Chieftain No. 34

Forum for discussion relating to the Chietain MBT
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Charles A Stewart
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Re: Chieftain No. 34

Post by Charles A Stewart »

Thank you again John, really use photos, I think there is enough work there for me now, I think I will buy a range of number sizes, they won't go amiss on the railway layout either.

I also think, due to scale, proportion & compromise I will make a practice MRS first and take it from there.

For now take care all.

Charles
Chieftain No.34, functional. PKW IV (2002), operational. Panther G No.18 (2022), started, well some of it is. Series 1 4x4 No.28 and a Bailey Bridge.

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Re: Chieftain No. 34

Post by Charles A Stewart »

Good evening all,

I hope all is well with everyone. Forum seems very busy with loads of useful stuff, The UC's in particular.

Anyway, some small progress with No34, the last few cold /wet days I have been working on the Armopax cupola fittings, they are dry fitted presently as there are a few more turret top trip hazards to work on.

BTW I have told these two that just because the motors are fitted and there are batteries in the hull, they won't be going anywhere as they are not connected :roll:

No prizes, any one recognize the map?

Cheers
Charles
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Turret top3.jpg
Chieftain No.34, functional. PKW IV (2002), operational. Panther G No.18 (2022), started, well some of it is. Series 1 4x4 No.28 and a Bailey Bridge.

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Re: Chieftain No. 34

Post by Charles A Stewart »

Hi all.
hope all is well with everybody.

I haven't done much to the Chieftain recently, save more trip hazard work on turret top. When the weather is a bit warmer Son & I hope to fit out the electronics in the tank. Meanwhile I do get some enjoyment from modelling accessories for the crew, hence the debate these two are up to.

Take care and keep safe.

Charles
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Manual3.jpg
chaps reading2.jpg
Chieftain No.34, functional. PKW IV (2002), operational. Panther G No.18 (2022), started, well some of it is. Series 1 4x4 No.28 and a Bailey Bridge.

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Re: Chieftain No. 34

Post by Stephen White »

Charles A Stewart wrote:
Sun Feb 28, 2021 5:35 pm

No prizes, any one recognize the map?

Cheers
Charles
BFPO38. Done that, twice, and BFPO39 and BFPO17. Come to think of it, we had remission for good conduct and got out of BAOR - only to land in BFPO47. Full house. Nice work, Charles.

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Re: Chieftain No. 34

Post by Charles A Stewart »

A little more progress with the tank top trip hazards.

After some rubbing down (the last coat of etch splattered every where) I should have a nice even coat of gray etch primer, I am still waiting for spring :? as I need to paint/spray outside.

Anyway for the curious, I have made working catches for the loaders hatches, a bit crude but functional, that's me. I am also pleased with the IR thingy, scratch building is becoming addictive, should I be worried?

I will also reduce the number of screws to four when fitting the turret top in place, unless there is a good reason for not doing so.

Take care all

Charles
Attachments
Trip Hazard 2.jpg
Trip hazard 1.jpg
Chieftain No.34, functional. PKW IV (2002), operational. Panther G No.18 (2022), started, well some of it is. Series 1 4x4 No.28 and a Bailey Bridge.

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Re: Chieftain No. 34

Post by Mark Heaps »

Filler plug front right of commanders cupola.
If I recall correctly, this was for the coolant header tank for the temperature compensated link bar which linked the gun and sight and allowed the sight to follow the gun movement. Coolant was pumped along and around it to keep the temperature constant and maintain gun / sight alignment.
One of my jobs as an ECE was to ensure the electrical pump worked. Either the crew or REME Armourer were responsible for ensuring coolant was in there to be pumped around.
If anyone ( Stephen White ? ) has full access to Royal Armoured Corps Training Volume 3, Pamphlet 33 Chieftain, please take a look at page 120 and report your findings.

Mark

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Re: Chieftain No. 34

Post by Stephen White »

Yes, Sir....

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John Clarke
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Re: Chieftain No. 34

Post by John Clarke »

Nice work Charles. When things go well it can be quite addictive I find it's a lot easier to make more than one part once the initial piece has been made and happy with it. So save me some time and I'll slip you a few quid. :D
I'm going to replace all the screws on the turret roof plate with miniature magnets. I'm going to have a power driven cupola conqueror style, so access may be more common to the turret internals.
What would be interesting to know, how does the Commander turn 180 to point the roof mounted MG over the rear deck.
Is being a circus contortionist part of the job description? :lol:
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Re: Chieftain No. 34

Post by Stephen White »

John, the hand controls for the Comd MG were next to useless. You had to coordinate elevation and traverse in separate hands and both required quite some physical effort. It was operated in the sitting position, so firing behind the turret was near impossible. A lot of the design stemmed from experience in Korea, where massed hordes of infantry might need to be kept off the back decks but frankly if it got to that, you would use grenades. If you were brave (stupid) enough to attempt to engage air targets with the MG, I used to control elevation with the hand wheel (there was no other option) and traverse on the turret thumb controller, ie traversing the whole turret. If you needed to take on an air threat, other targets were subsidiary. We practised using the comd’s MG regularly against model drone targets (Phil Woollard) and never hit them. Well, not strictly true. My squadron, in a fit of exasperation, destroyed one after it landed. (Don’t you hate it when spellcheck tries to tell you that practised is spelt with a C? So very wrong..,,)

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Re: Chieftain No. 34

Post by Kevin Hunter »

Nice to see some of the Chieftains reappearing in the forum. Yours is coming along nicely Charles.
Charles A Stewart wrote:
Thu May 20, 2021 8:32 pm
I am also pleased with the IR thingy,
Curious. Is that the cone shaped item that looks like a HF antenna base? I thought that was the support for the infamous “winky pot”, or was this a fixture that supported dual roles as necessary?

Kevin

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Re: Chieftain No. 34

Post by Charles A Stewart »

Hi Kevin
Yes its a repurposed antenna base, my turning skills are very basic so using what's available helps, for now at least. I hope to mount a "Winky Pot", if I get it working all the better.

And thank you gentlemen for the useful information.

Charles
Chieftain No.34, functional. PKW IV (2002), operational. Panther G No.18 (2022), started, well some of it is. Series 1 4x4 No.28 and a Bailey Bridge.

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Re: Chieftain No. 34

Post by John Clarke »

Your right it is good to see the Chieftain back Kevin, great detailing too. 8) The information on the cupola transverse so interesting, using the main gun to improve the enemies hurdling skills, priceless.
But why would anyone design something that only a barn owl could use. Probably why so few pictures show the cupola turned no more than 45' left or right from forward.
It will certainly be easier to make a more realistic powered cupola arc of fire, :P
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Re: Chieftain No. 34

Post by Kevin Hunter »

Charles
Haven’t found a working winkypot in 1/6 yet but I reckon it might be tough to tell the difference between 1/6 and 1/8.

https://www.pistenking.com/shop/product ... n-1-8.html

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Re: Chieftain No. 34

Post by Richard Goodwin »

Kevin Hunter wrote:
Fri May 21, 2021 5:16 pm
Charles
Haven’t found a working winkypot in 1/6 yet but I reckon it might be tough to tell the difference between 1/6 and 1/8.

https://www.pistenking.com/shop/product ... n-1-8.html
I bought one of these some time ago for my Berlin Chieftain after spending many hours looking for a 1/6 scale version. I also bought extra caps just in case :D You could possibly strip the guts out and use it to make your own 1/6 scale version should you feel the urge :lol:
winky pot.jpg

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Re: Chieftain No. 34

Post by Charles A Stewart »

Hi Richard.

I tried to buy one of these units on Saturday. The web site, however, dosen't give an option to ship to UK, everywhere else fine, just not Uk.

I pm'd Kevin as he too, would like one of these for his Chieftain. I have emailed asking why; maybe Brexit issues. I await a reply but won't hold my breath. The 1/8 scale unit's measurements are close enough to the beacon fitted to my tractor, so I would be happy to use one.

As and when I here anything I will post.

Cheers chaps

Charles
Chieftain No.34, functional. PKW IV (2002), operational. Panther G No.18 (2022), started, well some of it is. Series 1 4x4 No.28 and a Bailey Bridge.

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