International Scale Modeller

Started this this evening and all I can say is running gear pics to follow

Looks like some real work to do! I saw one of these on YouTube, it's massive!

Look forward to your vids on this one!

Background
In the early part of 1943, the Allied forces anticipated considerable resistance in the projected invasion of Europe with the enemy fighting from heavily fortified positions such as the Siegfried Line. As a result, a new class of vehicles emerged, in the shape of the Assault tank which placed maximum armour protection at a higher priority than mobility. Initially, work was concentrated on the Excelsior tank (A33), based on Cromwell. There was also a programme to upgrade the armour of Churchill. For similar work in the Far East, the Valiant tank (A38), based on Valentine was considered, although weight was specified to be as low as possible.

The Secretary of State for War and the Minister of Supply issued a Joint Memorandum in April 1943 which gave a vague specification for an Assault tank, classing it as a special purpose vehicle to operate in heavily defended areas.

The Nuffield Organisation responded with 18 separate designs (AT1 through AT18). Drafted between May 1943 and February 1944, each design was larger and heavier than the last. By February 1944, AT16 was complete and was approved by the Tank Board who proposed that it be produced directly from the mockup stage without a prototype, to be available for operational service in September 1945. An order for 25 was placed by the War Office and work was begun.

The first tank finally appeared in 1946 by which time the War Office had lost interest in the project and in the end only six were manufactured. Two examples (some say just one) were sent to Germany in 1948 for trials where it was found to be mechanically reliable and a powerful and accurate gun platform. However, weighing in at 80 tons and with a height of 10 feet (3.0 m) it was extremely slow and considered too tall. They were difficult to transport and could damage roads and bridges but in firing trials the gun proved extremely accurate. However, it was hard work for the loader, despite the fact that shell and shell case were loaded separately and there was considerable criticism of the ammunition stowage arrangements. Tortoise was never accepted for active service.

The Tank Museum’s Tortoise was used in a motion study and in firing trials at Larkhill in 1949 before retirement at the museum.

Description
In strict terms, since the Tortoise had a fixed superstructure instead of a turret, so it should be classified as a self-propelled gun or an assault gun and not as a tank. The crew of seven consisted of a commander, driver, and gunner, with two loaders for the 32-pounder gun and two machine gunners.

Internally it was split into three compartments, the transmission to the front, the crew in the centre and the Rolls-Royce Meteor engine at the rear. The suspension consisted of four bogies on each side each of the hull. Each bogie had two pairs of wheels, with each pair linked to a transverse torsion bar. The Merritt-Brown transmission was fitted with an all speed reverse, giving approximately the same speed backwards as forwards.

The Ordnance QF 32 pounder gun design was adapted from the British 3.7 inch (94 mm) anti-aircraft gun. The ammunition used a separate charge and shell, the latter a 32-pound (14.5 kg) armour piercing shot (APCBC), fired at 3,600 feet/sec. In tests the gun was successful against a German Panther tank at nearly 1,000 yards. The 32-pdr gun was mounted in a power-assisted limited traverse mounting. It was supported in a giant ball mounting like an enormous gimbal, rather than conventional trunnions. This gun was capable of dealing with the most powerful German tanks of the war period and probably would have been a match for contemporary Soviet machines, but it was too heavy and too slow for the post-war battlefield. To the left of it was a Besa machine gun in an armoured ball mount. A further two Besa machine guns were mounted in a turret on the top of the hull to the right.

The tank rode on 36-inch wide tracks and had a double torsion bar suspension. The superstructure was a massive single casting. The armour had a maximum thickness of nearly 9 inches (225 mm). It seems that all the physical constraints that British tank designers had laboured under were discarded for this project! These included limits due to the railway loading gauge, the strength of Bailey Bridges and the width of landing craft ramps.

Survivors
One of the six production Tortoises has been preserved at the Bovington Tank Museum in Bovington, UK. The vehicle is in running condition. A 2011 overhaul saw it running under its own power for the first time since the 1950s. It was shown to the public in June 2011 at Tankfest 2011, the Bovington museum's annual display of running vehicles.

A Tortoise, without its gun, lies on the Kirkcudbright military training in Scotland. Other damage to the tank and the designation of the training area as a Site of Special Scientific Interest means that the removal of the Tortoise to a museum is very unlikely.

Great intro dude.

This is a beast of an AFV.

Meng kits are either a bugger or a beaut to build I've heard.
I'm really excited to see which one it decides to be for you Russ... beaut I hope.

That camo scheme is gonna be a fun to paint. I would recommend putting the base coat on, then apply silly-putty where it needs to be. Then spray the lighter green over the silly-putty. You could brush paint the yellow along the scheme, or be very careful with an airbrush.

Here's a video of someone building the tank. This guy kinda over-weathers it. Hope it helps



Good luck with your build!!

i want to see this never seen a meng under construction

I have to say.....That kit in that theme is gonna look great

Cant wait to see ur progress

Gonna keep a close eye on this...... Meng models are really nice kits!

Primary sprue shots of the running gear which from a quick look at the instructions appears to be the most complex part of the build so here goes

I made a major boo boo on the running gear which I will go into detail later about but it's my own fault for rushing :wall:to this end I will not be fitting shock absorbers but as they will not be seen on the finished model my blushes will be saved, but I will always know

Thats some mean running gear alot of parts

There are two different sized recesses on what appear to be identical central casings on the road wheel units I didn't see this so when it came to fitting guide roller and shock absorbers I came unstuck

So this is where i am as of now slightly miffed at my stupidity but you live and learn

And finally courtesy of meng this is how the units should look

Ahhh I see well it wont be seen and I doubt the WOT one has it either

The misleading section

I have heard that the running gear on this tank are pretty tricky, shame about the mistake. But as you say, once the sideskirt is on you can't tell anyway.

Russ, you should look into a photobucket account, its free and a way to host your pictures online. You can then insert as many as you want per post, and they automatically resize. Just makes your threads a little easier for the reader, no more scrolling off to the side to see all the picture.

Looks like a complicated assembly

All the best to you....

Take your time and keep posting pictures...

Looks like an awesome kit !


Norm.

Cheers gav I have tried the photo bucket thing but I don't know if its a problem with my ipad or I'm just a technophobe I can't seem to make it work ,

Thanks norm I think taking my time is the key I just get a little excited and carried away sometimes

There is a photobucket app for the ipad, you can upload your pics straight from there. Then go to photobucket, find the link next to the picture that has [IMG] round the URL, copy and paste that link into the reply box on the thread, and voila!

Machos gracias mi amigo ill give it a go

Just done a quick trial and it worked cheers gav that will hopefully improve my threads your a star

so Russ ! any success uploading your pictures to PB yet ? give us a link to check it out !!!



Did the D9R showed up yet ? you will be pleased !

No problem Russ, glad to help.

Still no D9r norm but i live in hope

Managed to do a little bit tonight, fitting the glacis plate, lifting eyes and towing eyes

Seam line




Filled seam and lifting eyes added



Towing eye assembly







That's all for now folks

That kit looks very nice.

6 parts for a towing loop is crazy lol.

i like a long build and this looks long...like what you've done so far keep up the good work

That cast texture is really intense. It'll be a bugger trying to bring that back. Lots of TLC and TET I would imagine. I wonder why they chose to mold it that way with that cast texture right there?

It will get to you eventually! All the best my friend!

Nice work on the tank! She's a beast!

Coming along nicely, cant wait to see what it's like with the superstructure on it, gonna be a mean looking machine

Hi guys here are a few pics of my progress, the build is finished just a bit of filling and sanding to do, mainly due to bad modeling rather than the kit. Bring on the paint A really nice kit to put together all in all

Wow that a beast of a AFV.

Really need to catch up with you guys roaring ahead.

Nice - she's one real chunky monkey lol

Wow... Another fast one. She must have been a dream to put together Russ. The way that she leans forward under the weight of her gun, did you do that or is that the kit? It's pretty striking.

Cheers guys and oh how I wish I was that artistic coen that's all down to the kit my friend

Still... it's a really nice touch. It gives it real weight!

So shes all primed now, maybe a touch more filler required on the now redundant track link mounting holes but not a lot







Now bring on the camo scheme

I just really looked at that camo Russ.
That will take a bit of planning I think. Tricky stuff.
It's all about the layers.
Good luck Buddy, take your time with it.

I know mate it's frightening and on top of that there's the diorama with something this big I'm gonna have to do it on a pool table

I've got a couple of ideas about how you might tackle that camo, if you need a hand let me know.
I have little doubt that you'll pull it together no trouble though.
It's a really interesting scheme.

Yeah it will take some doing but will look great I'm sure.

Yea its gonna look great when done and i´m sure you will pull this off

looking superb its a big bugger

For the camo, just a suggestion, but I would put the dark green on, then put some silly putty or blu-tac in the shape of the scheme. Then spray the lighter green over the silly putty. You then could either apply the yellow with the brush or with the airbrush.

Hope I helped. Build looks great so far!!!

Great work. It looks really nice even with just the primer.

Having a nightmare with this cam job





Initial attempts aren't promising but I may have a plan more to follow

Nice one Russ, that's looking pretty smart with the cammo all done. (hope my T34 looks that cool lol)

What sort of weathering you going to do on it ?

Cheers mac like I say I'm not happy with the finer details on the cam but I have a cunning plan possibly arriving tomorrow

As for weathering I reckon it's gonna be a filter to try and blend that yellow in a bit pin wash for the detail and a light dusting of anything that looks good

the camo looks superb looks just like the picture...top work buddy