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1.76 Aec Matador


Timn

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I have always had a fondness for the Aec Matador and started the Airfix kit with the 5.5 inch gun. The gun will not be built as it looks way out of scale.
The chassis went together with no problems whatsoever apart from a bit of flash which is expected for a 1966 mould.
However...the cab and body i am not happy with. The cab roof isn't big enough leaving a gap at either the front or back as it doesn't sit properly. After Google searches it turns out i am not the only one to find this out. Also the body panels and roof don't line up either. I have thought of making a homemade jig to overcome this. A scratchbuilt cab roof will have to be made to overcome that problem. It's a shame these problems are here as this is and can be a lovely kit. I can't paint the chassis or body today as the heavens have opened.

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The tyres are certainly undersized and so are the mudguards. An alternative is the Scammell Tank Transporter kit. Remove the kit front mudguards leaving the rear face which you need to thin down . When the cab is assembled use a strip of 10 thou card to replace the missing section. 

 

The cab assembly needs some care to assemble but it should all fit OK. The culprit is usually flash on the joining faces which adds a little to the overall size. Careful scraping will deal with this. If you want to add windows then thinning the framework from the rear is a lot easier than cutting out the individual panels. I suspect the truck bed may be the same issue.

 

You've got to remember this kit is a very old lady indeed.

.    

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well it is an old kit and not one of their best, i have built many over the years and just forgot about the mistakes and bad joins, but you can still buy models now with even worse joins and they are only 10 years old or younger!

most of the airfix vehicle range has been left behind by other makes and probably not worth remoulding for the miniscule sales they get.

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  • 6 months later...

A simple conversion, and Yes the fit of the cab is not particularly good but  . . . 

 

46756997744_cb6f7086f9_z.jpg

 

There are some wonderful builds and other conversion in this GB . . . 

 

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/airfixtributeforum/2019-airfix-matador-variants-group-build-f653/

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  • 4 months later...

I have been looking at the AEC refueller tanker and have started to wonder how accurate is actually is ?

I am curious about the two circular hatches on the top of the tank, having never seen any evidence of these, are the correct. ?

I have assumed that the hatch at the front is the one they fill the tank through and the 2nd at the rear is the breather ??

Scratch-AEC-Refueller-046.jpg

 

Can anybody point me in the direction of photos of these hatches and are such things on the real vehicle ?

 

Many thanks 

Ian

Edited by Mancunian airman
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I'd be surprised if the tank wasn't divided into two compartments looking at that, road tankers I worked around in my younger days had up to 6- 8 compartments with corresponding fill points along the top.

Steve.

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11 hours ago, Mancunian airman said:

I am curious about the two circular hatches on the top of the tank, having never seen any evidence of these, are the correct. ?

They are called emco hatches, all tankers have at least one, depending on how many compartments they have, it allows entry into the tank for cleaning and inspection (empty and purged of fumes)  Some tankers have multi compartments where different fuels can be carried, and each compartment would have an entry hatch, not to be confused with internal baffles to prevent liquid surge when the vehicle is moving.  they are not generally used for filling anymore because of environmental concerns.  Guess what I used to drive?

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11 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

No direct evidence I'm afraid, but Les Freathy's opus has a photo of a twin boom version being refuelled and the hose appears to be going into that forward central position.

Many thanks Graham

 

I know of the photos you mentioned 👍

Ian

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33 minutes ago, Retired Bob said:

They are called emco hatches, all tankers have at least one, depending on how many compartments they have, it allows entry into the tank for cleaning and inspection (empty and purged of fumes)  Some tankers have multi compartments where different fuels can be carried, and each compartment would have an entry hatch, not to be confused with internal baffles to prevent liquid surge when the vehicle is moving.  they are not generally used for filling anymore because of environmental concerns.  Guess what I used to drive?

I am now curious as to how many compartments the AEC tanker had.

I presume an indication may have been the number of hoses in the rear pump compartment that were fed from a certain section of the tank.

The recently preserved example that drives around numerous airshows etc has One hose but Two overhead booms.

Others wartime photographs show some having Two, Three and even Four hoses in the pump compartment, the four hose photo is beneath a Stirling and presumably speedied up the refuelling process ??

 

Bob what would be your best estimate as to the function of the 2nd emco hatch ? The small raised item looks similar to that I have seen on small bowsers and I have presumed its a breather ??  

 

It gets more interesting the more I look into it  . . . .

Edited by Mancunian airman
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2 minutes ago, Mancunian airman said:

The recently preserved example that drives around numerous airshows etc has One hose but Two overhead booms.

The overhead booms carry small hoses used for filling by "open line" with a trigger nozzle much like at a petrol station.  When filling say a Spitfire, it has several tanks between 40 to 60  gallons and they are filled individually, with top fill opening caps. (just like filling your car)  There are larger hoses to deliver larger quantities, modern aircraft have a single pressure refuelling point, you attach a large hose by pressure coupling and fill all the fuel tanks at usually 50 pounds of pressure, 200 litres a minute. The fuel tanker pumps the fuel through a choice of several valve controlled hoses to deliver to different aircraft.  Hope this makes sense.

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32 minutes ago, Mancunian airman said:

Bob what would be your best estimate as to the function of the 2nd emco hatch ? The small raised item looks similar to that I have seen on small bowsers and I have presumed its a breather ??  

I can only imagine it would mean a separate compartment, older designs would have had more than one compartment, but they may have contained the same type of fuel.  Because the fuel was pumped out there were several outlets that can be selected by valves, if you ever look at a the "workings" of one of these vehicles, there is amaze of pipework, valves and controls to route the fuel to different outlets and through different size pipes at different pressures.

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  • 10 months later...

Hey guys.

Sorry for not acknowledging anyone, but i have gone through so much since last August 2019. Lost my job due to ill health and finished up in hospital twice. Also moved houses from Wetherby to a bungalow mid way between Selby and Doncaster days before lockdown. 

I am digging all my stash out of storage and getting back into it all again.

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