Royal Marines Centaur 1/35 Tamiya FINISHED

TonyOD · February 6

That's a quirky looking AFV. Looking forward to seeing it with some slap.

bigfoot · February 6

39 minutes ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

I'm looking forward to seeing it primed. At the moment it still looks like a model, but after priming it'll look like a tank. It's one of my favorite stages in an armor build.

Thanks Bertie. You’re right, once it’s all the same shade instead of all the different materials it brings it all together. I like that bit too.

bigfoot · February 6

Also built tank commander to go in the hatch. Miniart body with alpine minis head. Not much will be seen once he’s in place .

Bertie McBoatface · February 6

1 hour ago, bigfoot said:

Also built tank commander to go in the hatch. Miniart body with alpine minis head. Not much will be seen once he’s in place .

He looks like Adam West.

bigfoot · February 6

5 minutes ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

He looks like Adam West.

Batman?

Bertie McBoatface · February 6

6 minutes ago, bigfoot said:

Batman?

No it's me, Bertie.

bigfoot · February 6

Couldn’t tell with the mask

bigfoot · February 7

Just for @Bertie McBoatface here she is in her under layer

Bertie McBoatface · February 7

4 minutes ago, bigfoot said:

Just for @Bertie McBoatface here she is in her under layer

And doesn't she look grand!

TonyOD · February 10

Looks fantastic all primed up. For me one of the most satisfying parts of any build. Looking forward to some colour going on!

Bobby No Mac · February 10

It's been fascinating catching up with this build. Looks cracking in the primer :like:

I know next to nothing about tanks, though I do have a Tamiya Cromwell on the go. To my untrained eye, I'm guessing the Centaur was a close relation?

PeterB · February 10

1 hour ago, Bobby No Mac said:

It's been fascinating catching up with this build. Looks cracking in the primer

I know next to nothing about tanks, though I do have a Tamiya Cromwell on the go. To my untrained eye, I'm guessing the Centaur was a close relation?

It's a complicated story involving politics and is something of a mess. Briefly, the Nuffield group which were building the Crusader won a contract for an improved version called the A24 Cavalier, powered by a Liberty engine which Nuffield built under licence. However as the Crusader entered service it became clear there were serious problems with the engine and drive train/transmission as well as cooling. Rolls Royce offered a de-rated version of their Merlin engine called the Meteor but that in turn had problems as it was considerably more powerful, and Nuffield were not entirely helpful as they would be losing out on engine production. Leyland were brought in but then decided that the Meteor would be too problematic so the Cavalier continued in production long after it should have, and Leyland produced the A24L which was essentially a Cavalier with an improved Liberty engine. Eventually, after considerable delays the Meteor was fitted and the tank changed name yet again to become the A24M Cromwell. There were of course many detail differences as the tank evolved, both external and internal. The Cavalier and Centaur were mostly used for training but some Centaurs did see combat, mostly as gun tractors or SP AA vehicles, and the Royal Marines did get to use their in Normandy as support tanks, as in this build, though originally they were meant to stay in their landing craft and give fire support I believe, but instead went ashore.

Later the Cromwell was upgunned and modified to become the Comet via the bodged up Challenger, and there were a number of "Tank Destroyer" sort of versions such as the Avenger and Charioteer, and the Cromwell formed the basis of the experimental A33 Excelsior "Heavy Assault tank", whilst the Meteor engine went on to power the Centurion. At one time there were supposedly a large number of Merlins and Meteors being stored in a quarry somewhere which must have been useful for tank and aircraft restorers if true.

Pete

Edited February 10 by PeterB

CliffB · February 11

I'm really enjoying this build @bigfoot, particularly as my knowledge of 'wading tanks' is virtually zero!

I'm still struggling to understand how this waterproofing is intended to work - for example, is the turret ring inherently watertight?

Cheers

bigfoot · February 11

16 hours ago, Bobby No Mac said:

It's been fascinating catching up with this build. Looks cracking in the primer

I know next to nothing about tanks, though I do have a Tamiya Cromwell on the go. To my untrained eye, I'm guessing the Centaur was a close relation?

Thanks Bobby, yes as Peter said, a very close relative!

4 hours ago, CliffB said:

I'm really enjoying this build @bigfoot, particularly as my knowledge of 'wading tanks' is virtually zero!

I'm still struggling to understand how this waterproofing is intended to work - for example, is the turret ring inherently watertight?

Cheers

Cheers Cliff. The waterproofing was a difficult job on vehicles, especially centaurs with their rivetted hull construction. Cromwells that were waterproofed had their joints internally welded to increase the water resistance but not the Cromwells. Wading kits were issued that contained the trunks and various materials for water proofing the vehicles such as plastics for hole filling, ballon fabric for covering large areas, such as the mantlet and ventilators as I’ve modelled, and Bostic compounds for sealing joints, bolt

heads, rivets etc. The turret ring was waterproofed using an asbestos compound to fill the gap in the ring. Not sure how fully centaurs were waterproofed as I’ve read about half of the 80 used on D Day were drowned by the sea!

Here’s one landing, I think a couple of days after D day. You can see the fabric around the mantlet and ventilators etc

CliffB · February 11

2 hours ago, bigfoot said:

Here’s one landing, I think a couple of days after D day. You can see the fabric around the mantlet and ventilators etc

Thanks - it's a fascinating subject!

bigfoot · February 12

Got an evening with the airbrush last night so got the base coats on. However I also managed to get hold of a copy of this:

Which gave me the rest of the details about how the centaurs were water proofed for landing. So, I had to make a few additions before I got the paint on:

The stowage bins were sealed with fabric which I recreated with Tamiya masking tape. The vents on the side were blanked off and also sealed with fabric so I made the blanking plates with thin plasticard and masking tape for the fabric. Covers over the nice PE but hey ho. I still need to rebuild the duct release mechanism on the rear deck as what is given in the PE isn’t close.

Then I layer down some paint, SCC2 for the main body and SCC15 for the wading ducts. Home mixes from Tamiya. The ducts have had a highlight shade on them but the tank hasn’t yet as I ran out of time. Next weekend I’ll get a chance to finish of the painting

bigfoot · March 12

Been quiet here for a little while but I have not been idle!

Paint work finished on the hull, details mostly painted and decals on.

I’ve then attached the rear stack and made some tension cables from resicast turnbuckles, 0.3mm brass rod and some thin electrical wire formed into hooks.

bigfoot · March 13

Todays work, I’ve attached the tension cables and scratch built the release mechanism including the spring. Not totally accurate but a reasonable representation.

Col. · March 13

Seriously nice work on your water tank :thumbsup:

bigfoot · March 22

Paint work is all finished now, added the Bostik sealant made from mr surfacer 500 mixed with Tamiya black and a little of olive drab, to all the major joints and gaps. Ready for weathering now.