Churchill Mk.III AVRE COMPLETED 3/6/11

Nice to see this moving forward Dave! Looks like a good solution on the tracks, 2 per means a lot of attention and you kept your sanity throughout so it's all good.

I can't recall off the top of my head, how big or what calibre was the dustbin demolition charge this thing was capable of tossing?

You have really leaped ahead with this build Dave. To bad there wasn't more wheels to slow you down.

Lookin real good dude

Tony Lee

This one is looking very good. Love how the suspension came out.

Nate

It's been a while for an update.  Crazy busy. To top it all off has been a rather virulent bug making the rounds in our house.  Tis the season to cover your coughs and sneezes kids.  Wash your hands too.  I know... nag, nag, nag.

I did get a wee bit done the other day before just being at the bench tapped me out.  The turret took shape finally.  The gun for the "Flying Dustbin" is a beast.  Not to assemble but, to see that coming down the road for you must have been quite unnerving.

The business end of things......

The links all have small sink holes.  At first I tried to scrape them down but, they were too deep for that.  So, I dabbed small drops of Mr Putty an all the marks.  A few required two drops.  After drying for a day, a swipe or two from an extra fine sanding stick followed be a finishing stick did the trick. This will be required on all 152 links.

Cheers

Dave

Rick,

Sadly, no.  .  I'll be at a seminar this weekend in Washington.  I had double booked myself with this weekend several months ago and realized it too late.  

Cheers

Dave

Looking good.

Any chance you'll be heading to McMinnville this weekend?

Rick

Bill,

I thought that about the bolts as well.  The drivers direct vision hatch looks down right medieval.  

Jester,

The suspension just begs to be placed on an uneven surface.  Which is what I plan on doing.  I am going to paint the beast as one big sub assembly.  The springs will be weathered after that.  I may end up pulling out my hair when it comes to applying the graphite stick to the contact portion of the road wheels after painting. As for the PE, I love working with the stuff, so as long as it is an improvement over the plastic part it is to replace. The exhaust cover was molded so well in plastic that I did not bother with the PE version.

Gentlemen, thank you for the compliments and stopping by. More updates to follow.

Cheers

Dave

Holy smokes that suspension is sweet! I would have pulled what remaining hair I have out when it came time to paint all those roadwheels! Your pe work is looks very nice and clean also!

Any progress is good progress Dave and those conical bolts add a certain "mean" look to it for sure.

Not a very big update this week, what with kids starting middle school this last week.  I did get a moment in at the bench and enough time to snap a couple of pics.

I may have taken some artistic license with the front armor plates.  I am figuring that plate that thick is flame cut and would be a bit rough so, I took the razor saw to the plates and scored them lightly. I could not find a decent reference pic of the front hull armor plate.

Cheers

Dave

Mg.Mikael,

The ironic thing is that it has been one of the easiest to assemble and, it went rather quickly.  Thank you about the bracket.  The plastic one was nicely molded but the PE one was too nice to pass up.

Lespauljames,

Thank you for the compliment.  It does go together rather nicely.  Just be VEEERRRRY careful when it comes to drilling holes for the rivets.  I botched the front ones.  I didn't drill them until after the hull was nearly buttoned up.  Fortunately I got it to all work out.  I'm not going after any particular vehicle.  Just enjoying the build really.  I needed to get another one of those under my belt.  This one has been a blast thus far.

Cheers

Dave

Beaut of a kit, i have been looking more and more into AFv after completing their 1/48 tiger. nice PE work, im not very good with curves.! aby particular vehicle your gonna go with?

Ha! The lower hull and suspension on your Churchill look more advanced then some models I've built. Nevertheless, it's coming along nicely and that bracket is lookin' mighty fine.

Bill,

Thank you.  I was thinking about putting a rolled up tarp on the bracket but, it would seem a shame to cover that detail up.  We shall see.  "The groove" vs economy of effort.  However one wishes to look at it.  .  The groove does sound better.  

Cheers

Dave

Making good progress Dave, nice work on that bracket. I hear you about reluctance to get up from the bench when you're in "the groove".

INDY,

Thank you for the compliment.  I felt I needed a break from something German and, I didn't want to build the same thing as others were building.  Yup! This one filled the bill.

Bill,

Thank you sir.  It once was that when I built my first Sherman I said I would never again complain about German road wheels.  Now that I've started this one I have finally realized that I should just stop complaining about road wheels. 

Pawel,

I am glad you like it.  I remember as a child seeing footage and pictures of Churchill's and being intrigued by the running gear. Thank you for following along on this build.  Yesterday was an excellent day. It was very productive around the house and I got a marathon session in at the bench, as you will see with the following pictures. So for you dial up folks, you may wish to run an errand or two as there are a  number of pictures.

Yesterday this beastie really started to take shape as I have gotten the sponsons, hull bottom and, rear end assembled. It always impresses me at this stage when building armor just how massive these things are (or just how diminutive the PzI is).  

This is a shot of the spare gas tank bracket.  "Hmmmm, not quite what I wanted" I thought so, I went ahead with the Eduard PE option. They are a three piece affair (as you can see in the shot of the instructions) that I opted to solder the main part and the lower bracket.  This whole assembly was, in turn, glued to the rear end with CA.

I shot some pics to illustrate how I got the radius in the bracket. As I usually do with these odd assemblies, I cobble something together that I've got within arms reach at the bench. Heaven forbid I get up. I clamped a scrap section of brass tubing to the bench.  The radius of the tube is a bit smaller than that of the plastic piece as this usually gets me the finished radius that I need. I clamped one end down with a flat clip and burnished the radiused portion. I shot a comparison pic of the plastic and PE parts.

I should get more done today but there is a lot of fiddley stuff I'm wanting to do to the upper hull.  Such as PE tool brackets.  Never again will I complain about German tool brackets.

Cheers

Dave

Oh, I like this build a lot! And I get the chance to see how the Churchill was constructed. The suspension was always a mistery to me, but now I'm gonna watch this with pleasure! Good luck with your project, have a nice day

Pawel

Coming along nicely Dave...and people think that German vehicles have a lot of road wheels...

Hi Dave!

great choice of builds! Something interesting on the Armor Forum. Looks great so far--

Here is the progress I got done before leaving town. 

The "centipede" shot.

A detail shot of the forward roadwheel

I got started on a couple of links.  I wanted to see how well they went together and, how they meshed with the drive and idler sprockets.  Flawless.

Cheers

Dave

Sorry for the delay in replying folks but, I've been out of state visiting family with the tribe in tow.  The last hurrah of the summer before school. It is GOOD to be home! The assembly of the AVRE will resume shortly. I did get the road wheels on one sponson before leaving to Michigan.  I'll get some pics up of that later today. 

DM,

LMAO!  Now go and get it!  You won't be sorry.  There are some fiddley details I need to get on the sponsons before attaching them to the hull plate.

Bill,

Thank you sir.  The sponsons actually built up rather easily.  Not the disaster that some thought it would be.

Total American Patriot,

I thought the same thing as I was building the assemblies. "I would NOT want to be the one/crew maintaining this system".

Brian,

For all the small fiddley parts, it really is a blast to build.

Rick,

I found some pics of your AVRE and, I must say, that is an amazing build. Thank you for the compliment! I built a couple of links from AFV's separate link set and I have to say they are sweet. I may have to leave off a fender or two on the upper hull to show them off.  It seems a shame to cover up that kind of detail.

Cheers

Dave

Hi,

Having built 2 of these I can tell you that you're past the fiddly parts now...the remainder of the build goes along quickly.  Nice work on the suspension.

Rick

This looks like it is going to be some good old fun!  Can't wait to see how it comes along.

Brian

wow! I feel bad for the people who had to build the REAL thing!

The springs and working suspension were one of the things that really set this AFV offering apart when it was first announced/released and yours looks awesome Dave. Making good progress!

hughes2682

DM,

 

You had your eye on this one? As a build? Or one for your very own?  If you haven't gotten it, I would recommend it. So far it is going together very nicely.

As a build............ and definitely as my own.

OH CRAP!............

Now you've done it. This PIC says it all. Gonna gotta get it.

Hurry up, I wanna see it!

Bronto,

Thank you for the compliment and the heads up.  No, it wasn't too late.  Your reply prompted me to find one of my resource books and, wouldn't you know it. there are a few differences.  The cupola is getting jettisoned.

DM,

You had your eye on this one? As a build? Or one for your very own?  If you haven't gotten it, I would recommend it. So far it is going together very nicely.

I got some work done (the fun kind) before I had to go to work (the kind that I earn $$$ at).  The suspension is not at all like the nightmare I had envisioned.  AND !!!!!! THE BEST PART!!!! The suspension articulates.

Well, it's been a long night.  My pm is most of yours am, so without further ado, I am off to inspect the insides of my eyelids.

Cheers

Dave

Had my eye on this one.

Good going so far!  If you are building a WWII AVRE I hope it isn't too late to mention that AFV copied the AVRE at Bovington and it has post war additions added to it - the armor on the air intakes, the commanders cupola, and a few other small fittings.

mg.mikael,

Thank you for checking in on this new build and following along.  I am contemplating putting a facine on this beastie. I am not that up to date on Churchills but, there is no time like the present to learn.

Total American Patriot,

Consider yourself counted!

Hedorah59,

I had just barely dried.  Thank you for following along on this one.  The brass rivets are by AFV.  They come in version A or B.  I am doing version B.

Bill,

Thank you yet again sir.  I need to check in on your build as it been a couple of days.

I'll be getting more done today.  This am and early afternoon are a bit hectic.  First I need to get some close up pics of the figure on my last build.  Edmund asked very politely for them so, since he has gone above and beyond in being helpful with many things, I shall get them posted this evening. That and some more progress pics of this build.

Cheers

Dave