RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build

This section is for builds that are not strictly Tamiya or Heng Long. For instance, replacing the electronics from a WSN or Matorro, or even a scratch-build.
Post Reply
User avatar
lmcq11
2nd Lieutenant
Posts: 2602
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2016 7:42 pm
Location: Quebec, Canada

Re: RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build

Post by lmcq11 »

TheCrow3333 wrote:I´m building an Churchill aswell. I chosed an MK VII. I designed the Model myself and Ludwig only cut the alloysheets for me.
I haven't come as far as you have with your model, but I thing I´m on a good way
Hi Dennis. It takes courage to build a Churchill like you do, it is a complex tank and what's available on the market is custom, limited and expensive. You are well under way with a solid tank with a lot of metal. Compared even to German designs, the Churchill uses a lot of material due to its side panniers design, 44 road wheels, complicated suspension, thick armor, heavy tracks... It really makes a heavy RC tank. When i opened these planetary gearbox ratio reducers like you are using, i was surprised by the tiny size of the gears inside. I hope these will not cause you issues later due to the weight of the tank. I used these on a M-113 but i feel they are a risk factor on anything heavier. I recommend some testing to see if the tank will move like you hope it will be. Good luck.
TheCrow3333
Recruit
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:19 pm

Re: RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build

Post by TheCrow3333 »

I think any scratch build is a challenge. The Churchill as such has much clear structures, which makes it a bit easier to build here. There are many repetitive jobs like the suspension and the runningwheels.
But since I have already built many other scratch-tanks (Tortoise, Matilda, T29, Neubaufahrzeug, etc.), a lot can be built quickly.

The gears in the ratio (50: 1) are almost indestructible. I also use them in tanks that weigh over 13 kg. Due to the high torque, the tanks all have a nice driving pattern and can also be driven very slowly and precisely. We have never had a breakdown in any of the years. You don't really need to be afraid. Size doesn't always matter ;-) If you really want to get more out of it, you can swap the motors for crawler motors.

But now I don't want to distract you further into your contribution. I'm already looking forward to the next advance. I myself have to wait for my springs. I ordered several for the chassis. Its a bit tricky to get the right strength foir them.

best regads.
Dennis
User avatar
Herr Dr. Professor
Lieutenant
Posts: 3456
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 10:48 pm
Location: Southern Wisconsin USA

Re: RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build

Post by Herr Dr. Professor »

Hello Dennis "Crow." :wave: It seems that you have some interesting skill and experience. Might you, please, give us a post in the "Introduce Yourself " section (viewforum.php?f=42)? We would be interested in what modeling and RC experience you have. After you do the introduction, you'll likely find welcomes galore and probably start a bit of good-natured fun, too.
User avatar
lmcq11
2nd Lieutenant
Posts: 2602
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2016 7:42 pm
Location: Quebec, Canada

Re: RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build

Post by lmcq11 »

Hi, the following posts are for the bow plate with machine gun mount and driver's hatch.

View of the AFV Club Churchill Mk III bow machine gun and the strange driver's hatch that was later modified into the circular one that we know.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
The mount for the Besa machine gun has pivots for elevation and horizontal movement. I think the American ball design is better and certainly less complicated for the modeller to repro...
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
The machine gun mount has an add-on armored plate.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
First thing is to create the bow armor plate. Based on calculations, i decided to make it 5.5mm thick. Two layers of 2mm plus one layer of 1.5mm plasticard will be glued together.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Position and shape for the machine gun mount are planned.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
The plate is dry fitted to the hull, adjustments to match the hull sides and angle of the glacis are required with lots of finetuning.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Close up of the machine gun mount to repro.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Capture6a.JPG (60.77 KiB) Viewed 994 times
Parts are created for the mantlet of the machine gun. The Shapeways Besa is taken out of storage and further investigated for integration.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Being 3D printed in fine material, the barrel will not last long on the field. Touch it and it breaks. I decided to install an aluminum tube to help give it some more strength. The tube itself is not very strong either but both together with glue will increase the resistance of the Besa. The pre-drilled small hole for the fiber optic is carefully enlarged a bit to fit in the small metal tube.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Capture8.JPG (81.29 KiB) Viewed 994 times
View of the Besa bow machine gun with metal tube and planned fiber optic for flash. This simple mod gives me more confidence.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Capture9JPG.JPG (82.24 KiB) Viewed 994 times
Continuing on following post.
Last edited by lmcq11 on Sat Aug 14, 2021 10:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
lmcq11
2nd Lieutenant
Posts: 2602
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2016 7:42 pm
Location: Quebec, Canada

Re: RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build

Post by lmcq11 »

View of the barrel.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Structural parts for the machine gun mount are made ready for assembly.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Capture11.JPG (96.04 KiB) Viewed 992 times
View of the mount with elevation pivot.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
View of the mount inserted into its box shaped secondary mount for horizontal movement. This part is put aside for now until the bow plate is finished.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Capture13.JPG (78.56 KiB) Viewed 992 times
View of the driver's hatch on the Churchill Mk III. It would certainly be a contender for the ugliest tank hatch contest.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Capture14.JPG (94.77 KiB) Viewed 992 times
It also has a locking mechanism on the left that need repro.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Capture14a.JPG (52.02 KiB) Viewed 992 times
I decided to make the hatch not operable. With such complicated hinge mechanism, it would likely not close properly and would give me a lot of trouble for limited benefits. Maybe if the hatch had been prettier, i would have been inclined to spend more time on it...These hatch were not opened at Dieppe. Parts in brass are created for the hinges.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
It is actually simpler to do than it may seems. Once a builder has a good reserve of various sizes of brass strips and rods, simple solutions become possible rather than CAD design, 3D printing or trying to find something like it on the web.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
The hatch parts are permanently glued.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
View of the completed hatch. It took me about 3 hours of work for the hatch.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Continuing on following post
Last edited by lmcq11 on Sat Aug 14, 2021 10:56 pm, edited 4 times in total.
User avatar
lmcq11
2nd Lieutenant
Posts: 2602
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2016 7:42 pm
Location: Quebec, Canada

Re: RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build

Post by lmcq11 »

Another view of the hatch. Creating it was more fun plan anticipated.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
The bow plate is permanently installed on the chassis, and the machine gun mount is installed.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Interior view of the machine gun mount. Braces were added for the horizontal pivot. The mount has many layers of movement, lots of dry fit and adjustments are required. I will install the movement servo and LED later.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
The add-on supplemental armor plate is designed. It is also made of 3 layers of plasticard to achieve the 5.5mm thickness.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
The add-on armor plate is ready for installation.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
View of the chassis with its bow plate. Looking very good. I am happy with the results.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
MG movement up is good.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Movement down is good.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
continuing on following post
User avatar
lmcq11
2nd Lieutenant
Posts: 2602
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2016 7:42 pm
Location: Quebec, Canada

Re: RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build

Post by lmcq11 »

Going to the right
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Going to the left, looking good.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Bars seen in reference were added to the glacis.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
View of the hatch with its minuscule locking mechanism on the left.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Overview of the model as it stands today.
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build
Next step, the turret.

Regards, Louis
User avatar
FredtheFrench
Corporal
Posts: 466
Joined: Sun Feb 09, 2014 6:13 pm
Location: Rennes. France

Re: RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build

Post by FredtheFrench »

It is a pure wonder... :clap:
Sorry for my spelling mistakes, I try to do better every day...
User avatar
Ad Lav
Captain
Posts: 4154
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 4:44 pm
Location: Kent

Re: RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build

Post by Ad Lav »

Smart :)
User avatar
Model Builder 4
2nd Lieutenant
Posts: 2329
Joined: Sun Jul 26, 2015 3:46 pm
Location: South Wales valleys
Contact:

Re: RC 1/16 Churchill Mk III - Dieppe Raid 1942 - Build

Post by Model Builder 4 »

I've run out of words to praise your work Louis so I'll start on numbers now 10/10 :D :thumbup:

Cheers,Lee.
Me ? Addicted ? Never !! :crazy:
Post Reply

Return to “Other Builds”