Shermaniac Posted June 23, 2014 Posted June 23, 2014 Tamiya Challenger 1 from the way back when! After a trip to the BAOR back in 1991, myself and a few club members got the build bug - for me it was all Gulf stuff which was popular at the time with the guys having just returned. Concord Publications were around at the time and cranking out books on all-sorts and the BAOR was one of them. I saw a Chally 1 with Grass/Turf as a camouflage sceme and did this version. At the time I was quite chuffed with myself but has it stood the test of time??? Over to you! The kit Ferret bin was rubbish - to small and misshaped Yuk! - so I scratched a new one which I cast in resin, also the smokies box too. The Cheiftain bin on the turret left is also a resin copy Weathering was Naples Yellow and a dirt slurry with a brushed (pin) wash over a Mid Bronze Green & Black Base The Aerials aer some fuse-wire which desperately need changing at some stage. I think that with todays weathering powders and gadets I can bring this vehicle up to date. What do you think Guys? 4
HL-10 Posted June 24, 2014 Posted June 24, 2014 That is different! You've done a great job with the turf effect, very nice indeed!
tonyot Posted June 24, 2014 Posted June 24, 2014 That is a lovely lawn on your Chally,....all it needs now is a flower bed and a water feature!! Seriously,....it looks great and is something different,.......maybe section up the turf to show how it was cut out by shovel and add a little dirt to the sides of the turf just to break up the lawn effect? I love the camouflage scheme that you`ve painted onto the model too,...... Cheers Tony
Shermaniac Posted June 24, 2014 Author Posted June 24, 2014 Paints by Xtracolor - British Mid Bronze Green back in my enamel days Cammo is wilko filler, poster paint and static grass scatter from a model railway shop (no long since closed down). The squaddies did actually water the original lawns to keep them nice and fresh Now we have the mini-natur stuff I can upgrade it a bit with some foliage too perhaps?
fredben Posted June 24, 2014 Posted June 24, 2014 Nice build seeing that you done it in 1991, but what would you change now with all the new items you can buy now for building. Are you not tempted to fiddle about with it. It looks good with the old sods on the top.
Mr Grumpylee Posted June 24, 2014 Posted June 24, 2014 This looks very realistic, really good effort Lee
Sgt.Squarehead Posted June 24, 2014 Posted June 24, 2014 I reckon you should add a golf-club, tee and ball! Great modelling but that has to be the daftest camo I've ever encountered! 1
tonyot Posted June 24, 2014 Posted June 24, 2014 I reckon you should add a golf-club, tee and ball! Great modelling but that has to be the daftest camo I've ever encountered! Not if you are on a golf course!
Shermaniac Posted June 24, 2014 Author Posted June 24, 2014 (edited) Yeah I thought so to........ until........ Oooops! Even has a skier as the driver daftest or not Guys, it really did happen. After this, I think mine is a bit understated? Double Personally, I think it needs a Gnome! with a fishing rod! Thanks Concord front cover, pages 68 & 80 You gotta get this, it has loads of goodies in it............................. Helluva tee shot on the golf course though ................................. Edited June 24, 2014 by Shermaniac 1
Vlamgat9 Posted June 24, 2014 Posted June 24, 2014 I reckon you should add a golf-club, tee and ball! Great modelling but that has to be the daftest camo I've ever encountered! Isnt it to reduce IR signature rather than act as visual camouflage?
Sgt.Squarehead Posted June 24, 2014 Posted June 24, 2014 Never doubted its authenticity for a moment.....It kind of looks like a tank toupee!
Shermaniac Posted June 24, 2014 Author Posted June 24, 2014 Never doubted its authenticity for a moment.....It kind of looks like a tank toupee! With a few bald spots, bit like me then LOL!
Pete H Posted June 24, 2014 Posted June 24, 2014 Brilliant! Tho I reckon a 35th scale mole popping outa the grass (like my lawn) would look kinda cool....... Regards Pete
Cheesey153 Posted June 24, 2014 Posted June 24, 2014 Great to see that model! I can give some background about how the turf cammo came about: I think it was '85 and Ajax 2RTR were doing a trials exercise - testing new kit, doing crew tests for APRE etc. Challenger was pretty darn new at the time - only the Cherry-picking Hussars and us had it. The squadron was split into 2 - 2 troops as player troops, 2 as enemy. Both enemy troops had, coincidentally or not, a Sgt as troop leader. I was fortunate to be in one of the enemy troops (4 troop) and the other enemy troop (2 Troop) was lead by Sgt Phil Burton. It was he who invented turf cammo. The slab-sided form of Challenger made it highly visible when viewed from afar - the large square-ish planes of the turret and glacis acted like huge mirrors and gave away a tank's presence. So Phil Burton came up with the idea of making the vehicles less reflective! It was all a bit of a laugh and mickey-take at first but everyone soon realised that the turf worked and so we all turfed-up. I remember having to mow the lawn in front of my gunner's sight after a week or so because the grass had grown in the time since I'd cut the turf and put it on the turret; I notice the crews in both those photos were sensible enough to not put a turf in front of the gunner's sight! Next exercise we did the OC told every crew to turf their wagon and the practice then spread through the regiment and onwards......
Shermaniac Posted June 25, 2014 Author Posted June 25, 2014 Wow, thanks Cheesey153, most insightful. But isn't that just the way of things. Fab to find out the origins of things too.
Graeme Posted June 25, 2014 Posted June 25, 2014 Great to see that model! I can give some background about how the turf cammo came about: I think it was '85 and Ajax 2RTR were doing a trials exercise - testing new kit, doing crew tests for APRE etc. Challenger was pretty darn new at the time - only the Cherry-picking Hussars and us had it. The squadron was split into 2 - 2 troops as player troops, 2 as enemy. Both enemy troops had, coincidentally or not, a Sgt as troop leader. I was fortunate to be in one of the enemy troops (4 troop) and the other enemy troop (2 Troop) was lead by Sgt Phil Burton. It was he who invented turf cammo. The slab-sided form of Challenger made it highly visible when viewed from afar - the large square-ish planes of the turret and glacis acted like huge mirrors and gave away a tank's presence. So Phil Burton came up with the idea of making the vehicles less reflective! It was all a bit of a laugh and mickey-take at first but everyone soon realised that the turf worked and so we all turfed-up. I remember having to mow the lawn in front of my gunner's sight after a week or so because the grass had grown in the time since I'd cut the turf and put it on the turret; I notice the crews in both those photos were sensible enough to not put a turf in front of the gunner's sight! Next exercise we did the OC told every crew to turf their wagon and the practice then spread through the regiment and onwards...... I was in FRG7 at 7 Armd Wksp in Fally at the same time - I've just posted a thread in Real Armour chat with a pic of one of our ARRV's. Do you remember a guy called Kevin Greenhalgh who was also 2RTR around this timeframe?
Cheesey153 Posted June 25, 2014 Posted June 25, 2014 Yes, I've seen the photo of you & your ARRV!! There's a certain period feel about that photo that brings my memories flooding back. I knew Kev Greenhalgh (Pup?) only very slightly - I was a trooper and he was a full screw in a different squadron, so it's more accurate to say I 'knew of' him, rather than 'knew' him.
Graeme Posted June 27, 2014 Posted June 27, 2014 Yes, I've seen the photo of you & your ARRV!! There's a certain period feel about that photo that brings my memories flooding back. I knew Kev Greenhalgh (Pup?) only very slightly - I was a trooper and he was a full screw in a different squadron, so it's more accurate to say I 'knew of' him, rather than 'knew' him. He's on Facebook and now helps run the 'Fallingbostel Military Museum', which has it's own Facebook page
Shermaniac Posted June 27, 2014 Author Posted June 27, 2014 We seem to have an old pals reunion going on here. Great guys hope it all works out for you.
Carius Posted June 27, 2014 Posted June 27, 2014 Great job with the grass cammo and nice build. Cheers.
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