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Long Job - FV439 Royal Signals Radio Relay with some 3d Printing


Wogga

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This is going to be a long job as :

 

1. The main model has to be released Takom FV432 APC

2. I have to learn and perfect Turbocad as i go along.

 

Following the recent announcement by Takom they intend to release the British Army's main "battle taxi" for over 40 years, the FV432, my brain got going.

 

15027828_521688118039742_720881059548252

 

 

Being a "cold war warrior" for many years, much of that spent in Germany, the 432 was a common vehicle to crew. It was produced in many variants e.g 434 the REME's recovery version and the one i intend to model the 439 which was a Royal Signals version for Radio Relay. The radio relay was part of a secure network which was part of a system for simplicity was able to replicate communications such as telephone landline and cellular. The 439 were deployed normally as part of an Armoured Brigade headquarters. Other signals variant could be seen and Dads203 crewed a radio version, he will correct me. 

 

The top deck of the 432 is where most difference s can be seen. Extra's included a "coffin" containing two generator sets, a mast cage for holding antenna heads, a 12m pneumatic antenna mast and an assembly of reels for antenna co-ax and quad drums for a landline connection of the radio relay into the headquarters as the 439 was usually away from the headquarters on a hill nearby for good signal propagation.

 

24939005986_c37e693014_b_zpseticrsex.jpg

 

 

24338458073_a395336282_b_zpsyo1ng0vh.jpg

 

A deployed 439 grossly overloaded with the kit to go to war with, cam nets, penthouse tent for the back door to give the crew some living and working space the list of comforts is endless.

 

1267490_10151751218158710_605507863_o_zp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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PART 2. CAD and 3d Printing.

 

I have always wanted to get my head into CAD, i don't know why but during the Christmas holidays i gave it a go. The inspiration for this work has actually come from another modeller, Tony Mousley, who scratch builds in 1/24. I think he is a member here and may be known to some of you off the board. Tony has helped me get started for which i am grateful. Tony is in the process of modelling a 1/24 FV439 which is a later version to mine, the main difference is they changed the generator sets and armoured up the coffin.

 

On Tony's advice and after some research i got Turbocad, it was cost effective and has support in youtube and a forum. I ordered some tutorial videos and got started. After a few days i managed to produce my first 3d drawing of one of the quad drums mounted on the vehicle.

 

IMG_0235_zpsdbndffra.jpg

 

 

It was quite a task however we got there in the end, i can knock this up in less than hour if i need to, the more you use Turbocad the more you learn the shortcuts. At this stage i thought i would see if it was 3d printable. I don't have a printer so i intended to use the online services of Shapeways which i think is the largest. It offers some advantages in that you have the choice of several different materials to print in and a choice of how much you want to pay, unfortunately 50% of the cost is p&p, however i have learnt that you can upload several different models at a time and the p&p become much better.

 

Once you are satisfied with your drawing, you export it into a format recognised by shape ways. I did the drawing in 1:1 and it was rejected as too big! no shock there i guess. I scaled the drawing in turvocad which was another steep curve and uploaded it again, success. In Shapeways you have the facility to scale the model further so what i do now is roughly scale it in turvocad and then fine tune it in shape ways. They must use some powerful software them boys.

 

The Shapeways scaling tool which is very powerful and allows you to get size really good.

 

 

quad4_zps7ta2lpyt.jpeg

 

To be continued..........

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ah, those happy words....Radio Relay! They go together with Comcen like bread and jam. Although I have to say that it's a bit modern for me. When I was freezing my ****'s off on the Teutoburg Ridge, we were still using Austin K9's for the RR and Bedford RL's for the Comcen. It used to be fun watching the RR boys raise the tubular aerial masts with a winch in a high wind. Definitely following this with interest (and nostalgia)!

If you are going to display it on a base, you've got to put a Jimmy on it.

 

John. 

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Nice to see a 439 :thumbsup2: the radio delay ops will be pleased :) are you going to add the Sony PlayStation and TV set that was part of the CES ? 

 

Dont forget a land rover resup wagon bringing a fresh box of carrots on resup day :) 

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PART 2. CAD and 3d Printing. Continued

 

Once have successfully scaled your model Shapeways then checks the integrity of the model and its suitability for printing for a whole host of materials ranging from plastics to precious metals e.g. gold lol. This process can take 10 minutes so be patient! Once it has finished you will see that against all the materials listed there will be a green tick if it is printable or a warning symbol if there are issues that need to be addressed.

 

The main issues i see is if the material has the resolution to print the detail in your model or is the thickness of walls up to bt printed with out collapsing. You will learn which are best materials for printing quickly and there are videos of how each material is actually printed, forget the home use plastic wire getting melted i haven't seen that. We are talking professional processes here.

 

Once the software has evaluated your model you can see the issues and investigate what you need to do. Here my model has wall thickness issues.

 

wLL_zpscfvsw4ek.jpeg

 

With each issue there is a "heat map" showing exactly where the problem is, here the bars of the drum and the cylinder has parts which are too thin to print'

 

wall3_zpsp7ocae9p.jpeg

 

However using another material the issues can be less due to the fact the material and the printing processes are different and can support more detail

 

WALL%202_zpsxjw1xx70.jpeg

 

This is frosted detail plastic which has become my material of choice, not the cheapest but certainly the best for thin detail parts.

 

You will find you will need to oversize some smaller details parts to get them printed, they certainly look too big or fat on the drawing but in my experience they look ok once printed.

 

to get the model above printed i had to thicken the bars, i used 35mm 1:1 drawing on the outers and 25mm on the inners, the drawing looked like this.

 

 

IMG_0235_zpsdbndffra.jpg

 

 

 

 

It is then second checked by an expert within hours, they will either reject or accept the model. In this case it was accepted i ordered and paid.

 

Next up the...... results

 

 

 

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I has a feeling i would spark  a reaction from a few ex scaleys, mind you the luxurious comfort of a radio delay det was still poverty compared to the power truck ;-) 

 

What used to make me giggle was the radio link was rock solid put the tv picture was crap!

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Thanks for the comments so far.

 

The Results to date.

 

From ordering to receiving the item is taking roughly 7 working days to the UK, my stuff is delivered from Eindhoven NL by UPS.

 

Well this is what i got, and i must say it exceeded my expectations, despite being rather fat on the drawing it looks ok in the flesh. I now suspect even the pro's model companies have to oversize the detail to be able to injection mould the detail.

 

IMG_0581_zpselxes554.jpg

 

What do you think, to get the detail i had it printed in Frosted Detail Plastic.

 

Next steps was to trial something else so i had a go at the generator coffin.

 

coffin2_zpsysvzw6jg.jpeg

 

 

 

When the model was uploaded, despite oversizing some brackets they were considered to thin to print when the heat map was produced:

 

coffin%202_zpshntyf57o.jpeg

 

Now this is good, you have the choice to print anyway, this is especially good when you are prototyping or learning. So i hit the print it anyway button. And this what i got, compare it to the drawings i was again suitably impressed.

 

IMG_0594_zpsxz86hslh.jpg

 

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Following my experiments i am convinced 3d printing is the way to go.

 

I am now gathering more prototype info and doing drawings to do as much as i can by way of 3d printing. Try scratching this!

 

Cable%20Assy_zpsm5crjyvb.jpeg

 

 

 

If you are ever in Dorset you can visit the Royal Signals museum in Blandford and see a 439 in real life.

 

IMG_0189_zpsipowacxo.jpg

 

Your thoughts, criticisms and feedback is most welcome.

 

 

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Very interesting project indeed 👍

 

I'll follow it with much attention .... if I remember well, such a radio relay vehicle has already been scratchbuilt, can't remember where though.

 

Does someone have a vision as to when the FV432 kit will be available ?

 

E

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Good pic of the 439 at the corps museum, looks like it's had a fresh coat of NATO black but the green is heavily weathered and faded to almost a grey :) 

 

Word on the Strasse is that the Takom 432 will hit us in Feb this year.

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Thanks for the comments Etienne the kit is supposed to be Q1 2017, so that will be Q3 in reality :-) i mentioned the other build in my opening thread, Tony Mousley is part way through on a military modeller i think. 

 

http://www.militarymodelling.com/forums/postings.asp?th=87741

 

He also scratched a Triffid radio relay wagon

 

http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?35988-Ptarmigan-Comms-Wagon

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Its an old photo Dan, i have a mate who works at the school and he took some more recent pictures, the cam is a crap paint job looks like they got an RoP to do it? You will weep i did.Didn't mix the paint well hence the glossy finish.

 

IMG_0204_zpsaxxgqipv.jpg

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I see a few "A"jobs on the 43 ...:huh:

 

really nice work work on the coffin, that looks the part fella, are you going to model it in the set up mode or travelling ?  Look really good with a deployed SCAM 12 guyed out and a band 3 head :) 

 

Dan 

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Cheers Dan, it certainly hasn't been painted by anyone in the know bit of a disgrace tbh. I have started doing a SCAM in brass tubing so yes up a few feet is on the cards, but i shall try doing a collapsed mast in 3d, either for the free stander or do a second model of a packed up 439.

 

I have the CAD bug and i am going to do as much as i can, possibly even a 3 head Triffid mount on the inside. Biggest job is getting the prototype dimensions. Working on squeezing in a trip to Blandford to see my mate and the 439.

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The parts are looking really good especially the coffin. The only down side to the frosted detail plastic is that the small parts are delicate. I've already broken one periscope brush guard as I tried to remove it from the carrier.

BTW. Scaleys comes from the pay grade that signallers used to receive. It was Scale E, above that of the cannon fodder.

As an aside and not meaning to hijack this thread, but if there are any ex Signals who have any photos of Austin K9 RR, Bedford RL Comcen (not the demountable body), and Pigs and Scaracens of the radio troops, I'd be very interested for a project.

 

John.

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John there are quite a few Facebook pages worth joining, i know a C50/C70 RL was posted on one as well as Saracens, Austins etc, it is called BAOR Photos. Pictures are searchable and plenty of banter very friendly as it stays on topic. If any member wants Chieftains pictures there are loads as the ex cav boys post their memories. Also join the RSA Facebook page i got some help from there.

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4 hours ago, Wogga said:

Thanks for the comments Etienne the kit is supposed to be Q1 2017, so that will be Q3 in reality :-) i mentioned the other build in my opening thread, Tony Mousley is part way through on a military modeller i think.

 

Yes, it is the very same build I was thinking about ... didn't remember it was 1/24 !!

 

Thanks for the info about the Takom's kit ... so I'll have to wait, I'm glad I have other projects in my mind. Perhaps one day I'll attempt the adventure of the 1/24 scale  with the KFS kit ^_^

 

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