Thanks Raminator. Dan’s the Man!
I’m sure the need for the wheels is obvious by now, but in case you are not sure about the radios, they will be a turret accessory. The standard Centurion was fitted with a British Larkspur radio system. For operations in Vietnam, the Australians also used the AN/PRC-25 (Army/Navy, Portable Radio, Communication) US radio, and later the AN/PRC-77. It was mounted at the rear of the turret with ammo boxes for the 30 cals.
In the meantime, Centurions had filler caps in the hull roof, being filling points for a water tank at the front adjacent to the driver, and two internal fuel tanks at the rear. This other image of Paul Scott’s also shows the recessing of the top plate below the glacis plate, something which isn’t modelled on the Tongde Cent.
The Haya and Tongde fluid caps are very similar, lacking in depth, as seen on the deck in a previous post. There is a bit room for improvement there.
Inspired by someone else’s fuel cap modelling (I have forgotten who), I bought some Mato M10 caps that are a good starting point. To these caps, I added the ribs in plasticard and handles from brass rod and jewellery beads.
The standard Mk3 Cent had windscreen storage boxes on the glacis plate, this was later moved to the left of the driver’s hatch (the tent shaped box behind the Corporal) on the Mk5. This photo is from the first year of deployment – notice the smoke launchers that are still there, but other bits are showing signs of wear.
Few Vietnam photos show the box, as windscreens in the jungle were like ash trays on a motorbike. The box was deleted completely and replaced with two mounting blocks for spare track links. Interesting to note the flash suppressor on the 30 cal, as it seems to be a standard fitting in contemporary photos, but rarely seen on restored Centurions. I can only presume it is because the Defence Department disposed of them without MGs.
I added the mounting blocks and locking plates from plasticard and Meng nuts.
As mentioned earlier, the Haya side tool boxes are moulded in one piece. It is fairly straightforward to separate them. As there are no track guards underneath them, you can see through the gap down to the tracks, so sides were installed.