Scratchbuilt Churchill Mk.IV AVRE SBG

[MonsieurTox]

I made the spare boggey units that will go on the rear track guards.

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They are more detailed than the running units as they will be easily seen. I also made a 3d printed fake spring, with the accurate pitch, diameter and thickness.

I made the tool suuports that go on the rear engine deck. I 3D modeled as accurately as possible the wing nut.

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[MonsieurTox]

I have added all the details on the track tensioner parts.

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You can notice the attachment supports for the front fenders (which won't be installed), the wing nuts are of a different style than the ones used on the rear engine deck.

[MonsieurTox]

I made new side air filters. They are fully 3d printed, it's been quite hard to get good parts are they had tendency to warp.
I have accurately reproduced the grill mesh, not pictured here, I'll take a pic of it when I got time.

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The AVRE spigot mortar is a kit in a kit
I have added the wire that goes from the inside of the turret to the mortar to fire.

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[MonsieurTox]

I made the small screws on the hatches using styrene rod. I used a saw to make the notch, was not easy to be dead center on a 1mm rod!

I've also made the hatches brackets allowing the hatches to be locked in 2 positions.

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[Herr Dr. Professor]

MonsieurTox, I have watched all along as I noted much earlier. You are able to see details that I would not be able to see wearing my glasses and magnifying lenses, as I do most of the time when I am modeling. Your skill is stunning, your results awe-inspiring.

[MonsieurTox]

MonsieurTox, I have watched all along as I noted much earlier. You are able to see details that I would not be able to see wearing my glasses and magnifying lenses, as I do most of the time when I am modeling. Your skill is stunning, your results awe-inspiring.

Thank you very much Herr Dr. Professor, you know I start to have issue working with small parts, I feel old, I should wear my glasses more often but I'm not used to yet
At some point I'll have to switch to 1/6 models I guess...

I'm still adding some more details... it seems it's a never ending model... and... it's only chapter one... Once the tank is finished I'll open a new thread for the second chapter:)

[MonsieurTox]

Some updates guys... Yeah the the previous one was not the last one before painting... Can't stop adding details

I milled in styrene all the parts for the turret rotation. The gear is a custom one to work with the HL turret rotation unit. The narrow chassis required a small custom gear.

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I turned on the lathe the small tow cable attachment tubes. I made a jig to drill a centered and perpendicular hole to all of them. Diameter of the hole is 0.8mm.

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I did some research on the 2 gallons fuel cans that can be seen on the rear Churchill fenders. I 3D modeled them, 3D printed them, I molded and cast the handles in PU resin, they are 0.17 mm thick. The 3D printed were too thin to be removed from the supports, I was breaking them every time when removing supports or cleaning the surface...

They look rough because of the close up, they look good in person, actually you can't see the texture of the primer in person. I should stop taking so close pics

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Some more wingnuts !

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[MonsieurTox]

Overall view :

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You can notice I mad ethe stowage attachment points on the turret side, they are made with a guitar string.
The new air filter can be seen, the spare boggies, the british extinguisher on the turret bin etc...

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Rear deck, you can see the previously shown tool brackets, they're now in place :

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2 gallons fuel cans :

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Spare boggie :

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3/4 rear view :

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Methyl bromide fire extinguisher close-up, it was fun to 3D model !

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[MonsieurTox]

I did my best to recreat the pattern of the air filter mesh, yeah the number of louvers is correct :

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It was pretty hard to design in order to get a good 3D print, the louvers are only 0.2 mm thick, spaced by 0.2mm, it as hard to find the sweet spot between under exposure and over exposure. Underexposed and the louvers were partially printed and too weak, overexposed and the louvers were too thick and the gap between louvers was filled with cured resin...

Spare boggie, rods to support engine hatch doors in open position :

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More 2 gallons fuel cans :

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Some new details :

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Road lights, front fenders attachment support, locking driver hatch door system etc :

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Guides for the small light wires. Not sure what are those lights but they were pretty exposed and they were most of the time missing after a few days of combat.

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[MonsieurTox]

Some more details :

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