HAYA Centurion Mk3. First Impressions.

zooma · Post by **zooma** » Fri Aug 30, 2024 10:31 am

jarndice wrote: ↑Fri Aug 30, 2024 9:20 am Humbrol make a Deep Bronze Green I do not know the number but it should not be difficult to find out.
EDIT Humbrol Deep Bronze Green number 75 Acrylic.

I think I found it.

Revell 36165 (R46) Bronze Green acrylic paint.

I will pick some up and take a look at it.

zooma · Post by **zooma** » Fri Aug 30, 2024 11:27 am

The various motors mentioned for the HAYA Centurion are pictured here:-

The standard fitted motors are shown on the extreme left, next are the Mabuchi RS380 SH, then the "Blue" and "Red" motors.

zooma · Post by **zooma** » Fri Aug 30, 2024 11:35 am

The rear end of the three similar sized motors is interesting:-

tankme · Post by **tankme** » Sat Aug 31, 2024 2:02 am

I found a huge bottle of UK Bronze Green Primer, but once it's sealed it works just as good as any other paint. Bought the big one as I have the Conqueror and the Tortoise to paint.

https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Bronze-P ... 169&sr=8-5

zooma · Post by **zooma** » Sun Sep 01, 2024 9:53 am

tankme wrote: ↑Sat Aug 31, 2024 2:02 am I found a huge bottle of UK Bronze Green Primer, but once it's sealed it works just as good as any other paint. Bought the big one as I have the Conqueror and the Tortoise to paint.

https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Bronze-P ... 169&sr=8-5

A Conquerer would make a really good “Cold War” stable-mate for the Centurion, do you have any pictures of it to share?

Bob.

zooma · Post by **zooma** » Tue Sep 03, 2024 11:23 am

This area of the RTR HAYA Centurion is unpainted, and the Kermit Green coloured plastic shows through the grills on the rear deck and needs painting to improve it. I will make sure this area is painted when I build my Centurion KIT chassis tub.

When I strip out the gearboxes to up-rate the motor I think I will spray the rear inside area of the tub as it looks so much better on the Centurion KIT that I am building at the moment (now sprayed inside the tub!).

zooma · Post by **zooma** » Mon Sep 30, 2024 11:51 am

The sun shone briefly yesterday so I took my HAYA Centurion out for a drive and it drove very nicely on my smooth asphalt drive. The barrel smoke has now been dialled back in again and is working well.

The drive train is very smooth, and the tops of the 'cross bars" on the metal tracks have had the paint ground off of them already and look really good. I need to find out the best way to weather these tracks as they look a bit too new and shiny and would benefit from a little rust.

I am very pleased with my HAYA Centurion, but it does need a little more power. There is no plastic track option that I could use to help the tank drive better (as I have already successfully done with the HAYA Chieftain) so I am looking forward to seeing if the BLUE motors that I have installed in my KIT Centurion actually drive - but I have to wait until I finish building the kit to find this out!

These BLUE motors have the same circuit board on their ends as the RED motors and are the same length as the 385 size motors so I am hopeful that they will help give just enough more power to allow the tank to drive over short grass and minor obstacles and improve the steering response when the tank is moving. Spin circles "on the spot" are not a problem, but once the tank is moving the weight of the tracks seems to drain the motors power to turn the tank freely.

Meanwhile I will enjoy driving my HAYA Centurion on smooth surfaces and in our local club hall that has wooden floors - but I do look forward to adding a "power boost" when I have finished my testing with the HAYA KIT Centurion to see what works best for me.

Herr Dr. Professor · Post by **Herr Dr. Professor** » Mon Sep 30, 2024 4:42 pm

I use AK 000083 "track wash" on most tracks to give them just a light touch of rust, as if outdoors, but not sitting long at all. I generally paint the tracks a mix of any "gun metal" and Vallejo 70.950 black (I find gun metal paints too silvery). Then I use the "Track Wash." The final act is to run metal tracks on the basement floor, shining up the cleats.

zooma · Post by **zooma** » Sat Oct 05, 2024 7:04 pm

Herr Dr. Professor wrote: ↑Mon Sep 30, 2024 4:42 pm I use AK 000083 "track wash" on most tracks to give them just a light touch of rust, as if outdoors, but not sitting long at all. I generally paint the tracks a mix of any "gun metal" and Vallejo 70.950 black (I find gun metal paints too silvery). Then I use the "Track Wash." The final act is to run metal tracks on the basement floor, shining up the cleats.

The HAYA Centurion tracks come black - so I will just try a rust type wash to start with .

........it will make a nice change from my regular muddy look!

zooma · Post by **zooma** » Wed Oct 09, 2024 8:51 am

The side struts that support the "bazooka plates" (side armour that protects the tracks and running gear) tend to snap off at the root on the HAYA Centurion leaving the "plug-in" base firmly stuck in the chassis tub.

Removing this snapped-off part is not so easy as it leaves nothing that can be gripped to pull it out.

Assuming that the part has just been push-fitted into the chassis tub (no glue) it can be extracted by drilling a 1.5mm hole in the centre of the stub and screwing a small self tapping screw into the hole.

I have found that most radio control modellers have a small excess stock of the self taping screws that are supplied to mount servos. These are thin enough to screw into the 1.5mm drilled hole leaving a long enough shaft sticking out to get a grip on.

It is important not to screw through the broken stub into the chassis tub as well - only the broken-off stub should be screwed into!!!!

The screw shaft can be gripped with a pair of pliers and pulled out reasonably easily.

I would strongly advise NOT to glue these side struts in because if they should snap-off, they may prove impossible to remove.

If these side struts have been glued in with super glue, then they may not come out - but the same process can be tried - with the addition of some de-bonder.

Once the screw is inserted use some de-bonder can be carefully poured around the bonded area as the screw shaft is agitated gently to help it soak in around the plastic stub until it feels like it has been loosened. Small repeated applications may be necessary to achieve this.

The de-bonder that I have used (Bob Smith UN-CURE) flows like water and so needs to be applied with some care to stop it running everywhere as it can remove paint and even burn into the plastic surface wherever it flows.

Patience is needed to give repeated applications and gentle agitation to persuade this stub to eventually be pulled-out (like a tooth!).