Cromwell Mk 4 1:16 scratch build Ludwig kit

[tomhugill]

The model looks great
In the future I also intend to build it, preferably in the version used by the Polish army

Yes! More Cromwells!

[43rdRecceReg]

The model looks great
In the future I also intend to build it, preferably in the version used by the Polish army

Yes, you must. Polish forces made extensive use of the Cromwell, and achieved great results with it

[43rdRecceReg]

The model looks great
In the future I also intend to build it, preferably in the version used by the Polish army

Yes! More Cromwells!

and Comets too, don't forget, Tom! Hmm., is that why you're selling off a few tanks at the moment, I wonder...for a Comet, or Centurion maybe? In any event, the more the merrier. Almost 4,000 Cromwells were built. Thats almost nearly times as many as the total German output of Tiger 1s and 2s in WW2...and yet there's not a single 1/16 version of it on offer commercially....except for Christian's flatpack kit, of course
Time to redress the imbalance

[43rdRecceReg]

Amidst catch up on long delayed domestic chores (painting a welsh dresser, among many..), I managed, at long last, to get the final form for the Clark elevation servo realised, and made. I still have to cut a slot in the base that will fix it in the turret. This will allow a bit of adjustment in the horizontal plane. That's where the servo drive wheel will mesh -hopefully- with the toothed gear on the gun.

Testing the fit of elevation mounting

The gun will only go in one way with the barrel attached, and it's very tricky finding that position...like Rubik's Cube. The same applies to the new Elevation servo bracket I've fabricated. After lots of attempts, I found a way of slotting it in.
Thus I've proved that it is possible to fit the Clark recoil and Elevation unit in the Cromwell turret, even with the rear section of the roof bonded in place; as fixed as the floor. Whether it will work is quite another matter...

Another angle on the elevation unit

..and again

Elevation and recoil servos in place

Other problems remain to be solved. One concerns the barrel itself. The bore of the barrel is such that I won't be able to put the flash unit down it: it's just too narrow (the penalty of using an exact scale, I expect). Maybe I could put some fibre optic cable down it, and this will pick up the flash at the breech end? Just a thought. At the same time, the barrel is a loose fit in the slider/receiver part of the gun. For the moment, it's held in place with blu-tack. It can't be glued, screwed, or pinned in place, so some sort of grippy rubber seal, or gasket, will likely be the only solution.
Knowing practically nothing about RC servos until recently, i bought myself a servo tester to check out the limits of movement in these Emax servos. I need to know how far, and in what sector of a 360 deg range the drive wheels will move.
Unfortunately, after a couple of tests, I inadvertently burnt the tester out by connecting my 6vDC battery pack with polarity reversed. Ooops. On an rc motor, that wouldn't matter, but the tester really didn't like it. But, hey ho, had to order another one. I really need to know how the gun will move, and by how much, before finalising the fittings, and installing the turret fully in the tank. Don't want to keep dismantling it, and then having to remember how to assemble it.
Here's the tester I used. Luckily, it was very cheap Better still, it's a sunny day. Sadly, it's not a great day for the folk down in London. More superstitious zealots on the loose.

Servo tester..now in the digital graveyard.

Servo tester.jpg (74.72 KiB) Viewed 4991 times

[jarndice]

Just wondering if it was the "FISH" in the Turret that bought harm upon your tester
Shaun.

[Dr Phibes]

Yes! More Cromwells![/quote]

and Comets too, don't forget, Tom! Hmm., is that why you're selling off a few tanks at the moment, I wonder...for a Comet, or Centurion maybe? In any event, the more the merrier. Almost 4,000 Cromwells were built. Thats almost nearly times as many as the total German output of Tiger 1s and 2s in WW2...and yet there's not a single 1/16 version of it on offer commercially....except for Christian's flatpack kit, of course
Time to redress the imbalance [/quote]

I agree, even my wife asked why I don't have a British tank and she doesn't know the difference between a Cromwell and a turnip!
Looking great by the way 43rd, the attention to detail is, like so many builds in these forums, excellent.

[43rdRecceReg]

Just wondering if it was the "FISH" in the Turret that bought harm upon your tester
Shaun.

Just noticed that, Shaun. That damned 'auto-complete' decided 'flash' would look better as 'fish' for reasons unknown. But then 'fish in a barrel' has a sort of precedent! That auto-complete feature should be known as 'auto- Unwin' (after Stanley Unwin of diobes, and gobble de greek ) It was only codding, of course, and that will tench me a lesson:
not to be so lachs about double checking text in future. Now I'm perched, eel go off for a cuppa....

[43rdRecceReg]

Yes! More Cromwells!

and Comets too, don't forget, Tom! Hmm., is that why you're selling off a few tanks at the moment, I wonder...for a Comet, or Centurion maybe? In any event, the more the merrier. Almost 4,000 Cromwells were built. Thats almost nearly times as many as the total German output of Tiger 1s and 2s in WW2...and yet there's not a single 1/16 version of it on offer commercially....except for Christian's flatpack kit, of course
Time to redress the imbalance [/quote]

I agree, even my wife asked why I don't have a British tank and she doesn't know the difference between a Cromwell and a turnip!
Looking great by the way 43rd, the attention to detail is, like so many builds in these forums, excellent. [/quote]

Thanks, Doc. I'll probably tackle the Comet or Centurion next, as a scratch project. Before that, I'll dip my toes in Tamiya 1/16 waters for a spot of relaxation. By the way, I just bought both Phibes ('Abominable' and 'Rises') DVDs for a spot of nostalgia and, for a stark contrast, Tarkovsky's
original (and mesmeric) 'Solaris'. That's from the truly ridiculous to the truly sublime! However, they all remind me of my dim and ever more distant student days...when I saw them at the late lamented Brighton Film Theatre.

[Dr Phibes]

Excellent purchases 43rd!
Both ('Phibes') movies are remnants of my ancient past too - in truth I love Vincent Price movies, the House of Usher, Witchfinder General, Masque of the Red Death, The Raven, Pit and the Pendulum, etc. Of course many were based on Edgar Allen Poe novels, so perhaps it's this that attracts me too (I read almost everything Stephen King as a young man, as well as Frank Herbert, Dean Koontz, and even Thomas Hardy , now that was hard going ).

[43rdRecceReg]

Excellent purchases 43rd!
Both ('Phibes') movies are remnants of my ancient past too - in truth I love Vincent Price movies, the House of Usher, Witchfinder General, Masque of the Red Death, The Raven, Pit and the Pendulum, etc. Of course many were based on Edgar Allen Poe novels, so perhaps it's this that attracts me too (I read almost everything Stephen King as a young man, as well as Frank Herbert, Dean Koontz, and even Thomas Hardy , now that was hard going ).

Well, it's a bit of a leap from 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' to the 'Masque of the Red Death'; but it's one I made too. I also used to love 'Tales of Mystery and Imagination', shown on ITV in the 1960s and 70s (introduced by David Buck). These are now available in a DVD box set, but the one with Jane Merrow as 'Carmilla' the vampire is sadly missing. Box sets of Hammer horror films (now dubbed 'cult classics') are also out there, and I'm planning on treating myself to them for my birthday in August. I been though a sci-fi phase (Phillip Jose Farmer, et al), and also dabbled with sword and sorcery too (Le Guin etc.). In conversation, though, I only admit to reading the classics, as well Dostoyevsky, Hesse, Borges, Kafka etc., and so on-- to establish my intellectual credibility
Now I'm reading manuals on the Cromwell. Ain't life full of unexpected twists? certainly Poe and King were full of them. Currently, I'm having a big nostalge with my box set of B & W Powell and Pressburger films: especially 'The Canterbury Tale', as well as the coloured version of 'A Matter of Life and death'.
Meantime, I've got the servos working in the turret using a tester. The next thing is to try to power them with the Clark TK60, and my SpeKtrum. TX. If that all works, I have the issue with the right drive motor to sort out. It locks solid for no particular reason, when it should rotate freely. Thereafter, a field trial and painting. Then I'll allow myself to move on to something less tricky: my Tamiya KT...or maybe I'll buy a Comet kit...