me with some ideas for my Churchill! Is the inner spacing ring circular or octahedral, with those oval lightening holes?
OzH Posted June 9, 2014 Author Posted June 9, 2014 I did a bit more last night but havn't had time to take pictures yet... The inner spacer "should" be circular, but bending is a bit tricky. The instructions say to bend it using the kit wheels as a guide, I did this and still ended up as a lumpy circle, but once fitted to the kit wheels, it sort itself out OK.
Arniec Posted June 10, 2014 Posted June 10, 2014 Great start of the build. Can't wait to see some new pictures. Cheers,
Vally G Posted June 10, 2014 Posted June 10, 2014 A Churchill with all the resin goodies, nice! Kind regards and looking forward to more, Adam
OzH Posted June 10, 2014 Author Posted June 10, 2014 Late on Sunday (D+3) I had managed to fit the Royal Engineer attachment points, again, these are very fiddly, each one has six small bolts that need to be added, even with very fine tweezers, these were a nightmare – I think they look good now they're finished though! Last night I got the floor and rear plates on. To make sure they were all set at the correct angles, I used the top deck and some light clamping (plus a bit of Tamiya tape) to hold it all together. Tonight, it all looks to have gone just as planned! I’m off to the Isle of Wight Festival this weekend so won’t be doing any more for a while.. 5
Arniec Posted June 11, 2014 Posted June 11, 2014 That is looking good. Have fun at the festival. Cheers,
OzH Posted June 22, 2014 Author Posted June 22, 2014 Festival over, back to reality...! Some progress this week, got the engine, transmission, exhaust system and radiators ready for paint - just a shame, most of this will be invisible once installed! Not sure what these parts are for, they are on the parts list but not called out in the instructions. Any help would be welcome Any advice on colours? From what I can find on un-restored Churchill's, engine compartment is silver, engine and transmission (puke) green...? 1
OzH Posted July 1, 2014 Author Posted July 1, 2014 A quick update... Engine and gear box painted... I decided against puke green and silver as I believe this was the post war colour scheme so I went for black and white with some weathering... 4
Brews Posted July 1, 2014 Posted July 1, 2014 Those photos really help to understand what the Bedford "Twin Six" was. When I was a boy, I thought it was two 6-cylinder engines - obviously one for each track. Now I have a car with a Boxer engine, and I fully understand it.
Brews Posted July 1, 2014 Posted July 1, 2014 This site seems to indicate that the gearbox, at least, was painted in S.C.C. 15. http://churchilltank.com/churchill-mark-vii/
Brews Posted July 1, 2014 Posted July 1, 2014 From that site (answer in response to a question): The inside of the engine bay was white, as was the inside of the fighting compartment, to the best of our knowledge. The Wartime engines were black, and the gearboxes gloss green. After the War the engines became a shade of blue known as ‘eau de nil’ similar to current AFV engines. The gear boxes remained green. The interior of the tanks became silver after the War. The hatches would be green on the inside, as would the inside of the pannier doors and the driver’s vision port. In each case this was because a white surface would have been very visible from a distance if the crew opened any hatch.
OzH Posted July 2, 2014 Author Posted July 2, 2014 From that site (answer in response to a question): The inside of the engine bay was white, as was the inside of the fighting compartment, to the best of our knowledge. The Wartime engines were black, and the gearboxes gloss green. After the War the engines became a shade of blue known as ‘eau de nil’ similar to current AFV engines. The gear boxes remained green. The interior of the tanks became silver after the War. The hatches would be green on the inside, as would the inside of the pannier doors and the driver’s vision port. In each case this was because a white surface would have been very visible from a distance if the crew opened any hatch. Good shout on the gearbox colour! Gearbox now painted green (even though it looks darker in the photo, oil wash is still wet!) and installed along with the (I think) fuel tanks. Shame these will be hidden when the engine and radiators are installed! Engine assembled as well.. 8
PlaStix Posted July 2, 2014 Posted July 2, 2014 (edited) That's some fine work on the engine and lovely weathering in the bay. Well done! Edited July 2, 2014 by PlaStix
Sgt.Squarehead Posted July 6, 2014 Posted July 6, 2014 Very impressive work in the bay....Can almost smell the oil!
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