OOB Tamiya 1/25 scale Centurion mkIII

I think it's spot on!  You're also correct about the color, for the variant you're building. The sand grey wasn't used until the mid-80s, best I can determine.

RBaer

I think it's spot on!  You're also correct about the color, for the variant you're building. The sand grey wasn't used until the mid-80s, best I can determine.

Thanks for the info

I always thought those old Tamiya 1/25 models were dogs, but this one is looking real nice. Makes me want to build one as well.

Looking good!

I can't usefully contribute any information about accuracy but your painting and building skills are tight. 

Tamiya is rereleasing these 1/25 scale kits, I think. I want one of these for sure. 

WOw, you can't argue with gorgeous!

That's beautiful, honestly. I hope you touched up the one seat before you closed it up---it looked a bit thin in the coverage in the photo. Other than that, it's pretty sweet!

Thanks for your kind comments.

The seat has been 'weathered' with a slightly lighter shade where the 'bum cheeks' touch.

I have to admit that it's certainly not up to the modern standard set by tamiya. My main complaint is the misaligned halves of the pieces on the sprues. But in all honesty, I'm not complaining for the price, and I'm having a lot of fun building it and trying out some different painting techniques.  

That really looks stellar!!!

That is beautiful work so far. I am really loving all that interior detail. One critique that I will put out there is about the inner faces of the turret hatches. They should either match the color of the exterior, or perhaps be in the original Bronze Green from when it was first built. IIRC, Israel obtained their Centurions secondhand and not directly from Britain. I would have suggested Tamya Buff rather than Dark Yellow as a color more closely matching IDF Sand from that era.

Thanks for the info. You are right, the instruction callout for the hatch interior states light grey.

I have never seen a cent in real life, so I'm sure that there is plenty for me to learn.

Thanks again.

Most tanks are painted in the same manner. The inner faces of hatches are painted the same color as the outer faces so as not to compromise the camouflage finish. There are exceptions to this, especially on vehicles repainted for desert use after being originally painted in colors for wooded areas. But it is a good general rule to follow.

Looks really nice ! 

I just purchased an older, boxed version of that kit at a local swap meet and have been wondering how an Israeli version would look.

Great photos, thanks for posting that build !

Out of curiosity, what material did you use for the camo barrel wrap? 

great build

wow it looks great! been considering getting that kit,

Sprue-ce Goose

Looks really nice ! 

I just purchased an older, boxed version of that kit at a local swap meet and have been wondering how an Israeli version would look.

Great photos, thanks for posting that build !

Out of curiosity, what material did you use for the camo barrel wrap? 

Sorry, I missed your question.

I made the camo netting around the barrel with tissue paper. It was coated with a dilute PVA solution and then a pattern was cut with a home made arc cutting tool. It was airbrushed with sand colours and wrapped around the barrel and shaped by re-wetting the tissue. The retaining bands were made out of roll flattened lead wire.

Scuff

I made the camo netting around the barrel with tissue paper. It was coated with a dilute PVA solution and then a pattern was cut with a home made arc cutting tool. It was airbrushed with sand colours and wrapped around the barrel and shaped by re-wetting the tissue. The retaining bands were made out of roll flattened lead wire.

The more I look at this thread, the more I feel like building one as well. That camo net is VERY well done.

I bought what may have been the last box of 1/25 Fruilmodel metal tracks in the USA but the Tamiya kit tracks don't look much different and I would not hesitate to use them if i did not have the metal track links.

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I am curious how well paint adheres to the Tamiya links as I understand their other 1/25 kit tracks are molded from a type of resin.

Sprue-ce Goose

I bought what may have been the last box of 1/25 Fruilmodel metal tracks in the USA but the Tamiya kit tracks don't look much different and I would not hesitate to use them if i did not have the metal track links.

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I am curious how well paint adheres to the Tamiya links as I understand their other 1/25 kit tracks are molded from a type of resin.

The tracks have an 'oily' feel and are bendable and flexible. The individual links pin together using the moulded in pins.

I used metalizer dark iron paint directly onto the track, which buffed up well and has stayed put. I can't guarantee that it would work if it was a working radio control model, but for a static display I foresee no problems.

Scuff

I used metalizer dark iron paint directly onto the track, which buffed up well and has stayed put. I can't guarantee that it would work if it was a working radio control model, but for a static display I foresee no problems.

Sprue-ce Goose

Scuff

I used metalizer dark iron paint directly onto the track, which buffed up well and has stayed put. I can't guarantee that it would work if it was a working radio control model, but for a static display I foresee no problems.

Thanks for the info.

I washed the Tamiya links to remove any mold release that may have remained and repackaged them for use.

What type paint did you use?

At one time metaliizer may have been lacquer or enamel, but I only recently returned to the hobby and am still adjusting to the newer types of paint being offered. 

I'm a fan of MrMetalColor dark iron MC214. Sprayed without thinning gives very good coverage with high flow at lower pressures. It has taken a fair amount of abuse without lifting. 

Scuff

I'm a fan of MrMetalColor dark iron MC214. Sprayed without thinning gives very good coverage with high flow at lower pressures. It has taken a fair amount of abuse without lifting. 

Thanks again. 

I have managed to get the hull painted and weathered this week. The wheels are mostly finished, I'm just working through them progressively so that I dont get too fed up with them :D

Most of the fully working suspension is screwed on to the hull, and held in place with the covers. The usual Vallejo grey primer was laid down, and pre-shading was airbrushed with a combination of flat black and dark brown. This was followed by layered Tamiya dark yellow. A coat of Gloss sealed it all in.

A grime wash dirtied it up followed by subtle highlighting on some of the edges with tamiya weathering master light sand. The lot was then airbrushed with a matt varnish.

I finished off with some chipping applied by hand using MrMetalColor Dark Iron.

The last image shows the hull next to that of a Tamiya 1/35th scale Panther, just to give you an idea of the size of this 1/25th Centurion.

Geez, that sucker's HUGE!

I hope you have place in the display cabinet for something that size!

I built the Tamiya 1/25 Tiger I a long while back. It was, as stated above, a dog. It had all kinds of slots and holes for motorization that had to be covered up and filled. This Centurion seems to be light years ahead of my build. 

Excellent work here.

Lee 

It really is a nice kit!  and a good job at that too!

I really got to get to finishing mine, maybe take it apart and give it a black wash (still on the solid colour painting stage -__-).

it's a shame it didn;t include a full crew set (gunner and loader), or else you could pull off a cross-section in-combat model

FocusOne

it's a shame it didn;t include a full crew set (gunner and loader), or else you could pull off a cross-section in-combat model

It does include both the crew figures and some stand alone infantry. I did consider a cross sectional version, but decided that I wanted to build a complete one first.

Hi Guys

Another quick update before I dash off to work.

The wheels were assembled and the rubber 'tyres' were flattened as they all had an annoying dip in the middle all of the way around. I was quite aggressive with a very rough sanding stick, which also gave a nice worn feel to the rubber faces. A few nicks were cut into the odd rubber tyre. They were all airbrushed with primer and then dark yellow before a grime wash was applied. This encouraged the bolts to stand out. A light sand dry brushing sorted out some subtle highlights.

The tyres were hand painted with Tamiya Rubber Black and when dry, given a good dose of sandy pigment to show some perceived use. A final application of some paint wear and chipping was painted on by hand with a fine brush and Dark Iron paint. SOme of the dark Iron was buffed to give some variation.

The track pieces were assembled a few evening ago whilst watching Stargate Atlantis on t' telly. They were airbrushed with Dark Iron and the high and touching faces buffed to leave shiny faces where they rubbed the wheels, sprockets and ground. Rust pigment was brushed with a stiff brush into the joints and then over brushed with a mixture of sand and green earth pigments. The whole lot was airbrushed with Alcohol to help keep the dust in place.

The track skirts were painted and weathered with the same techniques used on the turret. I shaded from light to dark to give some weight. The streaking was done with Tamiya weathering master. The original decals were very worn and faded, so I redesigned the characters on CAD software and cut out some masks with a laser cutter. I lifted the mask slightly from the surface when airbrushing the white characters, as I wanted a 'roughly sprayed at the front with a stencil' look.