Churchill Mk. IV AVRE with Small Box Girder Assault Bridge Mk. II

[Jakko]

Aside from the articles he wrote, I only know him through Missing-Lynx, but he seems a friendly enough person

When I was working on those panels yesterday evening, as I set down the model on my workbench at one point, both wheels of No. 10 suspension arm on the left-hand side broke off — almost certainly because the model has all that weight in the back now and its front suspension raised, so without the bridge, all of it leans on stations 9 and 10. First thing I did this afternoon, as far as this model is concerned anyway, is make something to avoid that happening again:



Just a piece of 2 cm thick styrofoam, about as long as the hull floor and wide enough that it wedges between the wheels. The model now sits flat on that instead of on its rear wheels.

That done, I continued work on the hull top:



As an aside, in step 1 you have to drill holes through the sponson sides for the conical bolt heads and some of the AVRE fittings. The bolt heads need 1.5 mm holes, but the AVRE fittings (parts M11, L5 and L6 — I prefer L7 myself ) are a very tight fit then, so I drilled their holes out to 1.6 mm and they went on fine. Also, the easiest way to add the bolt heads is to just pick one up with a moist fingertip, push it into place, and run some liquid cement around it.

 

[Scratchbuilder]

Aside from the articles he wrote, I only know him through Missing-Lynx, but he seems a friendly enough person

When I was working on those panels yesterday evening, as I set down the model on my workbench at one point, both wheels of No. 10 suspension arm on the left-hand side broke off — almost certainly because the model has all that weight in the back now and its front suspension raised, so without the bridge, all of it leans on stations 9 and 10. First thing I did this afternoon, as far as this model is concerned anyway, is make something to avoid that happening again:

View attachment 477872

Just a piece of 2 cm thick styrofoam, about as long as the hull floor and wide enough that it wedges between the wheels. The model now sits flat on that instead of on its rear wheels.

That done, I continued work on the hull top:

View attachment 477871

As an aside, in step 1 you have to drill holes through the sponson sides for the conical bolt heads and some of the AVRE fittings. The bolt heads need 1.5 mm holes, but the AVRE fittings (parts M11, L5 and L6 — I prefer L7 myself ) are a very tight fit then, so I drilled their holes out to 1.6 mm and they went on fine. Also, the easiest way to add the bolt heads is to just pick one up with a moist fingertip, push it into place, and run some liquid cement around it.

Once you get the track on it will spread the weight....
Mike.

 

[Jakko]

That’s what I’m counting on, yes It will also have the model resting on seven wheels per side instead of two, so all should be good. Until then, though, I’ll keep this styrofoam under the model for as long as possible.

 

[Jakko]

I began adding the waterproofing tape over the engine and transmission hatches:



However, to do the latter, I also needed to add the rear mudguards, and to add those, you need to add at least the centre section (next to the turret) and everything behind it, because the centre one is the only one that has positive location (because it sits against the turret ring). And then, you might as well add all of them.

By the way, for anyone else wanting to waterproof a Churchill, the tape on the transmission deck and the right rear engine hatch was only applied shortly before boarding the landing craft. If you’re portraying the model as being prepared before that time, the tape there should be left off.

 

[Jim R]

That bit about the waterproofing being "blown" off by switching on the tail lights - quite a unique method.
Isn't it nice when someone who knows is happy to share that knowledge.
Model is coming on a treat.

 

[JR]

I'm liking the use of the large hammer on that lead sheet !
Very detailed explanation of the build as usual .

 

[Jakko]

That bit about the waterproofing being "blown" off by switching on the tail lights - quite a unique method.
Isn't it nice when someone who knows is happy to share that knowledge.

I like the pragmatic solutions they came up with for things like this. The rear waterproofing is blown off with the tail light switch, that on the hull front with an adapter plugged into the instrument panel, and on the turret it used the switch for the turret spotlight. The instructions stress that all of these must be taped over when they’re in their “off” position before the Cordtex is installed

I'm liking the use of the large hammer on that lead sheet !

Better on that than on the model

 

[Jakko]

Over the past few days I have been thinking a fair amount about how to replicate the asbestos compound (…!) that some seams were waterproofed with, mainly the ones where tape appears to not have been possible to use. What I eventually came up with is this:



Extra-heavy acrylic medium, which is normally used to add texture to paintings or to thicken paint for certain effects in those. By applying it with a fairly fine brush, I could get it into the seams fairly well:



Though it’s still drying in that photo, and usually shrinks when it does so, so I may have to repeat parts of it later. I still need to do other hatches and things that were also to be sealed this way.

In the mean time, I also started on the turret:



First, I scraped away the moulding seams on the turret walls and attempted to restore the texture by softening the plastic with liquid cement and then stippling with a stiff brush. That done, I built a rough replica of the kit’s petard mortar from some 7 mm tube, 18 mm long, and a piece of 3 mm sprue. The sprue attaches inside the tube with some piece of scrap I found that fit nicely, and I glued a piece of plastic card inside the turret and drilled a hole for the sprue in that. The distance between the card and the tube is 11 mm.

“WTF?! That kit includes a very nice mortar!” Yes, it does. But I don’t like wasting those extremely well-moulded parts on something that will be wrapped up entirely in canvas

 

[adt70hk]

WTF?! That kit includes a very nice mortar!” Yes, it does. But I don’t like wasting those extremely well-moulded parts on something that will be wrapped up entirely in canvas

To be honest, I was wondering..... But makes perfect sense!

Coming on very nicely indeed.

Andrew

 

[Jakko]

As well as painting more acrylic gel medium onto the model, I also built the winch:



It’s loose on the tank here, and is also missing half of the winch drum because 55 cm of thread for lifting the bridge must be attached to it, and I don’t want it in the way.

Note the ammo box on the mudguard, which you can see in one of the photos of the real tank I posted earlier. It’s an old Verlinden part I happened to find when rummaging through a drawer full of British ammo boxes

The little device in the middle of the engine deck is the release gear for the wading trunks, to which the cables that hold them in place will be attached later.

Edit: Forgot to mention last night that the two white pieces in the winch are 1 mm plastic rod, because cutting those was quicker than cleaning up the kit parts that go there.

 

[Jakko]

More (s)crap added to the mortar so it better approximates the shape of the real thing:



Mainly so that the cover, when I build it over all this, will sit right.

I also cleaned up enough track links for both sides:



AFV Club says you need 72 or 73 links per side, but this is 50 for each, because that’s enough for what will actually be visible if you leave all the mudguards on the tank (as here), plus a little extra to be sure. Don’t forget, if you’re building a Churchill too, that part of the track can be seen through the mud chute behind the idler wheel. Without that, about 40 links would be enough.

 

[Jakko]

One track built:



If you want to make a complete track, with its ends connected (I don’t, but it would be necessary if you’re building a Churchill without mudguards), you need to start like this:



Each link consists of two pieces, a large outer and a small inner. For a complete track, start by hooking one inner into an outer piece so they hinge, and then adding a second inner piece to the outer one, trapping the first inner piece. The best way to keep the track articulating is to let some liquid cement flow into the gaps indicated by the blue arrows, and then squeeze the inner and outer parts together so they don’t pop apart on their own accord.

However, this is not the easiest way to build the track, because if you continue in the same direction you need to keep sliding an outer piece under the last, which is a little difficult to do. Far simpler is to work in the other direction:



Hook an outer piece over the end of the track, add the inner piece for the same link, apply glue where indicated by the blue arrows in the previous photo, and press the two pieces together. This is quick and easy to do, as well as relatively painless as far as workable tracks are concerned.

If you do want a complete track, you can still work in this direction, of course — just make sure one inner piece is hinged to the start of the track.

 

[adt70hk]

Looking good Jakko. Will remember this for the future.

Andrew

 

[Scratchbuilder]

Coming along nicely Jakko. I like the idea of not wasting the mortar. And the sealing paste works...
Mike.

 

[Jakko]

The sealant is just a bit laborious to apply with a fine brush and have it thick enough that it won’t disappear under the paint. I’ve now done most of the model, but I had to go back over the bits around the driver’s hatches at least once to build up the thickness.

I’m still debating how to replicate the canvas over the mortar and around the turret, though. Epoxy putty is one way, but I’m not fond of it and I’m not a very good sculptor, but I also don’t fancy trying to get something like tissue paper into shape around all of that.

 

[Scratchbuilder]

For my 'canvas' I use the tissue you find in the washroom, I have a roll that has been with me for years, double sheet and strong. I rough cut the shape and the use either a mix of thin pva or thin liquid sprue (sprue melted in liquid cement). That is what I used for making the 'canvas' roof for my Antar winch cover...


Looks a mess but once cleaned up and painted does the job...

Cheers
Mike.

 

[Jakko]

That’s pretty much one of the ways I’m considering to do this, yes. Just trying to decide beforehand which will likely be least difficult

 

[Jakko]

Exhaust pipes built:



They’re still loose, like the winch cage, because I want to paint them separately, and that’s also why I haven’t added the armour that goes over the exhausts yet. I also added the support rods for the engine access hatches, from some copper wire because I don’t see the point of trying to clean up the very fine kit parts without breaking them.

 

[scottie3158]

Jakko,
All looking very good mate. I like to use lens cleaning wipes, once I have cleaned my specs I let them dry out they are stronger than tissue accept PVA well and have a nice material like appearance.

 

[adt70hk]

Jakko,
All looking very good mate. I like to use lens cleaning wipes, once I have cleaned my specs I let them dry out they are stronger than tissue accept PVA well and have a nice material like appearance.

I nicked some of the ones belonging to my mate at work for just that purpose!