RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Hi,

Presenting here the mostly finished Centurion Sho't Kal Gimel turret.

This is the inspiration picture for the build, a fully equipped Sho't Kal, ready for war. I am working hard to get close to it. This is the build of a lifetime.
Good close up pictures of the sho't kal turret armament fully installed are difficult to find. The mounts for the 2 FN Mag machine guns are also different. As for the .50 cal M2 on top of the mantlet, I mostly had to rely on the AFV Club kit and a few fuzzy pictures from far away, which is risky.

The commander's machine gun
The loader's machine gun
Here is the turret of the model, ready for action.
Views of the loader's machine gun mount, totally scratch built. Only the SOL Models machine gun itself and the ammo box were used.
continuing on following post

Continuing with more close ups
The FN Mag MGs come from SOL Models. The mount for the Challenger is discarded.
The commander's machine gun on the cupola.
View of the .50 cal M2 Browning mounted externally on the mantlet.
As usual, the M2 was given a ABER barrel and sleeve. But I used some of the ABER parts on the FN MAG instead, such as the handles and recoil tube for the commander's MG.

This is pretty damned amazing Louis!!

And some other details

I found the AFV_Model cast handles were not of the right type and size for the Centurion. I therefore removed them and redit all the handles with 0.5mm brass rods.

Notice the Shapeways 3D printed latches. These are not totally accurate but quite close. Very fragile, there is no option to modify these without wasting half the lot so as these are small, they look ok.
Some apparatus seen on picture was added to the front of the turret under an armored box.
Same for this items on the right side. Not too sure what it is, it seems to be a holder for containers of some kind.
New stuff from DKLM, 3D printed antennas with flexible metal springs. Very cool. Not entirely of the right model for the Sho't Kal but it needed to be an American type and this is the closest I could find.
The model as it stands today. I am pretty much on the last stretch for the construction. The following remains to be done;

- Headlights and guards
- Tail lights and guards
- Side Skirts
- Tools
- Travelling gun mount
- Smaller details on opening hatches
- Crew and infantry riders
Regards, Louis

Barry

Thanks Barry,

Here are the headlights and tail lights.

The Sho't Kal headlights mounts are complicated and not the easiest thing to replicate.

Left side
Right side going quite high with a black out light on top.
Bracket behind the head lights guard. This is a good thing as it really reinforces the guards.
American tail lights
AFV-Model T-55 metal headlights are used, they are close to the required model. I used 5mm LED kits from ebay purchased for a few dollars. The mount is made in brass by hand with a couple of pliers, nothing more. Not perfect, but I only have basic tools.
The LED is modified and sanded to reduce its length so that it will fit inside the metal headlight.
The LED is installed and then tested before going further. I decided to make all 4 headlights working. The clear lens will only be installed after painting.
The turret coax machine gun flash and red interior lighting are installed at the same time.
The installation of the electronics is finalized on a beautiful Quebec summer Saturday morning. I like working outside. It helps my eyes working in sun light, plus the dust flies away in the warm breeze and the birds are singing. I then clean everything by water hosing the whole place.

The Ludwigs Centurions offers unparalleled access to hull and turret electronics. The hull top just slides forward and then unlocks to be removed. After having done M113, Nashorn, M7 priest, BMP, Marder, V100, some with interior details and not much room for electronics, this Centurion is a huge tank.
Here are the headlights, details on following post.

Headlights details. They require a good dusting. The clear lens will be installed only after painting.
Most Sho't Kal in the field or in museums show some kind of damage, distorsions and missing parts on the headlights and guards. There are also variations for the contoured stand. It is surprising of the Israelis to have developed such a large mount and guards. It seems to me something similar to the M48/60 would have been better and more robust.

All the wires and connections are in a dark pit between the headlights and the ERA block. They are somewhat hidden under the guards and are noticeable only on close ups. Someone with more patience could look for ways to mimic the real cables. My style is to spend more time on items that really show.
Here are the tail lights

The tail lights are made with the Shapeways 3D offering of the M41 Walker Bulldog tail lights which are a perfect match for the Sho't Kal. They are fragile and must be handled with care. A 3mm red LED with a spacer inside is installed.
A 11mm wide plasticard tube is used for the guard.
I tried to mimic the positioning of the real cables.
The back face of two tail lights are different between left and right.
Next step, a dip in the pool and then the side skirts. That should be easier.
Regards, Louis

Wow

Hi,

These are pics from the evening/night testing of the lighting.
Regards, Louis