Challenger 2 MBT - RAC

[Stef N.]

Sounds very good to me mate. I'm about 1 and a half projects away from starting mine and as tracks are always a bit of a stumbling block for me it would be of great help to see the building process. Cheers. 👍

Edited February 13, 2021 by Stef N.
More legible.

[ivan-o]

Nice work 👍 you will find a world of difference in the Trumpeter kit and the RFM one!

The tow cables are a bit long they should lay flat along the brackets.

 

Ivan

[ERK]

15 hours ago, British Army Platforms said:

In purchasing some colours to paint my now complete CR2, I have fallen into the trap of good deals. Having found some good eBay listings, I am hoping to expect both the TES, and KFOR versions too. A convoy is coming....

 

 

 

might even use this as the base for a Street Fighter model....

might have to give it a miss though as I don’t want to go up against this amazing competition! 

 

http://ptearsenal.blogspot.com/2020/03/challenger-ii-street-fighter.html?m=1

 

 

You will love the TES one, its what I am building.

 

Erk.

[British Army Platforms]

Finished base coat for the build Challenger 2.....

 

Can anyone guess what scheme I might be doing!

[ERK]

1 hour ago, British Army Platforms said:

Finished base coat for the build Challenger 2.....

 

Can anyone guess what scheme I might be doing!

Well, its Nato Green at the moment by the look of it  - nice tidy paintwrk.

 

Erk.

[British Army Platforms]

On 13/02/2021 at 20:32, Stef N. said:

Sounds very good to me mate. I'm about 1 and a half projects away from starting mine and as tracks are always a bit of a stumbling block for me it would be of great help to see the building process. Cheers. 👍

Will document the tracks tomo! (Disclaimer to anyone else, this will be what has worked for me - may not be the best, just one option aha) 

On 13/02/2021 at 21:47, ivan-o said:

Nice work 👍 you will find a world of difference in the Trumpeter kit and the RFM one!

The tow cables are a bit long they should lay flat along the brackets.

 

Ivan

Thank you. Yes I had a bit of trouble with the tow cables! Was able to rectify them. Thank you for your help  

[British Army Platforms]

@Stef N. I Did one section of track today from my TES model and have taken some pictures so I can run through my method:

 

Firstly, RFM have a good system in place for making the tracks and following the steps in instructions is useful enough. One tool are these track jig's - on mine I have glued all 8 from both my RFM challenger kits:

 

I mentioned before that it is easier (faster) to build the tracks keeping the links in their sub sprues of 7. You can see my indicating where to snip. I used a sharp scalpel to remove the other side of links from the main sprue:

]

The clean up takes place before and after making the tracks, removing the remaining parts of the main sprue left on the links is also easily done with a sharp scalpel. 

I found it easiest to remove the rubber pads also with a scalpel:

cleaning them up with sponge sand paper and any remaining flash with the scalpel. Tedious but worth it:

Finally all the parts are ready for assembly. I prepared all the links from 2/4 of the tank track sprues and 77 of each the top and bottom half of the track. I will leave a link hanging out either end of the track and then cut out the final 78th tread part when I finally fit it to the tank. 78 Treads allow for a tighter track:

I find putting as many as I can of the bottom parts (rubber pad parts) into the jig easier as there are more in place ready to be glued; I could do 64, but if you only have one CR2 you'll only be able to do 32 max at a time. Its not a problem as you can just move the track along the jig once some parts are done. I just wanted to make it efficient. You'll see below how the 7 linked links fit nicely on top of the pads in the jig. MAKE SURE THAT THE BOLTS ON THE LINKS ALL FACE DOWN (Smooth side up):

Make sure to have one link overhanging as above^, to make sure you don't have to break up a glued tread with no link in! As seen below it is easier to orient the links of 7 alternating like so. This works, however if you wish for the tread to be 100% accurate, make them all line up with the sprues as each side of the link is slightly different (this is pointed out in the booklet/instructions). I did not do this as I was not too concerned with the indents in the side of the links as it is such a small detail. 

Then its a case of gluing the top part of the tracks on. DO NOT GLUE THE LINKS IN IF YOU WANT MANOEUVRABLE TRACKS! You just need to glue the top part of the track to the bottom. The best way to apply glue is as show below (Filling the recesses with pools of cement and a small dab in the middle):

The once you have glued all the tracks together and they have dried, you can easily remove the remaining subsprue with no clean up, unlike the other side:

Finally to make sure the tracks stay together as some torsion can split the links, very cautiously apply some cement on the sides of the tracks to hold them together without gluing the damn links in!

 

You can see above how every 7 tracks there are holes or no holes in the links. This is what I was referring to above. You will see however all the links face the same way with the bolts facing the same way as the rubber pads.

 

I hope this was useful for anyone doing RFM CR2 treads. 

 

 

Edited February 16, 2021 by British Army Platforms

[British Army Platforms]

Small update on the regular RFM CR2. I took some time to hand-paint some details on such as the black parts of the gun, smoke grenade caps, antenna stubs and rubber parts of the roadwheels. Other details painted include break lights and the GPMG. I also had an attempt at painting the black parts of the camo scheme onto the tank base (The turret I will do next time). I used a pretty basic technique which allowed for slight rougher edges to the pin that can be seen on less show-room ready challys:
 

 

Left to do is to paint the tracks and add some final parts such as the cage around the rear lights, apply decals and weather the whole model. I'm sure other things will crop up along the way to finishing it too. 

[Stef N.]

Nice one @British Army Platforms. Thank you very much for taking the time to show us those construction steps. Very muchly appreciated. 👍👏

[British Army Platforms]

19 minutes ago, Stef N. said:

Nice one @British Army Platforms. Thank you very much for taking the time to show us those construction steps. Very muchly appreciated. 👍👏

Your very welcome. I have received a great deal of help on here so it’s the least I can do to give my bit back at this stage.  All the best with your tracks.

[ERK]

5 hours ago, British Army Platforms said:

@Stef N. I Did one section of track today from my TES model and have taken some pictures so I can run through my method:

 

Firstly, RFM have a good system in place for making the tracks and following the steps in instructions is useful enough. One tool are these track jig's - on mine I have glued all 8 from both my RFM challenger kits:

 

I mentioned before that it is easier (faster) to build the tracks keeping the links in their sub sprues of 7. You can see my indicating where to snip. I used a sharp scalpel to remove the other side of links from the main sprue:

]

The clean up takes place before and after making the tracks, removing the remaining parts of the main sprue left on the links is also easily done with a sharp scalpel. 

I found it easiest to remove the rubber pads also with a scalpel:

cleaning them up with sponge sand paper and any remaining flash with the scalpel. Tedious but worth it:

Finally all the parts are ready for assembly. I prepared all the links from 2/4 of the tank track sprues and 77 of each the top and bottom half of the track. I will leave a link hanging out either end of the track and then cut out the final 78th tread part when I finally fit it to the tank. 78 Treads allow for a tighter track:

I find putting as many as I can of the bottom parts (rubber pad parts) into the jig easier as there are more in place ready to be glued; I could do 64, but if you only have one CR2 you'll only be able to do 32 max at a time. Its not a problem as you can just move the track along the jig once some parts are done. I just wanted to make it efficient. You'll see below how the 7 linked links fit nicely on top of the pads in the jig. MAKE SURE THAT THE BOLTS ON THE LINKS ALL FACE DOWN (Smooth side up):

Make sure to have one link overhanging as above^, to make sure you don't have to break up a glued tread with no link in! As seen below it is easier to orient the links of 7 alternating like so. This works, however if you wish for the tread to be 100% accurate, make them all line up with the sprues as each side of the link is slightly different (this is pointed out in the booklet/instructions). I did not do this as I was not too concerned with the indents in the side of the links as it is such a small detail. 

Then its a case of gluing the top part of the tracks on. DO NOT GLUE THE LINKS IN IF YOU WANT MANOEUVRABLE TRACKS! You just need to glue the top part of the track to the bottom. The best way to apply glue is as show below (Filling the recesses with pools of cement and a small dab in the middle):

The once you have glued all the tracks together and they have dried, you can easily remove the remaining subsprue with no clean up, unlike the other side:

Finally to make sure the tracks stay together as some torsion can split the links, very cautiously apply some cement on the sides of the tracks to hold them together without gluing the damn links in!

 

You can see above how every 7 tracks there are holes or no holes in the links. This is what I was referring to above. You will see however all the links face the same way with the bolts facing the same way as the rubber pads.

 

I hope this was useful for anyone doing RFM CR2 treads. 

 

 

Thank You for talking us through that  - I too will be at that stage in the not too distant   with my build.

 

Erk.

[British Army Platforms]

small update again, turret now is camo’d up. 

[ERK]

Looking excellent.

 

OC.

[Stef N.]

It is indeed. Really nice, clean build and paint job. 👏

 

 

[British Army Platforms]

@ERK / @Stef N.

 

thanks for the encouragement guys . Not sure if it’s something you see allot on the amazing Chobham armour of Challys but thinking of doing some ‘chipping’ and possibly some weathering to make it more detailed. Perhaps it Should just be left as a clean tank after a few more final touches.... that doesn’t sound too RAC to me tho. 
 

let me know what you think. 

[ERK]

2 hours ago, British Army Platforms said:

@ERK / @Stef N.

 

thanks for the encouragement guys . Not sure if it’s something you see allot on the amazing Chobham armour of Challys but thinking of doing some ‘chipping’ and possibly some weathering to make it more detailed. Perhaps it Should just be left as a clean tank after a few more final touches.... that doesn’t sound too RAC to me tho. 
 

let me know what you think. 

You could perhaps give it a wee bit of dust and dirt around the lower areas, like its been playing on the ranges - Bovingdon/Castlemartin.

 

Erk.

[British Army Platforms]

14 hours ago, ERK said:

You could perhaps give it a wee bit of dust and dirt around the lower areas, like its been playing on the ranges - Bovingdon/Castlemartin.

 

Erk.

I have done exactly that! Your recommendation was perfect. Think I’ve made it more muddy thank a quick play on the ranges. But I’ll post the final pictures shortly and you can give your verdict! 

[British Army Platforms]

The standard RFM Chally is ready for inspection:

 

 

[phildagreek]

Looks good!

[British Army Platforms]

.

Edited February 19, 2021 by British Army Platforms

[British Army Platforms]

Hi all, my trumpeter KFOR, Kosovo deployed CR2 arrived today. Took the time to compare some of the kit between RFM and Trumpeter. Here are the pros and cons I noticed:

 

The detail of certain parts that protrude from a large piece, such as vents etc on the main body of the RFM (Grey) model are far better than on the Trumpeter (green). However the trumpeter has a nice textured surface which very much closely resembles the Chobham/Dorchester armour on real Chalys. (1 all) 

 

Secondly the turret by RFM is more easily constructed. The storage boxes on the tank turret are separate and also need adding in the trumpeter kit. This could be seen as more accurate in the composition of the real tank, as the boxes are additional to the turret. But it doesn’t make so much Sense. A little over engineered, producing more room for fitting error. (2:1 to RFM)

 

Next the base of the tank hull comes in less pieces in the Trumpeter, this could be seen as unfortunate in that there’s less to assemble. However, In my opinion it’s a good thing as you do need to be careful in assembling this second in the RFM kits so that the suspension bars still fit in well. (2 all)

 

Finally, the tracks in the RFM kit are made up of 237 pieces per side, with lots of discussion about how best to approach this, it is seen as a feat by many to need to assemble them all. The Trumpeter more forgivingly comes with rubber tracks. Which make for a much easier assembly. I think both are great as the making of tracks is an enjoyable challenge, but the rubber ones being more flexible and has more grip, meaning it grips better to surfaces. Therefore, I believe both models deserve a point (3 all) 

 

All in all, some of you may have noticed my unbiased marking of these kits. Realistically it’s a welcome change to be tackling a new model from a different company, especially excited to put together the plough that comes with the trumpeter. Very very tempted to turn it into a Berlin Brigade Camo wearing urban tank.  

 

Edited February 22, 2021 by British Army Platforms

[ERK]

4 hours ago, British Army Platforms said:

Hi all, my trumpeter KFOR (Kosovo Op) CR2 arrived today. Took the time to compare some of the kit between RFM and Trumpeter. Here are the pros and cons I noticed:

 

The detail of certain parts that protrude from a large piece, such as vents etc on the main body of the RFM (Grey) model are far better than on the Trumpeter (green). However the trumpeter has a nice textured surface which very much closely resembles the Chobham armour on relay Chalys. (1 all) 

 

Secondly the turret by RFM is more easily constructed. The storage boxes on the tank turret are separate and also need adding in the trumpeter kit. This could be seen as more accurate in the composition of the real tank, as the boxes are additional to the turret. But it doesn’t make so much Sense. A little over engineered, producing more room for fitting error. (2:1 to RFM)

 

Next the base of the tank hull comes in less pieces in the Trumpeter, this could be seen as unfortunate in that there’s less to assemble. However, In my opinion it’s a good thing as you do need to be careful in assembling this second in the RFM kits so that the suspension bars still fit in well. (2 all)

 

Finally, the tracks in the RFM kit are made up of 237 pieces per side, with lots of discussion about how best to approach this, it is seen as a feat by many to need to assemble them all. The Trumpeter more forgivingly comes with rubber tracks. Which make for a much easier assembly. I think both are great as the making of tracks is an enjoyable challenge, but the rubber ones being more flexible and has more grip, meaning it grips better to surfaces. Therefore, I believe both models deserve a point (3 all) 

 

All in all, some of you may have noticed my unbiased marking of these kits. Realistically it’s a welcome change to be tackling a new model from a different company, especially excited to put together the plough that comes with the trumpeter. Very very tempted to turn it into a Berlin Brigade Camo wearing urban tank.  

 

Will be following with interest my friend,   the only thing I would have thought to watch with the rubber tracks  - breaking at the join sections  - I have seen many builders having to staple thiers for that exact reason.

 

Erk.

[Widow 65]

On 2/18/2021 at 12:06 AM, British Army Platforms said:

@ERK / @Stef N.

 

thanks for the encouragement guys . Not sure if it’s something you see allot on the amazing Chobham armour of Challys but thinking of doing some ‘chipping’ and possibly some weathering to make it more detailed. Perhaps it Should just be left as a clean tank after a few more final touches.... that doesn’t sound too RAC to me tho. 
 

let me know what you think. 

Hi mate, a great build going on here. As a former CR2 commander(many moons ago now) i can assure you that there is plenty of chipping going on all over the vehicle, especially the turret.  Sadly nowadays, being able to respray the vehicle as and when is no longer an option, so they always look "tired" and worn out! Only special occasions warrant a respray or a base overhaul, where it reappears with a fresh coat of usually just boring green.  One more observation, Chobham is a thing of the past, Dorchester armour is what it was produced with.

 

Cheers

Nick

[diablo rsv]

1 hour ago, Widow 65 said:

i can assure you that there is plenty of chipping going on all over the vehicle, especially the turret

That's interesting, can you remember what colours the chipping revealed? Was it just other layers of green or was there a coloured primer/undercoat or did it go right down to the metal/composite?

Wayne

[British Army Platforms]

13 hours ago, ERK said:

Will be following with interest my friend,   the only thing I would have thought to watch with the rubber tracks  - breaking at the join sections  - I have seen many builders having to staple thiers for that exact reason.

 

Erk.

Yes unfortunately for me, when testing their stretch, one did break on me, think I may be able to resolve with super glue. Although looking for it now in person again, I can’t see it?!