Modelcraft Centurion III

A first look at the sprues, which are originally by Academy. 

 

 

 

 

This kit was motorised in earlier versions 

The green sprue is more like vinyl than styrene. Hope that won't cause any issues down the line. 

Slow progress, so far, as it's all fill... 

...sand... 

...repeat. 

The bottom part of the turret is in two halves and the top fits on like a cap. However, the top and paired bottom halves are not a very good match in terms of profile, so I had to deal with mismatches in various places. The worst was an overhang at the rear of the turret. Some brutal sanding was required there. The sides are a bit out, but the turret bins (which I can already tell are going to be a lousy fit) will cover most of that. The front corners above the smoke launchers needed attention too. 

However, there is nothing that can't be corrected. The mantlet cover was also a poor fit and neede some plastic scraping away along the bottom and solid clamping. It will require a bit of filling too. Note the hinges for the commander's hatch cover. They are vinyl parts. The original kit was motorised, so some parts were designed to move. CA is required to fit them in place. 

All but one of the suspension units fitted perfectly. The last one seem to be slightly bent and needed some solid clamping! 

Fitting the longer turret bin was always going to be an issue. Firstly, you have to make sure it doesn't interfere with mounting the smoke discharger mounts. However, that's not how the part naturally wants to sit. 

You can see the gap all the way along the top edge, but that can be filled later. I've had to scrape some plastic away around the bulge of the cupola as the bin needs to be mounted a little more to the rear than it naturally fits. The bin also seems to be twisted and rocks on opposite corners. I've gone with getting the front edge fitted in place correctly as it butts up against the smoke discharger mounts. Any issues at the back end can be dealt with later. 

Part D22 is missing. Fortunately, it's a 1mm thick flat part with a bend in the middle, so it should be easy enough to fabricate by any half decent modeller. Anyone know one? 

Bit of a gap to fill here! 

The slot for the towing hook is a bit askew, but as the hole is too big anyway, it's no big deal. 

A bit of a test fit. 

The top and bottom parts of the hull were never designed to be a great fit as the batteries were inside the hull in the motorised version. A bit of creativity will be required. 

The smoke dischargers have huge sink marks on the rear and they will be visible if you don't fill them. 

Primed with Mr Surfacer. 

It has now been given a black base coat and a first thin coat of the camo colour. 

AFV Club's "clip-together" tracks. Calling them utter garbage is being nice. They don't build into a straight line and fall apart every time you move them. Destined for the bin! 

The second coat of green is on & looking better. 

Having finally shaken off a bad cold, I'm back at the bench. I have to say, I'm impressed by Modellers World Acrylic Doctor. Two coats of AK acrylic thinned with it and you have to look very close to see it's brush painted and not sprayed. 

 

 

Works on the aluminium barrel just as well. 

 

 

 

Clear coat and green shading are done. 

I'll shade the mantlet cover once the green has cured fully. 

The mantlet cover is shaded and the tools painted. Still no news on the tracks. 

 

 

 

The decals that come with the kit are best described as the comic relief part of the kit. I thought I was going mad trying to find the "T351970" decals, until I realised that the decal is printed as "1351970". "PINE HILL" is "PINE HIEE" and "BUCANEER" is "UCANEER". Several others have text different to what is shown on the (very vague) instructions. Maybe I'll skip the decals and do it as the prototype my Dad worked on, prior to getting any markings. 

The exhausts are on, the cupola is mostly done and the return rollers are fitted. 

I'm going for minimal weathering on this one. 

Until the new tracks arrive, I can't do a great deal more, other than a bit of grease here and there. 

The road wheels are fitted. The hubs are poly caps, so when I test fitted them, the paint flaked off. Repair is under way. 

There is still a co-ax MG to add to the turret. 

The mounting holes for the fire extinguishers are way too large. I'd recommend filling and redrilling. 

 

The smaller of the surrounding parts above the periscopes on the commander's hath was missing, so I've had to scratch one. 

 

Test fit of the side armour with the rubber band tracks in place. 

 

 

 

 

And while taking it all apart, it sheds a bit more paint. 

Well, well, look what's finally hit the doormat! First ordered 27th April, arrived 7th August. It came all the way from Beijing in just a jiffy bag, so when it arrived, I had a bag full of loose track links as the box had been squashed flat and the ziplock bag was open. They don't beleive in packaging thing well in China, in my experience. 

The track links themselves are beautifully done, but I'm wondering if burnishing fluid will work well on such shiny metal. Failing that, will that surface take paint well? An aluminium gun barrel is one thing, but metal tracks are moving parts, so I'm betting any paint will wear off pretty quickly.