Centurion IDF Shot build

With my Valentine built the plan had been to next build a diorama for it, but … well … there was another box sitting there and I just couldn’t resist. So the diorama is on hold, and I’ve been tank constucting again [:)]

I’ve been building British Second World War Tanks and I’d decided that it made sense that the last tank in the series should be the Centurion as although it did not see active service (getting over to Europe before VE day but not getting to the front line), it does represents where British tank design got to by the end of the war.

Although a Mark 1 kit has recently become available, I managed to persuade myself that a later mark would still be in the spirit of British Tanks of World War Two, and I fanced the look of the IDF Shot version by AFV Club.

It’s certainly been interesting comparing the Centurion with the other British tanks I’ve built this last year. The first things to build were the suspension units. I had assumed that the suspension would be along the lines of the Cristie systems in the Crusader and Centaur I’ve build. But they are very different, being more like Sherman easy eight suspension units to me.

It’s nice having real springs in the units so that the suspension moves realistically.

Building the hull was straight forward. I was a little worried that the upper plates wouldn’t align as there are a number of panels that abutt against one another. But in fact they went together fine. My only problem was that I struggled to cut the handles off the spues in one piece, and therefore decided to use wire instead (a chance to use my new handle benders).

Making handles

Today I have finally finished the hull build. It’s not as clean as I would hope but I think with a little more preparation work it will be fine.

I’ve also started to build the turret. For me the most challenging aspect of this was that I’d bought a third party mantle cover. To fit it I had to saw off the front of the turret.

I was surprised how well that went. There is some filling to do, but in fact it wasn’t too difficult to work out where to cut though the turret as the hole was square and the resin part fit very nicely. There is a little filling to do, but I expected to have to do more than I do.

I’ll need to do a bit of work to hide the join around the top of the turret where the parts fit together. Looking at photos of Centurion turrets there is no seam there, so I’ll need to do some filling and sanding, and apply some surface texture paint.

In fact the fit of the main turret segments is not brilliant - which is a little disappointing seeing how well everything else has gone together.

The fit at the front was worse than the back but fortunately the front join was cut away to fit the mantle.

Other than that, the kit has gone together very nicely. The plastic is a little softer than I’m used to. That’s fine. The only issue being a slight adjustment to the pressure needed to cut through pieces. So a little bit of getting used to it needed.

An annoyance is that a lot of sprue connections are onto alignment lugs, and I have cut a few away without realising it. For example, one of the exhaust assemblies had to be placed by eye as I’d sheared the lug off in taking it off the sprue.

Overall I’ve been really pleased with this model. It has gone together very nicely and I’d happily consider getting another AFV Club model, and recommend this kit to anyone considering building one.

Good idea for a build, I just recently watched the showValley of Tears on HBO Max and it got me thinking of doing something like this. I’ll keep an eye on your work [Y]

Looks good so far. Nice work on the replacement mantlet cover. I’ve bought a few of DEF’s figures and have been impressed by the quality of them.

Thank you both for your kind comments.

The build is on hold for a few days. The putty I have at the moment isn’t great so I’ve ordered some new.

This build is the first time I’ve used one the Trumpter Handrails jigs. It worked fine with 0.4mm brass wire. The difficult bit was drilling the holes the right distance apart, especially very close to an edge. Dealing with such small parts is at the limit of my model making skills. However, I think now I’ve done it, I could do a better job next time. Definitely worth persevering.

Today I’ve been working on the turret - mainly the join for the resin mantel and removing the seam around the join of upper turret to lower. I’m pleased with the results. It’s the first time I’ve used both Vallejo Plastic Putty and Mr Hobby’s Mr Surfacer. I really like the long thin nose of the putty tube. It makes it easy to apply small quantities precisely. The surfacer was easy to use. I started with a trimmed brush that I use for chipping, but it took a lot of cleaning, so for the second application I used a small makeup bud.

Looking good, Rob - nice job with the new handles, and the AM mantlet cover really makes a difference. And clever use of the Mr Surfacer, too - am I right in thinking it’s lacquer-based? I’ve got the AFV Cent Mk 3 (Korean War) in the stash & I do like the look of this one, too, so I’ll just sit & take notes, if you don’t mind?

Cheers,

Hutch.

Thank you Hutch.

Yes, it is lacquer based. I found some more information here: https://www.modeldisplayproducts.co.uk/mr-hobby---mr-surfacer

I picked up the use of Mr Surfacer to create an even cast appearance from this video (around 19min in)

Great work! The turret is coming along nicely with the mantlet cover.

Thanks for the links - I think I’ll invest in some of this when the time comes, looks like very useful stuff.

A little more work on the turret today. I’ve put the storage boxes on the side, and suddenly the classic shape has emerged. It’s funny - without them it hasn’t really felt like a Centurion, but with them in place the familiar shapes appear.

However, I think I’ve made a mistake. I thought I’d drill out the smoke dispensers and I’ve made a real pigs ear of it.

I’ve ordered some tubing (both brass and plastic) so I can scratch build some replacements. So everything is on hold until that is delivered.

Oh very cool!!!

Were the smoke dischargers ever covered with a tarp? It might take care of that issue to just cover them up.

That’s an interesting idea. I’ll try the scatch build, but that might be just the solution if it doesn’t.

Yes, there are pictures showing covers. For example:

Nice image here of what I’d like to have them look like if my scratch build skills are up to it: https://flic.kr/p/dZx4Td

Other options seem to be to just have the mount present without tubes:

Or just to remove them completely.

A further update. Things are moving slowly as I tend to just have time at weekends to work on the model.

Cutting tubes for, and assembling to smoke dischargers was fiddly and a few choice words were uttered.

Assembling smoke dischargers

I’m please with the result. I think I’ve recovered reasonably well from my cock up of trying to drill them out.

I had Sunday afternoon free so thought that would be enough time to finish off the turret - which would mean I could move on to painting; but it wasn’t to be. I hadn’t taken account for just how fiddly assembly of the machine gun would be.

The ammunition bin alone took a lot of work.

Machine gun ammunition bin

I decided to solder the first joints as this would give more strength when bending and fixing the last joints into place. I think that was a good decision, but as this was the first time I’d soldered Photo-Etch it didn’t go as smoothly as I would hope. However, some careful filing and sanding ended in a good result. Bending the later folds was easier with the first joints held solidly and I finished those off with CA glue.

Machine gun with ammo bin attached

It was interesting to replace my usual strategy of accidently gluing small PE to myself with burning my fingers a few times. It’s fun exploring the many ways I have of being inept.

I’m hoping to have the build completed this weekend, but there are also some intricate bins to assemble so it may take a couple of weekends. Then I can start painting [:D]

Following along with interest. I have the Shot Kal version in the stash, and will enjoy having your WIP for reference - keep up the good work!

That looks friggin’ good!!! The smoke dischargers look pretty darn great. Glad to see how well they came out.

mrmile - it’s a very nice model that I’m sure you’ll enjoy building. I could just do with smaller fingers … and if they could be heat resistent and PE replenant too I’d be laughing.

gamera - thank you. I hope they look as good when they’re painted.

Looking great!

This weekend I finally completed the main build.

It’s been a long time since I melted sprues to make aerials.

Melting sprues

So, I was pleases with how they came out. I’ll have to see how long they last as they are butt jointed onto the mounts, and I’ve found them very fragile in the past.

The final parts to fix on where two cables around the back - and the bracket that holds them in place. The kit supplies string for the purpose but I failed dismally to get the ends to fit into the holes in the end loops. They kept fraying just enough to stop them going in. So hunting around my bits box I found some multi-thread brass picture hanging wire that was just the right size.

Picture hanging wire

This when twisted stayed in place and went relatively easily into the holes, and could be fixed with CA.

Twisting wire

Great I thought. I then went to fit them, and realised they were too short. And being CA fixed they didn’t come apart too well. Fortunately there were a spare set of ends. So third time luck. The wire doesn’t sag the way the string would, but could be bent to shape. I’m reasonably pleased with the results.

Wire cables in place

And with that the build is complete!

That’s really looking the business, Rob. I, too, need to rediscover the art of sprue-stretching for AFV antennae, and that’s a good tip with the picture wire - it looks better than the rigging line I used on my Matilda (decent cabley texture, but too thin).

Very nice job, I’m looking forward to the paint.