Centurion MK3? (Options for 2017- onwards )

[Poacher]

Hello all!


A few months back I finished Andrew Salmon's excellent book "To The Last Round" which is a superb account of the exploits of the British 29th Brigade during the Korean War and, being inspired, set my mind to producing a diorama based around a 1/35 centurion mk3 demonstrating it's much valued ability to climb gradients that most other UN vehicles during the conflict could not.  Since then I have acquired AFV clubs Cent. mk5 with dozer  but have hit a snag in regards to a suitable conversion set to backdate it to the mk3 standard as it would've appeared in Korea (re-positioned loaders hatch, rear escape hatch, re-positioned loaders periscope+bomb thrower etc). 

After looking through old threads and articles written by others looking to take on this kind of project on this site and elsewhere, by far the most recommended method seems to be using an aftermarket conversion set to get the desired result . But in this day and age those sets (Lionmarc's mk3 turret, Castoffs mk3 set, Inside the Armour's set etc.) seem to be either discontinued or not available anymore! So unless I'm missing something (and i'd love to be proved wrong! is there anything I've missed or is there anyone who knows of something in the pipeline?) the only option to build a 1/35 mk3 is to either work with AFV club's mk5 and add/remove bits or acquire Tamiya's or Modelcraft's Mk3 and pinch the turret off that.

So has anyone had any success with either of those aforementioned methods? Any tips or advice for those attempting the same thing? I'm nervous about having to attempt such a conversion for fear of bu**ering a nice kit or shelling out for a donor kit if their are better options out there.

Cheers,

Poacher

PS: If anyone does happen to have any of those elusive conversion kits lying around in the stash and wouldn't miss it, please feel free to shoot me a PM - I've a few kits that are looking for a good home

[Bullbasket]

This is a build/conversion that I've had on the to do list for a couple of years now. I started of with the AFV Club Aussie Mk.5 and the Lionmarc conversion. Unfortunately, this stalled when I was  about 50% through the build when I noticed that the lower hull was warped. It was so badly distorted that I couldn't do anything with it. I tried immersing it in hot water, but due to the advanced stage of the build, it remained warped. So the build remained on hold until last year when I was able to pick up another MK.5 second hand, and intend to get back to it in the not too distant future. 

I've also built the Tamiya kit. Someone was selling it at the Kit Swap at Telford for £2!!!!! Couldn't resist at that price. They can still be picked up cheap and also, you can still find the Lionmarc conversion too. There's one on Ebay at the moment and a German model shop is selling it as well. Just do a "Lionmarc Centurion Mk.3 conversion" search.

HTH's.

 

John.