firstly my apologies for the tardy updates...
but this week i finally (at 2am on the day of delivery! i hasten to add) finished and handed over the Challenger tank and lowloader model...
The brief was to produce a retirement gift for someone at the MOD, a civilian low loader carrying a piece of military equipment...so....first thought was one of WSI's absolutely lovely Nooteboom Lowloaders....another check with the customer what did he want on the front...
i did suggested a GCS Johnson Titan, but as the guy i'm building it for deals with several Heavy Haul companies..so didn't want to favour one company over another...(But we are damn good!)
so i suggested a plain blue outfit..and found this from WSI...and for the load....An Academy Challenger 1 in 1/48th....so here's the first meeting of the components
So....with the truck i removed the operator logos from the front and sides..using nail varnish remover...and that was pretty much all the tractor received...until later...
basically a brief dip into the world of military modelling for the tank..revealed the kit actually isnt that good...
and as a big part of this build is that all uk military equipment has a scheme laid down for the securing procedures. so that means the tank has to acquire tie-down brackets for large diameter shackles to be fitted so it can be chained down to the trailer safely and securely!....in this case 40mm diameter shackles...so i've had to rebuild the rear of the tank to give it a more correct profile
and after moving the external fuel storage at the rear....and brief trip to the spraybooth...did you know that british army green is actually a mix of standard nato green and olive drab..everyday is a schoolday!
so here's a shot of the debadged DAF XF105 with green modified tank...look closely and you can see the shackles on the front
Now...got to chain it down...so we need securing points on the trailer..drilled holes with brass loops to attach the chain...4 chains at the rear... 2 on the front...crossed left to right...talk about bloody fiddly!!!!!next step...got a glass case from DSC Showcases, I'd recommend them to anyone! absolutely topclass service and an outstanding piece of kit.
a small engraved plaque to go in it...and got to fix it to the case..drilled holes and fixed brass rod in the bottom of the model and matching holes in the case..some more epoxy and jobs a good un...
so with great pleasure...i'd like to unveil it!
and finally...a shot showing the cats cradle of knitting on the rear of the tank!!!but the best thing was when the guy collected from me...he was over the moon with it!
and on that note....thats it till next time...where you can join us for norman's howse adventure!!!
