Cromwell Mk 4 1:16 scratch build Ludwig kit

[43rdRecceReg]

Thanks Jim, and Painless. Wire-walking? well, it's an interesting metaphor- but I've never considered myself to be a Charles Blondin, nor the nutcase/hero (take your pick) who walked the wire between the Twin Towers. Hope all's well with you both. I understand your new greyhound is eating up all your tank-time, Painless. Well, enjoy the puppyhood to the max! Don't miss a moment.

I don't know what it is about this Cromwell that resists completion; but I shall overcome it. The Comet came out well in a quarter of the time this reluctant debutante has taken Even the Firefly Ic only took a few intense months.
I suppose it's time to remind anyone contemplating building a model from scratch, or even from a styrene flatpack, that completing the shell is not really the hardest part.
No, that comes with the creation of the interior: there are no givens, nor plans. It all comes down to mimicking arrangements that have worked well elsewhere, plus some placements from informed trial-and-error

[43rdRecceReg]

Well, the wiring appears to be complete now. Here's the revised upper hull loom:

Cromwell MK IV-upper hull wiring loom.

It's arranged so that the emitter lead (red/white) should hang away from the turret ring. I didn't want it to take the scenic trip all around the hull, only to loop back again.

[43rdRecceReg]

I now have a compact battery (two rows of three side by side)- 3700mAh. Now, time to run a few tests.
First the binding: (1. Switch the transmitter on, whilst holding the 'start button down. 2. Switch tank on, and wait for binding beep)
and the switch on:

Cromwell- switch on test.pic A

Lights are steady. The front right headlamp is obscured by paint spray but actually working, along with the turret and L/H headlamp (seen looking forwards from the tank)

[43rdRecceReg]

Cromwell switch on tests- the smoker...

The smoker works nicely

Cromwell switch on

[43rdRecceReg]

Turret rotation- right

Cromwell turret rotation-right

It works well, but would be smoother with a bearing race all around.


and left

Cromwell turret rotation-left

[43rdRecceReg]

Now for the initial floor trials on laminate and carpet:

Cromwell floor trials

It moves correctly in all directions. The Panzer IV metal tracks, combined with the bespoke metal (Ludwig) sprockets are fairly noisy- but efficent. At least the problem I had with the R/H gearbox that stopped version 1 of this Cromwell literally in its tracks (Tk 60 version), seems to have gone away, after greasing the gears, and repositioning the gearbox housing slightly (and by adding extra mounting screws for rigidity).

The elevation servo is also working well
However:
1. No flash from the MG. This could be because it's entirely covered with SCC15 paint. The MG sound is present..That's something I'll have to check.
On the Comet, I made my own MG using 1mm fibre optic, and a Tamiya MG 34 barrel. I shall do the same here, if I can find a new barrel, or make one out of brass.
2. No recoil, nor recoil sound, and no servo movement Further investigation needed.
Twas ever thus. Still, on balance it actually works!! Yay.

[43rdRecceReg]

Oh, yes. If it ever stops raining, I shall make a wee movie of the initial trials. However, the weather is often crisp and dry up (no reference to chips..) here in November, if chilly. Lately, we've had wind and almost daily horizontal rain.

[43rdRecceReg]

It hasn't stopped raining , so here's a clip of the Cromwell clanking around...pending further trials and fixes.

phpBB [video]

[EAO]

43rdRR,

Just found this thread, had no idea you had this in the works for so long. I really like your Cromwell (and the Comet too). British armor is really growing on me! One of the things that I like about Allied armor is all the different exhaust types. They look so different with a smoke unit when compared to the usual German setup. Nice cameo by the pooches!

Cheers,
Eric.

[43rdRecceReg]

43rdRR,

Just found this thread, had no idea you had this in the works for so long. I really like your Cromwell (and the Comet too). British armor is really growing on me! One of the things that I like about Allied armor is all the different exhaust types. They look so different with a smoke unit when compared to the usual German setup. Nice cameo by the pooches!

Cheers,
Eric.

Thanks a lot, Eric. I always appreciate your input!. Truly. Hmmm, well, the Cromwell project ground- literally- to a halt a couple of years ago, because of a mysterious gearbox issue. Rather than rectify it, I moved on to the Comet and Firefly projects. When the going gets tough, the tough...tend to..er.. run like hell. I'm sure I'm not the only one on the Forum who's done that!.

The Comet and Cromwell often had exhaust shields fitted- the so-called 'Normandy cowls'. In part, they were to deflect smoke rearwards to make the tank less visible to prying eyes, and especially 88mm gunners (They also deflected any random flames too- this was, after all, a Rolls-Royce Meteor engine!). The deflection also prevented tank-riders from dying of carbon monoxide poisoning- a fate that sometimes befell certain Tiger 1 riders, mainly because of the position of the Tiger's exhaust outlets.
The pooches? Well, they're omnipresent- a bit like 'K's' two assistants in Kafka's 'The Castle'. All the random blankets are to protect the furnishings from them; but they still dominate the room. Large cushions are also provided lest they 'stage-dive' off the sofa, and injure their wee legs. Yes, they run the house, and I'm just an assistant. In fair weather, they have 1/4 acre of highland brae to scamper around in; but we've had all of America's depleted East Coast storms lately. We always get them second-hand, in the 'Hurricane Season'.