Cromwell Mk 4 1:16 scratch build Ludwig kit

[Dr Phibes]

43rd you think the Comet will be easier? I think Dostoyevsky may be easier, but Ludwig's Comet looks pretty challenging to me for sure. Just wondering what sound set you will be using on the TK60 (is there a Cromwell set available)?

[43rdRecceReg]

43rd you think the Comet will be easier? I think Dostoyevsky may be easier, but Ludwig's Comet looks pretty challenging to me for sure. Just wondering what sound set you will be using on the TK60 (is there a Cromwell set available)?

Well, Doc, that potential challenge was circumvented by ordering the Clark TK60 from Maxmekker (Stian), who by some feat of magic, or alchemy.. filled the card's sound module with Rolls-Royce Meteor effects. The Meteor powered the later Cromwells, as well as the Comet and early Centurions, of course. Tom benefited from the same wizardry
Re: the Comet, well, this Cromwell undertaking (combined with my interfering perfectionism ), has absorbed more time, and effort, than I could ever have imagined, and so building a Tamiya might represent a break from the improv. needed for scratch building.... That's more like 'paint by numbers', that having a blank canvas, a brush and paints, and an image in mind

[43rdRecceReg]

A little update. Here I have arranged the wiring to try minimise snagging and clutter. It's a bit cramped in there, but wiring pathways are in the right places. I'm running the right motor in before trying a full start, as it was locking up before.
All that remains to be done here is to connect the 8-pin cable; the two servo cables from the turret, and then reconnect the battery. On the very first connect-up, the smoker and all lower hull functions were fine, apart from the right motor, which locked up. The elevation and recoil servos were working with a remote 6vdc battery pack, and should work (fingers crossed ) when connected to the TK 60....
One thing I've learned through this project though, is that nothing can be taken for granted.

Overall wiring and electronics arrangement.

Lower Hull wiring and components

Upper hull wiring and components in place..

If all this works, then I have to set up a Youtube channel to record it...
Then there'll be a wee field trial, followed by painting and decals. At last, the end is in sight The initial excitement has morphed slightly into muted satisfaction. The actual scratch build of the chassis was real fun, but this Frankenstein
section of putting in the vital organs, stitching them all up, and creating that essential vital spark (but not an unwanted puff of blue smoke ) well, that's been a bit like hard work..

[c.rainford73]

I am very impressed with the interior setup you have designed very hard to make the interior as fabulous as the exterior but in this case you have achieved that!

Well done

Carl

[43rdRecceReg]

I am very impressed with the interior setup you have designed very hard to make the interior as fabulous as the exterior but in this case you have achieved that!

Well done

Carl

Thanks, Carl
Getting it all right requires a bit of planning, but also since there's no reference/ default interior to go by, there's a lot of trial an error too.... As you go along, the hope is for more trial, and a minimum of errors..
Roy.

[PainlessWolf]

43rdR&R,
You have done a brilliant job of laying everything out and making the various controls accessible. The only thing that I spotted that you might want to look at ( and the fix is amazingly simple as well ) is the feeder tube for your smoker runs over the edge of the blower fan and is being creased almost flat there. The fix is too drop a small coil spring ( like one out of a clicker writing pen ) down that tube so that it keeps the tube open where it is going over the edge of the smoker fan. Following along!
regards,
Painless

[c.rainford73]

43rdR&R,
You have done a brilliant job of laying everything out and making the various controls accessible. The only thing that I spotted that you might want to look at ( and the fix is amazingly simple as well ) is the feeder tube for your smoker runs over the edge of the blower fan and is being creased almost flat there. The fix is too drop a small coil spring ( like one out of a clicker writing pen ) down that tube so that it keeps the tube open where it is going over the edge of the smoker fan. Following along!
regards,
Painless

That's a great tip Mr Painless. I'm running into that issue with my KV-2 and Tarr smoker and now I can overcome the kinked over hoses

[43rdRecceReg]

It's been quite a while since did anything with the Cromwell. It runs, and so on, but lacks a few distinguishing details like tools, etc. It's also in need of a proper paint job, with decals added and so on. While it won't get a freshen up, and weathering paint job, now that Winter has blown into the Highlands ( with gale after gale ) I can at least fix a few things I wasn't happy with. To this end, I've fitted new openable hatches; scratch-built new Besa gun mountings, and given the Commander (when I get one ) his very own gunsight. Lucky man

Cromwell-new hatches and hatch catches

The wee hatch catches I made myself. The real ones are spring-loaded, but I'd need a PE kit (no, not pumps and shorts) to make them. Normally, they're just represented in blueprints and the like as swivels.

Cromwell Hatch catch

Cromwell Hatch catch.jpg (98.3 KiB) Viewed 2532 times

I've not edited the net-Maquettes details out of the pic, as they were a reminder to me to use the site again, and credit for the walkaround shot.
https://www.net-maquettes.com
https://www.net-maquettes.com/pictures/cromwell/ The video walkaround is towtads the bottom of the webpage.

Then I added a gunsight I found on Shapeways.

Cromwell gunsight

Finally, I got rid of the fragile Besa MG mounts supplied with the kit. They weren't accurate anyway. The real ones are beefier than Christian's interpretation. Normally, he's pretty well spot on--- ish

Cromwell- updated MG gun mounts

The bottom one works (LED), and with paint I can conceal the fact that it's not a BESA. The top one's a BESA; but a dummy. As usual, do click to ENLARGE the smaller pics.

[ronnie42]

Roy Can't you use the metal barrel as the negative and run the positive cable down the tube then solder up a led for the flash ? . Just need to made sure the barrel is insulated from all other components.

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Coming together now