Chieftain ARRV mk 7

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wibblywobbly
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Re: Chieftain ARRV mk 7

Post by wibblywobbly »

Hi Iain

Thanks for looking in, I looked at the Leopard but I am a cheapskate and Bulldog wheels were not only cheaper, I almost had enough sitting here to do the job. I could have waited till the HL Challenger came out, and used the lower hull as is to make the Challenger CARRV, but I had this KV1 hull here and thought...it's close enough. :P The Chieftain tracks are actually really similar to the Bulldog jobbies, they have triangular links, with rectangular pads. If I am feeling really bored I can modify every track pad on the Bulldog tracks to the correct shape. :thumbdown:

If your friend can get me onto an ARV I would be over the moon, the huge problem with all pics of tanks is that no one ever gets a top down shot, so apart from blueprints we never get to see all the little details and how panels go together etc, which on a build like this is what I really need. There is one at Duxford, but that's a bit of a trek from our neck of the woods.

I have spent this evening removing all of the lugs from the inside of the hull, and blanking them off on the inside so that I can fill them...there are loads as I clipped out the exterior KV1 hull mouldings, there are pin holes all over the place. The driveshafts have a transmission cover that pops off, but underneath is a thick reinforced plastic ring that is moulded into the hull. I have sanded down one side but it took a long while.

And just in case anyone wondered about the suspension arm, I fixed it in the end by drilling a hole through the arm where the pin should have been, and pushing a short piece of brass rod in. It's all secured with araldite and the arm is at the correct height, so that's all good now.

RobG
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wibblywobbly
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Re: Chieftain ARRV mk 7

Post by wibblywobbly »

Thanks to a donation to the cause by Pete, I now have a full set of wheels on the ARRV. Considering that I drilled them without a pillar drill, and had to seperate some used wheels that were firmly glued together, I am happy with the result. Only one slightly wonky one, by I am hoping that the track horns will keep it alignment.

It is already apparent that this is going to be a rather large model, especially as the upper hull extends over the tracks. 8O

RobG
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Re: Chieftain ARRV mk 7

Post by wibblywobbly »

This has nearly ended up in next doors garden soooo many times...

Gearboxes are the biggest problem, I have had to adjust the size and position of parts of the upper hull to accomodate normal ones, though I could possibly fit Stug short shaft ones. It didn't occur to me when I started this that I am fitting Bulldog sprockets, and that they go on US long shaft gearboxes, but have a different offset to the KV1 sprockets. I now either have to buy short profile, low profile gearboxes and hope that the shafts are long enough, or use long shaft ones, and mount the gearboxes further in so that the sprockets line up with the tracks.

The Bulldog sprockets are smaller than the KV1's, so the gearboxes have to be raised to get a horizontal track run, this pushes the top of standard gearboxes to the limit of what I can get away with on the height of the engine covers.

There are a total lack of close up pics of the rear deck on the web, so I am building it up hoping that I can find something that shows where the deck ends, and how it is fixed.
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Re: Chieftain ARRV mk 7

Post by mcevoyi »

Ohhh yea .....

Really beginning to look the dogs ...go...nads ........

Love this build ....really helping me get my mojo back !
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Bogeyman
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Re: Chieftain ARRV mk 7

Post by Bogeyman »

Rob,

if you want all the HLL2 running gear you can have it, just pm me.

John
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Re: Chieftain ARRV mk 7

Post by wibblywobbly »

Iain...get your mojo back. You could a ten times better build than I ever could, so get your thinking cap on and bring us a another one of your top notch builds! :thumbup:

John...Thanks for the offer and I may be in touch with you if the running gear on the current set up falls apart. :shh: It would be interesting to know what the diameter of the leopard wheels is. I am wondering whether they would foul each other when the suspension compresses, The front road wheels that I am using almost touch the KV idler.

Did a bit more today, just tidying everything up before I go any further. The flat part of the roof isn't nailed on yet as I have more work to do in that area.

Still need to find some large box section for the crane, if anyone knows of a source let me know. If I have to make it myself, it is unlikely to be strong enough to have a stab at making it operate and extend etc.

RobG
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Re: Chieftain ARRV mk 7

Post by Bogeyman »

Rob,

Diameter of Leopard road wheels are 44.29mm, including the tyre.

John
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Re: Chieftain ARRV mk 7

Post by wibblywobbly »

Thanks John, the Bulldog/Pershing wheels are 42, so either set are about the same. I would only gain 1mm on the radius by fitting Leopard wheels, so I guess the wheels I have are pretty much as good as it is going to get.

I figured out one of the upper hull mysteries that frustrating me, thanks to a 1/35 build that I found. The side bins are two part, one is an extension that I assume holds the Atlas crane mechanics, and there is another storage bin fixed onto the outside of it.

Unfortunately the mounting block for the crane is mounted at an angle right on the edge of the superstructure, and that places the centre pivot point on the edge of the lower hull. This is going to cause me a headache in getting the crane to rotate, but I am sure that I will be able to resolve it... :eh: ...says he, hopefully...

RobG
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Re: Chieftain ARRV mk 7

Post by Bogeyman »

Rob, this is looking really really good, you know that your going to have to build another one, just to make sure you got it right, then you can sell me one, happy days.

John
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Re: Chieftain ARRV mk 7

Post by Bogeyman »

Rob, probably the best gain would be the Leopard 2 tracks, they are obviously much more in keeping with the Chieftain. I think?
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