A30 Challenger.

[Etienne]

Hi John,

 

I have to admit that I know next to nothing to ww2 british tanks but it's always a pleasure to learn through your builds 😉

 

E

[Redcoat2966]

1 hour ago, Etienne said:

Hi John,

 

I have to admit that I know next to nothing to ww2 british tanks but it's always a pleasure to learn through your builds 😉

 

E

I agree with Etienne, not my field of knowledge as regards unusual allied AFV’s......but learning definitely with your builds .....enjoying the progress👍

 

Simon

[Bullbasket]

9 hours ago, Hamden said:

 

Some great progress there John looking forward to more of the same upon your return

 

  Roger

Thanks Roger. Hopefully, I'll be posting something by the end of the month.

 

John.

[Bullbasket]

6 hours ago, Etienne said:

Hi John,

 

I have to admit that I know next to nothing to ww2 british tanks but it's always a pleasure to learn through your builds 😉

 

E

 

4 hours ago, Redcoat2966 said:

I agree with Etienne, not my field of knowledge as regards unusual allied AFV’s......but learning definitely with your builds .....enjoying the progress👍

 

Simon

Hi Etienne and Simon. I have to say that the A30 doesn't have a great deal documented about it. I've got three books about the Challenger and because photos are not plentiful, most of the photos are repeated in each publication. I'm still searching for a decent photo/profile of one in the green/black cammo scheme.

 

John.

[Ripaman]

Lovely update there John  have a great holiday don't get to burnt

 

Regards

Richard

[Bullbasket]

On 07/07/2018 at 06:38, Ripaman said:

Lovely update there John  have a great holiday don't get to burnt

 

Thanks Richard. I'll certainly do that.

 

John.

[PlaStix]

Looks like another fascinating project in progress! I'm in! 

Kind regards,

Stix 

[Bullbasket]

Thanks Stix, and you're very welcome.

 

John.

[Kris B]

You doing really good job with it. Looks like it gonna be another Frankenstein. 

[Bullbasket]

14 hours ago, Kris B said:

You doing really good job with it. Looks like it gonna be another Frankenstein. 

Thanks Chris. Yes it will be.

Well, I'm back from two weeks on the Cote de Sarfend, suitably tanned (well off white actually), and having cut back the elephant grass in the garden, I've managed to get some time at the desk. I was going to pick up a Tamiya Cromwell while I was in Blighty, but everyone wanted to charge full price, and I thought that was a bit OTT for just a set of wheels. So I've spent the last two nights cleaning up the ridiculously large ejector pins on the reverse face of each SKP wheel half. I Used a grinding tool in the chuck of my Minicraft drill, and it certainly helped to cut down the time taken. The shafts of the Tamiya axles are smaller than the holes in the SKP wheels, but fortunately right at the base the size increases allowing a nice tight fit for the wheel.

I'll post some photos once the work has progressed a bit more.

 

John.

[Kris B]

It is really annoying when manufacturer not plan the ejector pins correctly. Good that it is behind you. 

[Bullbasket]

Progress with this build is slow and laborious, and not just because of the heat (27 degrees in the modelling room). The deeper I get into this build, the more tempted I am to chuck it all against the wall. I think that I can say that this is probably the worst kit that I have ever attempted. Apart from the huge ejector pins in awkward places which are hard to clean up, removing parts from the sprues is difficult because of the large attachment gates, and the nature of the plastic, which is very soft. Add to that parts that just don't fit, duplication of parts in the kit with no explanation as to why, and the latest gem that I discovered, misidentifying of parts in the instructions. There should be a warning on the box, “Not suitable for children or the gullible”.

But I'm determined not to let this so and so beat me, so this is the state of play at the moment.

Tamiya mesh frame attached to the exhaust/air box. I also replaced the two original grab handles that I'd made from plastic rod with wire ones. Plus I realised that I hadn't added enough.

 

This photo is just for a comparison. I've laid the kit engine deck over the one that I made from card to replace it to illustrate how short it is.

 

The forward part of the upper hull has been added. I had to pack out between the forward part and the engine deck as a 1.5mm gap was left. I'll probably hide it with stowage when it's finished.

The gap between the track guards has been filled with card. Looks a bit untidy, but this is where the side lockers go, so again, not a problem.

 

The sloping part of the glacis plate has been added along with the vertical part of the drivers compartment. There are two of these in the kit, but only one fits….sort of. The second one is too long, and this is probably why they included the second piece, but as far as I'm concerned, don't include the wrong part, or at least state that it's not to be used.

When I glued the sloping glacis in place, I was left with a gap between it and the vertical part of the drivers compartment. I filled this in with some stretched sprue and then softened it with MEK and textured it to look like a weld seam, which should be there anyway.

 

When (or is that if) I finish this model, I've now got it fixed in my mind how it will look. I'm going to depict it as one of the later models with the added armour to the front and rear. With regards to the black/green camouflage, I'm going to depict a tank of the 8th KOIH, 7 Armoured Division (thanks for the info Troy). I've been in contact with the author and historian Dick Taylor, and he said in so many words, that photos of A30's in this scheme are about as common as rocking horse droppings. So I will use a similar pattern to that used on Cromwells, and as Dick said, nobody is going to argue with it.

So that's where I am with this at the moment. Hopefully some more soon.

Thanks for looking.

 

John.

[Hamden]

 

Nice work over coming all the problems.

 

  Roger

[Kingsman]

Ah yes, I see the similarity with my OXA project.  But you seem to be wrangling this one into shape. 

 

The engine deck differences may be down to the A30 being BRC&W-built and the Tamiya offering being confused.  BRC&W were the design parents for the A27M Cromwell, so what you have there is a Cromwell deck.  Tamiya have potentially based theirs on a Cromwell built by someone who originally built Centaurs and then switched, EE most probably.  EE-built Cromwells retained many Centaur detail features.  H&W apparently always built Centaurs with Cromwell decks.  The Centaur IV as kitted by Tamiya had their Liberty engines removed then replaced at a later date with Meteors, technically then becoming Cromwells, so their engine decks may have been non-standard.  That kit also has Cromwell-style idler tensioners, incorrect for a Centaur.

 

I imagine the camouflaged vehicles pictured earlier would be SCC14 blue-black over SCC15 olive.  There might have been an authorised pattern for the A30 as it came into service before disruptive painting was officially discontinued in Aug 44.

[Bullbasket]

18 hours ago, Hamden said:

 

Nice work over coming all the problems.

 

  Roger

Many thanks Roger.

 

John.

[Bullbasket]

17 hours ago, Das Abteilung said:

I imagine the camouflaged vehicles pictured earlier would be SCC14 blue-black over SCC15 olive.  There might have been an authorised pattern for the A30 as it came into service before disruptive painting was officially discontinued in Aug 44.

Yes, SCC14/15 will be the way to go. Part of what Dick Taylor was saying was that as this was applied at unit level, crews would have been left to their own devices, painting it in a way that made life easy for them, avoiding existing markings and tricky bits. He also thought that it could be that instead of black, it could possibly have been dark slate, It'll come down to whatever I can lay my hands on, much like the crews did. 

 

John.

[Kingsman]

Well Mr Taylor certainly knows his colour and marking onions, having conducted extensive research and published several well-regarded books.  I've been lucky enough to have a tour around Bovington with him, where he volunteers in the archives and library.

 

But Dark Slate AKA Slate 34 from the BS381C colour palette is a strange choice.  Against SCC15 it would hardly stand out and might even appear a lighter shade than 15 when faded.  The purpose in UK camouflage practice was to disrupt rather than disguise, and I can't see that Dark Slate would provide any disruptive effect over SCC15.  It was also, by 1944, an "old" colour superseded 2 years previously and one not commonly previously used - if used at all - in NWE.  So where would units get it from?

 

If the minority colour in monochrome is a darker shade than what would certainly be overall SCC15 that suggests SCC14 as the counter colour.

 

I'm scratching my head on colours for the OXA from monochrome photos, although the choice there is somewhat more certain.

Edited August 1, 2018 by Das Abteilung
addition

[Bullbasket]

Dick Taylor did say that it was an option, and that it was my call, but I will probably go with the SCC14 for the contrast.

 

John.

[Kris B]

Up to now looks good. But I do not expect anything else after anyway. 

[FrancisGL]

How can I have passed this post ?, Forgive me for having done it, a very interesting vehicle, and as always a more than meticulous and detailed work, with a scratch to match ...

Cheers John 

[Bullbasket]

On 12/08/2018 at 18:59, Kris B said:

Up to now looks good. But I do not expect anything else after anyway. 

Thanks Chris.

 

John.

[Bullbasket]

On 12/08/2018 at 19:29, FrancisGL said:

How can I have passed this post ?, Forgive me for having done it, a very interesting vehicle, and as always a more than meticulous and detailed work, with a scratch to match ...

Cheers John 

Thanks for the comments Francis.

 

John.

[Silenoz]

Nice work on a hard kit, next time try a model from Maquette...

 

With regards to the handles, maybe a tip to get them more even, put a piece of plasticard underneeth before glueing. Will get the space more even.

Edited August 14, 2018 by Silenoz

[Bullbasket]

49 minutes ago, Silenoz said:

Nice work on a hard kit, next time try a model from Maquette...

 

With regards to the handles, maybe a tip to get them more even, put a piece of plasticard underneeth before glueing. Will get the space more even.

If there ever is a next time, I will build it from scratch and a Tamiya Cromwell. I did it in 1/48th and it worked out fine. The problem this time was using the SKP parts. Hardly anything fits right. With regards to the handles. I didn't worry too much about them as I believe the real ones are the type that when not in use, drop down into a recess, so what I should have done was have them just standing slightly proud of the engine deck. But your comment is worth taking on board. Thanks.

 

John.