RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Additional close ups.

British tanks, like the Churchill and the Centurion i built two years ago, have a lot of little things on them. What you see are the kind of details that add richness to the model but it take time to analyse, find the right material and reproduce. If someone build a Churchill without these, the tank will look like a Churchill from far away but will otherwise look naked up close.
Next step, a final walk around and add any missing bracket or item i can see. I also need to install the smoker and see how it works and looks with the deep wading exhaust stacks. Its a long series of pipes and i hope the smoke will come out nicely and strong. I have two kinds of smokers for use on a trial to see which one is best.

Regards, Louis

Hi,

I was not happy with the inert headlights and the suggestion from our friend Painlesswolf made me realize there was an easy alternative. This make me study the real headlights beyond the 1/35 kit and i noticed that the right and left side are not the same, my tank was wrong with two night headlights... This is a view of a generic Mk III.
Propaganda picture of our ex-Canadian girlfriend "Blondie" now in German service with a rather focussed but at ease tank crew, likely for a demonstration. The picture shows that the Churchill tanks at Dieppe also had a standard light on the right and a night headlight on the left.
Crude plastic Heng Long Pz IV headlights are used as a base, and stripped out.
They are prepared for shape and also given new smaller LEDs with hidden wires going though a new brass tube base attachment.
I figured the night headlight must be having an opening under its top cover to let the light come out. I tried to do something like that.
Here are the new "Painlesswolf" working headlights. You made me do it... and i thank you for it.
Its only at night that i will see the light effect.
A DGS TARR translucid smoker is installed and connected to the deep wading exhaust pipes. At high speed, the smoke coming out is strong, strait and really impressive, but not too much either. This smoke unit is pure silence, not the loud chic-a-chic pump sound of the standard Heng Long smokers.
Space is very limited over the gearbox, no room for 90 degree joints for the tubes. So, the larger flexible tubes come out of the smoke unit, go towards the back over the left gearbox which has the motor at the bottom, then the large tubes switch to smaller flexible tube, they go to the left and down, do a loop back between the two gearbox and then upright strait into the exhaust pipes.
Continuing on following post.

View of the electronics under the hood. The Churchill setup like this is providing exceptional access to all electronics by simply lifting the desired section (there are 4), including the turret. No need for magnets, the removable sections firmly slide into their allocated slots and supports on the chassis and turret.
Layout of the electronics from front to back: Flysky receiver, Bow machine gun servo with flash wire, headlights wires, Clark TK-60 board, switch for battery and smoker, HL 1800 short battery, HL speaker and sound volume, DGS smoke unit, Mato gearbox. Turret has elevation and recoil servo, with flash wires for gun and coax mg. I did not receive the Elmod Fusion i ordered so the TK60 will have to soldier on.
And here is a Youtube video of all the electronics in operation. You can also check out the working suspension. Those metal tracks are sublime.



Construction is almost finished. I still have to install a few fragile items prior to painting.

Regards, Louis

Louis!
A minor yet rich detail to add to this Masterwork! It is an Amazing! tank and done up right. ;o) Following along for paint and crew.
regards,
Painless

Night shot with headlights and Besa MGs shooting. But until the tank is primed and painted, these light effects are just candy. I also need to adjust the resistor's strength.

PainlessWolf wrote:Following along for paint and crew.

Yeah, i got a Canadian resin crew. However, it would be realistic to have crew sticking out of hatches for the Dieppe raid only when the tank is still on the TLC and just before they batten down the hatches. The crew would otherwise not last a second with all the German snipers on the town's promenade building roofs.

Wow Louis this is another beauty I really wish one of the mainstream manufacturers would surprise us with one of these

Cheers,Lee.

The process, the planning, the fine motor skills, the accuracy and simple drive to get this model to where we all know its going to be is astonishing & I for one appreciate those skills being shared here.
Best thing of all.......................

Once its done, the Forum's title banner can finally be upgraded to an actual image of a 16th scale Churchill(s) rather than an artists version.
And I assure you all, I will push like hell to see it done.
Churchill the man, and by default the Tank, like it or loath it, to me signifies the spirit of British resistance during those times.
Ugly & dour, sure
Unrefined looking, yep
But the essence of WIN............
Just Win
Win ugly, win pretty, but WIN..............
Chuck in the tragedy of Commonwealth sacrifice to preserve the link to "The old country" .........

That to me is "The Churchill".

Well stated Herman!

Rob1970 wrote:That's awesome! I am tempted to put that kit high on my wish list. Just one question tho... with that exhaust...
Are you going to paint it green and call it "Loki"?

Maybe its a jackalope?

Absolutely stunning Louis, this is some of your finest work yet. I'm really impressed with the real sense of depth to every surface, the individual bolts and rivets look so much better than moulded-on details. I'm excited to see where you go with paint and weathering!