1:6 Vickers Light Tank MKVI

[dashmole]

Also fabricated the exhaust brackets and made up an exhaust from some scrap. Enjoyable bit of turning making the exhaust guard.

[dashmole]

To get a feel of size and scale, placed Muscles (Stan Laurel head) next to model - reminds me of my younger self (NOT !)

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Unh, dashmole, those are certainly the most unusual among the British tankers and uniforms I have seen here on RCTW.

[dashmole]

Cheers Prof - gets pretty worm in the desert !
Need to see where I can get a decent upper body uniform and headsets etc so I can have him stuck out of the turret when I actually get around to it - anyone any suggestions, seem to be able to get US tankers quite readily .

[dashmole]

Happy new year everyone !

Some pics showing progress, stopped for awhile as ran out of rivets - god the thing eats them !
Basically completed the armoured engine cover and air intake. Made cover in MDF then coated in Glassfibre to get a hard finish, rest is mixture of brass and aluminium. Reverse view mirror yet to make and fit on the hinged arm.

Question - surely a mirror like these are as much use as a chocolate fireguard !

Remembered that I hadn't done the hinged starting handle support bracket, so done that as well.

Fingers crossed as am waiting for my present from Santa to arrive - have ordered Henglong Metal tracks from 'Toucan' on AliExpress.....

[MonsieurTox]

I'm blown away by the quality of your build. The suspensions are fantastic ! Not sure how I missed your thread.

[dashmole]

Cheers, as with all my models, I love the research, doing sketches and the details but then 'as she who must be obeyed never ceases to tell me' - I get stuck going around in circles trying to get everything too correct - as if - and then never finish things.

Tracks due next couple of days, but just realised I hadn't made the rear bogie to leaf spring connecting arm and hence had a pleasant couple of hours in the workshop turning, silver soldering and fabricating them. I sized them on the model and amazingly they turned out dimensionally very close to what they should, never expected it with the build up of tolerances etc.

Can't wait for tracks, feel like I did all those years ago, when as a 6 year old I toiled making my first Airfix tank, excitement !
AREN'T HOBBIES WONDERFUL

Cheers Dan

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Like your handiwork, this is well-put: "feel like I did all those years ago, when as a 6 year old I toiled making my first Airfix tank"

[dashmole]

Tracks arrived !

2 complete sets ordered = 4 tracks (Henglong Panther0
Each side of Vickers used 1 & 1/2 tracks, so now have 1 complete track spare !
Nice weight to them and has just the right sag over the return roller.
Have run them with the tank in fresh air and all seems to be good with no jamming or shedding at any speed or direction - looks as though my hand filed sprocket tooth profile must have been better than I thought !
Proof of the pudding will be running around the garden later in the year though

Just doing some drawing and sketches for the turret so will start fabricating shortly when time permits.....

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Dashmole: I thought there was something familiar about this Vickers, and it just came into my little bean. In the '60s the USMC used a tanklet called the "Ontos" (Greek ὄντϖς "being"). You may be familiar with it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M50_Ontos