Amateur Build. HAYA Centurion KIT

[zooma]

Anyone know the best current deal for a 7.1 tx and board combo?

[zooma]

After talking to Andrew at HAYA he assured me that my "Haya Clark TK50 1/16 Centurion Tank Main Board Tank Control Board" was the latest version, and it is the only one that he has had fail in 1000 boards, so he has replaced it for me and I have just fitted it and plugged everything into the same socket positions as I used on my first board.'

As previously mentioned, this board will not allow me to have barrel smoke so my KIT Centurion will be running with a "Tamiya spec" electronics pack that gives me sound for the engine, machine gun and main gun and front lamps that can be turned on and off.

Other than the above functions, the KIT comes with a motorised cupola that is plugged into channel 5 of the receiver and turns with the rotary control top on the top left of the transmitter.

The main gun elevation is quite limited with not too much movement, but disconnecting the operating servo shows that it is the actual mouldings that dictate the amount of main barrel movement that is available - something that I may look at later as I would like to see the gun barrel travel increased.

Turret rotation is nice and smooth and the tank drives OK on my limited indoor office test. The tank has driven all of 20 metres indoors to date so it has already traveled further than it did before the sound failed on the first Clark TK50 board - so I am hoping that this one will be OK.

Again, the engine sound volume is very poor and is nothing like loud enough, so this would appear to be a fault with all these Clark TK50 boards (?) as my first one was exactly the same. The main gun and machine gun sound volume is OK - it is only the engine sound volume that is poor and I have no idea what I can do to improve this.

Ideally, I would like the engine sound volume on my HAYA Centurion KIT to be available at the same level as my Tamiya Leopard 2A6 - but it is not looking like the Clark TK50 board that I have (when used with the KIT supplied HAYA 4amp 5 watt speaker) has any chance of achieving this.

The Rolls Royce engine sound is very disappointing - especially given that the reason for buying the board is to be able to hear the authentic engine sound.

[zooma]

With the barrel flash and machine gun flash now working, the mantlet (and replacement trunnion bracket) can be be permanently fixed onto the turret and the fresh "kermit green" plastic can be covered olive drab paint.

If I suffer another failure with the Clark board or get around to trying alternative drive motors I will not need to remove the mantlet again as I know that everything in the turret is working OK.

I am not so sure about gluing the turret storage boxes onto the turret as they straddle the joint between the turret top and the middle turret section and if the turret elevation servo should ever need attention it would be difficult to access it without breaking off these storage boxes to allow the turret top to be unscrewed and removed.

[zooma]

I have now just about completed the assembly stage of my HAYA Centurion KIT.

The replacement TK50 board has not yet had any proper sort of a run to test it yet - but it is fitted and working at the moment.

Some of the hull and deck fittings needed to be found a home. The supplied handbook is not particularly precise about where parts fit onto the tank and so some research was done with reference to various books that have been written about the Centurion - the detailed drawings from the Haynes Owners Workshop Manual for the Centurion was probably the most helpful, but various other publications that included any Centurion tanks helped to find an accurate location for them all......eventually......

Various small details varied from tank to tank on the hundreds of pictures I have been looking at - such as the mounting angle of the fire extinguishers on the sides of the turret. They varied enough to suggest that anything from having the tops tilted rearwards to having them mounted vertically. I have mounted mine to lean rearwards slightly, but not as much as seen on other model and some real life Centurions.

The twin tow ropes are excellently portrayed in the HAYA Centurion KIT, but they are a little "too strong" to drape onto the tank in a "relaxed" manner to replicate most of those seen on the 12 inches to the foot scale originals! The mounting positions of them varies too.

The HAYA Centurion KIT (and RTR models) have two fairly thick "pins" moulded onto the inboard shackle on the end of the tow ropes that are intended to locate into two matching holes that are provided to fit them horizontally onto the top of the deck. The Rival Centurion model from Tonge shows these same tow rope ends (shackles) fixed onto the vertical end of the rearmost side box, and both have a "retainer" moulded onto them that would allow the placement in either location.

In real life I think the weight of the two ropes would allow them to be thrown onto the deck in almost any position and they would lay reasonably flat. After fixing the HAYA tow rope rear ends onto the deck in their intended position, and fixing them into the correct cable retainer on the rear of the tank hull, I persuaded the twin cored ropes to locate into the deck mounted retaining bracket and the rear hull mounted cable bracket on each side, and then adjusted the angle of the rear mounted shackles to allow the rope to lay (more likely be "pulled") into these two moulded brackets - as best as they could.

The springy nature of the HAYA tow ropes made them more likely to "spring out", so I used very thin binding wire to lash them into the two pairs of mounting brackets to hold them it not position until the thick superglue had time to set. Gluing the rear shackles into position also helped to hold these two "springy" tow ropes into place!

This same technique will be used to hold these tow ropes onto my Mk3 RTR HAYA Centurion tank. I had not been able to find a suitable way to secure them in any sort of realistic position on the tank until now, but the ones on the KIT Centurion look as good as I think they can be made to fit - so I will fit them the same way.

As suggested by jarndice, I also bought a pair of these HAYA tow ropes to fit onto the Tonge Mk5 Centurion, so I will see how best to mount them in the near future after I have finished working on this HAYA kit.

[zooma]

I spray painted most of the HAYA Centurion KIT as I put the various sections together using Tamiya Olive Drab paint from rattle cans to give the correct colour for a Berlin based Centurion (these Centurions were unique in being painted in Olive Drab at that time).

The small parts were glued-on before being painted to give the best bond with the superglue as I intend running this model (it will not be a a shelf queen!), and they were then brush painted using Tamiya XF-62 Olive Drab paint. The blend between the spay paint and the brush paint is not entirely "seamless" . The rattle can paint dried with a very slight sheen whereas the brushed-on paint had a more matt finish, but I think this will be OK as the model will be weathered and this will effectively blend the two differing paint finishes together.

The tow ropes look like they are made from a very bright stainless steel wire and stood out far too much, so I am painting them with Revell 36199 Aluminium acrylic to help tone them down a bit. From what I can see, the shackles were also a aluminium colour so they too are being painted in an aluminium colour, and both will be weathered at a later date.

I have started to pick-out the various tools in suitable colours, but as previously mentioned, my painting skills (and shaky hands) leaves "a lot to be desired" so I will continue to experiment and practice until I (hopefully) improve and learn to do it better.

Duplicating the rust seen on the exhaust pipes and silencer covers will be interesting as this can vary quite a lot from tank to tank, but most that have seen any sort of service have rust on these surfaces to some degree or other and are quite a feature of the Centurion tank, so I would like to learn how to make a good rust finish that looks as realistic as I can make it.

Sawing-off the "bazooka plates" exposed a lot more of the track and the drive sprockets and wheels etc so this area will also need some weathering attention. I have not yet decided how to paint the metal tracks - heavily soiled, or lightly rusted - but what ever I decide, it will have to be duplicated on the matching running gear and suspension units.

Once I have got the basic paint covering on the model I need to decide what to do about the various markings that the tank should have.

The choice of "stickers" to do this that are included in the HAYA and the Tonge models is somewhat limited and neither of them are "proper" decals that can be made to sit nicely on the model (as they are simply STICKERS) - and they will both highlight and show the "doorstep" edges of the sticker shapes that are cut around the printed areas - not ideal.

I would like to find-out a bit more about getting some "spraying masks" made to apply these markings to the model, and practice (improve) my airbrushing technique to allow me to spray fine detail areas through these masks to give more realistic (and individual) markings.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

I doubt that various tools in OD ever were perfect matches on tanks, even rather modern ones. However, when I want an even effect, I spray everything with a clear flat. Others in the UK can recommend a brand. I do so so both before and even after I add or paint details to protect the base coat from my fumbles. With fully dried flat clear, one can quickly wipe off an acrylic boo boo with water.

For exhaust rust I use a rust colored pigment by Tamiya, Vallejo or AK Interactive. I work from an exposed exhaust outlet (or muffler) with light rust using slightly heaver as I get toward the tip. I then daub on some smoky black pigment starting at the exhaust opening and working back just a bit, thinning out the black as I go back.

Did the Centurions in Berlin have much rust or muck on the tracks? I wonder if they were actually kept rather clean. I know the trucks, AFVs, etc., at various National Guard units in urban areas here in the States have at most light, light track rust where they contact a the surface when running.

For masks, I go to Rad Schuhart because he does custom work, so one can get the correct markings one wants.

[zooma]

I have seen pictures of Berlin based Centurions without the bazooka plates on exercise in Germany looking quite well covered in mud - inevitable on exercises I would guess?

The tracks would be quite well loaded with mud and/or soil to match, but when returning to base and washed I am sure they would look much cleaner, but probably still show some signs of wear and tear.

Tracks would probably loose their black paint fairly quickly as it was worn off and probably show some signs of rusting too?

I must make contact with Rad Schuhart to see if he can make me some masks for my HAYA Centurion.

[zooma]

My HAYA Centurion KIT build is almost complete as a Mk5 Centurion and has had some paint added, but it still needs a lot of final finishing and detailing .

The removal of the "bazooka plates" gives it quite a different look, and I think it was well worth the effort of sawing them off.

I have decided not to used the supplied "stickers" as they are not proper decals and the print registration and colours are not that good either - and they are also quite thick and leave a 'step" around them, and this looks even worse when the tank is "weathered" as it exaggerates this "door step" that surrounds it.

Unfortunately, no-one has yet made any proper water-slide decals for use on our 1/16 scale tanks, so I have asked Rad to make some spray masks for me so I can spray paint on all of the insignia and markings - just like the real thing!

I have never used spray masks before, so this will be my first attempt and hope I can make a decent job of it as I am not artistic enough to hand paint the insignia and markings with a brush!

[zooma]

When the deck is fitted onto the lower hull there is a very visible gap between where the glacis plate and the hull meet. I need to find a way to adjust this and improve the fit as it really does spoil the tank.

The top deck slides onto the hull and is located and held in place by sliding it over a pair of ramps that are screwed into the hull base .

I need to find a way of adjusting either the “tongue” that is screwed under the deck or the pair of receiving slots that it pushes into when the deck is located onto the hull.

[zooma]

Removing the "bazooka plates" has given me a model that is significantly different to my RTR HAYA Centurion, so I am really pleased that I did it - even if the tough plastic did "blunten" my favourite Tamiya razor saw when cutting them off (and the blade was made from Japanese steel!).

Deciding to model this tank as one of the "C" squadron 4RTR Centurions that were based in Berlin during the Cold War between January 1961 and March 1963 also allowed me to change the colour to Olive Drab - a colour that was only ever used on Centurion tanks that were part of the Berlin Brigade during this limited time period.

With the "bazooka plates" removed and the lighter green colour, this tank really does look different to my RTR HAYA Centurion that still has these plates attached and is painted in the regular Deep Bronze Green colour. The Mk5 upgrade parts and the change of barrel also helps make the model look "different" to its RTR cousin - but still very much a Centurion.

A problem gained by removing the "bazooka plates" is that it exposes the "Phillips" screw heads used to keep the front and rear return rollers on and the large sockets that are used to plug-in the support struts that support the armoured side plates.

The support struts were sometimes removed along with the armoured side plates - but often they stayed in place. If I decide not to model the tank with these side struts still fitted, I should cut off the moulded sockets that the KIT struts plug into and also fill the large cross head depression that the ends of the KIT struts fit into.

After seeing pictures of the Berlin Brigade Centurions on exercise without their "Bazooka plates" fitted (but with the side struts still visible) I wanted to remodel the ends of the side struts to look more authentic and keep them on my model. What I was not expecting was for these HAYA support struts to be so weak (when they were not protected by the moulded armoured side plates) that they just snapped off with less resistance than a carrot would offer!

I have to decide whether to try to find a way to strengthen (or replace) these KIT support struts (so that they do not snap off so easily), or simply remove them and remove any trace of their kit mountings .

........against this I have to balance the fact that my models are going to get "driven" and "used" quite a lot (not displayed) and so they are most definitely "stand-off" scale, and not "museum quality".

In effect this means that if any detail cannot be clearly seen from 5 - 6 feet away (about as close as it is ever likely to come to the nearest pair of eyes) then it really doesn't matter anything like as much as trying to get the paint and overall appearance looking acceptable...so for now, I will "crack-on" with the weathering and add the markings and insignia and see if I can honestly notice these strut sockets when the tank is being driven!