1:35 AFV Club Churchill MKIII AVRE

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Fri May 23, 2014 7:30 am

Hi guys!
This will be my entry in this GB

Sprue shots!

Some history:

Many D-Day photographs show AVREs with spare suspension bogies mounted on the track guards.

Some AVREs were fitted with mountings permitting a variety of specialist engineering attachments to be fitted such as the Canadian Indestructable Roller Device (CIRD) and Farmer plough.

The tow cable should be held above the side escape hatch (for obvious
reasons!).
Note that bogies number 2 and 3 are welded together as per the MkVII, this seems to have been a typical modification for AVREs. This photograph also illustrates well the more common form of hull nut incorporated as part ofthe re-work scheme.

When the British declared war in 1939 to Germany, they decided to strengthen their armored fleet, considered too old. But in 1940, while the English engineers were studying a new model, the French and British troops had left Dunkirk: most British tanks were in the hands of the Germans.

To deal with this problem, studies of a new weapon project have began rapidly and soon the first model was available. But in the rush, all the early models of the new tank, called Cromwell, suffered from many defects.

The particular shape of the Mark III tank (A22 and originally known as "Churchill"), was designed by engineers of the Vauxhall Motors company. This char has the same structure as the initial model, Mark I, designed for the First World War.

The version of Churchill Avre model is the mortar tank. Indeed, the tank does not have a 75mm gun like the basic Churchill tank. It is armed with a mortar able of destroying any obstacle and served as self-propelled artillery delivering close support to the infantry.

The Churchill "Avre" tank is one of the "Funnies", a nickname given to the armored vehicles invented by the British engineer Percy Hobbart.

Country creator/user: Great-Britain
Name: Mark III Churchill Avre

Length: 7,65 m
Width: 3,25 m
Height: 2,45 m
Weight: 39 600 kg
Maximum speed: 27 km/h
Range: 144 km

Engine: Bedford Twin-Six, 350 hp
Consumption: 334 L for 100 km

Front shield : 152 mm
Back shield: 35 mm

Speciality: self-propelled artillery

Ammo:

AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers): A Churchill tank adapted to attack German defensive fortifications. The crew of six were drawn from the Royal Engineers, except for the driver who came from the Royal Armoured Corps. One of the RE crew was a demolitions NCO sapper responsible for priming the "Flying dustbin" as well as leading or supervising when they dismounted from the tank (easily done through the side hatches) to place demolition charges ("Wade" charges). The AVRE's main gun was replaced by a Petard Mortar that fired a forty-pound (18 kg) HE-filled projectile (nicknamed the "Flying dustbin") 150 yards (137 m); it was capable of destroying concrete obstacles such as roadblocks and bunkers. The mortar had to be reloaded externally by opening a hatch and sliding a round into the mortar tube from the hull.

[youtube]Bd1_YJgKtic[/youtube]

And some info of the Churchill in general

[youtube]cjtT7XAwM6A[/youtube]

Well, so far my entry in this D-day GB

I'm going to wait a while with the start of the build, for I have a really bad case of the flu, together with my wife who has the same.
So when I'm feeling better, I will start this build.
Thanks for looking guys!

Post by **ForbesHutton** » Fri May 23, 2014 7:39 am

This part is worth repeating:

"The mortar had to be reloaded externally by opening a hatch and sliding a round into the mortar tube from the hull."

Considering the short range of the mortar that pretty much means doing so under enemy fire. Brave buggers. Sort of defeats the whole point of the armor if you have to expose your head, arms and torso, not to mention doing it while holding an armful of high explosives...

Post by **snappercity** » Fri May 23, 2014 7:56 am

Looking forward to seeing this.

Post by **Lee** » Fri May 23, 2014 8:01 am

Nice one Frans

http://m.youtube.com/user/MrBobsBuilds · Post by **Rob** » Fri May 23, 2014 8:49 am

Nice one indeed! Great subject.

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Fri May 23, 2014 12:01 pm

Best of luck with the goodies and the build
Altough pe shouldn't be new to you
Cheers Mark

Post by **chief5437** » Fri May 23, 2014 5:16 pm

Can't wait to see this come together! Great choice Frans, hope you and the mrs feel better soon!

https://www.youtube.com/user/bnealuk · Post by **T3hGuppy** » Fri May 23, 2014 9:47 pm

Nice to see the British armour being represented.

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Sat May 24, 2014 7:15 pm

ForbesHutton wrote:This part is worth repeating:

"The mortar had to be reloaded externally by opening a hatch and sliding a round into the mortar tube from the hull."

Considering the short range of the mortar that pretty much means doing so under enemy fire. Brave buggers. Sort of defeats the whole point of the armor if you have to expose your head, arms and torso, not to mention doing it while holding an armful of high explosives...

snappercity wrote:Looking forward to seeing this.

Lee wrote:Nice one Frans

Thanks guys

Post by **Nige201980** » Sat May 24, 2014 7:17 pm

Will be following this one

great choice Frans

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Sat May 24, 2014 7:17 pm

MarkVerploeg wrote:Best of luck with the goodies and the build
Altough pe shouldn't be new to you
Cheers Mark

chief5437 wrote:Can't wait to see this come together! Great choice Frans, hope you and the mrs feel better soon!

T3hGuppy wrote:Nice to see the British armour being represented.

Thanks guys!
The mrs and I are Feeling a bit better already, and I'm happy to be present with some awesome British engineering soon!

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Sat May 24, 2014 7:18 pm

Nige201980 wrote:Will be following this one great choice Frans

Thanks Nige!

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Sat May 24, 2014 8:14 pm

Hello Fella's!
And To the first update of my entry in the D-Day GB.
I'm feeling a bit better after having a bad case of the flu, sitting on hot coals, so decided to start my build.
Nice and easy that is..

First up: The suspension.

The suspension was fitted under the two large "panniers" on either side of the hull, the track running over the top. There were eleven bogies either side, each carrying two 10-inch wheels. Only nine of the bogies were taking the vehicle weight normally, the front coming into play when the vehicle nosed into the ground or against an obstacle, the rear acting in part as a track tensioner. Due to the number of wheels, the tank could survive losing several without much in the way of adverse effects as well as traversing steeper terrain obstacles. As the tracks ran around the panniers, escape hatches in the side could be incorporated into the design. These were retained throughout the revisions of the Churchill and were of particular use when the Churchill was adopted as the AVRE.

This kit has workable suspension, witch I think is an awesome detail. I'm deffo going to show that of when the build is finished.
I'm making type B so all the holes need o be drilled open.

Then the fun part.
Adding real springs! boing boing!

Obvious, The springs need no glue, so that made it a bit tricky to get them between the two halves.
I'm not worried about the position of the eyes on top of the springs, for I can still turn them.

After some necessary drying time (and a cup of thee with a aspirin) you'll end up with two of these jumping jacks..

And now to make these:

Into These:

That wasn't easy, I can tell you that!
Best way to do this is to glue on parts D17 D18 D19 D20 first, and at the last moment parts D22 D21 by just open the two half a bit and put the parts in for they need no glue.

Now to put it all together.
Ahhh... trusty old rubber band.... What would we do without you.

After drying, I added the road wheels, and one side of the suspension is done.

And it works!

My conclusion so far, it's a nice kit, with a lot of parts.
The suspension is a bit fiddly, but great detailed!
So far this update, thaks for tuning in and hope to see you soon!

Post by **gaz45** » Sat May 24, 2014 11:12 pm

that is some awesome work mate

Post by **Nige201980** » Sun May 25, 2014 9:24 am

Wow mate that's great work buddy.

https://www.youtube.com/user/bnealuk · Post by **T3hGuppy** » Sun May 25, 2014 10:13 am

Very cool its got working suspension.

Post by **chief5437** » Sun May 25, 2014 12:55 pm

Great start Frans

that suspension looks great, well worth the effort. I haven't got my D-Day kit yet, now I'm wondering if I should bother, lol! I can tell we've got one of the winners right here!

Glad you're feeling better mate, keep it coming

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Sun May 25, 2014 2:39 pm

gaz45 wrote:that is some awesome work mate
Nige201980 wrote:Wow mate that's great work buddy.
T3hGuppy wrote:Very cool its got working suspension.

Thanks guys!

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Sun May 25, 2014 2:44 pm

chief5437 wrote:Great start Frans that suspension looks great, well worth the effort. I haven't got my D-Day kit yet, now I'm wondering if I should bother, lol! I can tell we've got one of the winners right here!

Glad you're feeling better mate, keep it coming

Thanks Chief

And haven't even start the PE parts yet!

Your D-Day kit was also a Churchill if I remember it correctly, right?
If so, awesome

British engineering rocks! Love those "funnies"
Hope to see your entry soon mate

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Mon May 26, 2014 9:11 pm

Hello fellow modellers!
Time to begin the PE works...

The moulded spring system marked red in the pic, is going to be replaced by PE.
That spring system holds up the sprocket cleaner for removing mud (red arrow)

Making a scratch spring is easy, I put a small drill upside down together with a wire, and twist it until I've got the length I want.

And here it's replaced. I did placed the spring a bit lower at a later point for the drawing was off.

Next I drilled some holes to make room for the bolds that goes in them.
This piece i'm working on is typical for the Churchill "funnies". It could hold a mine roller for instance.

And after some cleaning up:

And the same thing here...

At the rear I replaced some plastic too.
It are two boxes with a spring system, The boxes would hold smoke emitters as seen here

And my version

Small...

And that's all I've got time for now gents
More PE next update!
Thank you for looking, and hope to see you soon

Post by **Nige201980** » Mon May 26, 2014 9:16 pm

Frans stunning mate great work

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Mon May 26, 2014 9:20 pm

Nige201980 wrote: Frans stunning mate great work

Thanks Nige

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Mon May 26, 2014 9:26 pm

Looking good
And those boxes aren't small
You have chubby fingers

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Mon May 26, 2014 9:28 pm

MarkVerploeg wrote:Looking good
And those boxes aren't small
You have chubby fingers

Yeah... that would be it Mark... lol!

Post by **chief5437** » Mon May 26, 2014 10:06 pm

Some lovely detail added there Frans, I really like the springs and bolt heads. Are they resin? At least if you drop it on the floor, it'll bounce right back onto the desk with those suspension springs, lol!

Great work dude, keep it coming

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Mon May 26, 2014 10:17 pm

chief5437 wrote:Some lovely detail added there Frans, I really like the springs and bolt heads. Are they resin? At least if you drop it on the floor, it'll bounce right back onto the desk with those suspension springs, lol!

Great work dude, keep it coming

Haha! Thanks Chief.
The bold heads are kit parts, and just styrene. Stuck in the sprue on both hexagon sides, so a lot of cleaning up to do...
The springs are made from electrical wire of a old headphone twisted around a piece of copperwire 0.30mm.

It are ricochet springs!
Like a ricochet biscuit...
"if you throw it against the wall, it suppose to bounce back into your mouth.. if it doesn't bounce back, you grow hungry!" Bow bow bow... (Blues Brothers)

Post by **Coen** » Tue May 27, 2014 1:32 pm

As expected... absolutly amazing work Frans.
I've built a pair of AFV Club's Churchies and I loved every minute of them. The wheels scared me at first, but I soon got over that.
They ... are... awesome!!!!
And that suspension screams diorama eh? haha
You're tweaks and fixes are going to make this build be one to watch for sure.
Long live the Churchills. haha.
Ok... now I want to go build one.

Post by **wappynutter** » Sat May 31, 2014 10:07 pm

O.M.G

Stunning Frans..... Your detailing skills are the best my friend...

My only worry is, do you lose detail upon painting??
..and will those springs still work fine once you have blown some paint over it all??

Good luck matey, all the best with this..

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Sat May 31, 2014 10:17 pm

Coen wrote:As expected... absolutly amazing work Frans.
I've built a pair of AFV Club's Churchies and I loved every minute of them. The wheels scared me at first, but I soon got over that.
They ... are... awesome!!!!
And that suspension screams diorama eh? haha
You're tweaks and fixes are going to make this build be one to watch for sure.
Long live the Churchills. haha.
Ok... now I want to go build one.

Thanks buddy

This is my first Churchill, and I must say, love it!

Those British were some great engineers... boy! They made some complicated tanks

I'm not going to do a dio...sorry

Not this time. But it is going on a base, and it will be crushing something to show that suspention I think.. lol

Now Go, and buy another Churchill mate!

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Sat May 31, 2014 10:19 pm

wappynutter wrote: O.M.G
Stunning Frans..... Your detailing skills are the best my friend...

My only worry is, do you lose detail upon painting??
..and will those springs still work fine once you have blown some paint over it all??

Good luck matey, all the best with this..

Haha! Thanks Andy.
I was almost a bit rusty at PE bending there....
All details will keep showing mate. Thin layers of primer and paint... thin layers....

Post by **chief5437** » Sat May 31, 2014 11:35 pm

Hi Frans, just wondering if you've found any decent reference websites for the Churchill?

Cheers dude!

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Sat May 31, 2014 11:49 pm

chief5437 wrote:Hi Frans, just wondering if you've found any decent reference websites for the Churchill?

Cheers dude!

Hi there Chief!
So.... want my secrets eh?

lol... Got a lot of info about the Churchill from this site: http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/g ... l_Tank.php

Churchill Crocodile: http://photos.kitmaker.net/showgallery.php?cat=13440

MK III AVRE: http://www.primeportal.net/recovery/pau ... hill_avre/
http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op= ... artid=3168

MKVI: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/inde ... mkvi-tank/

MK VII (yours): http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op= ... artid=3263

http://www.mapleleafup.net/vehicles/cac/churchill.html

http://militarymodels.co.nz/2012/04/04/ ... ocodile-3/

Hope this helps??

Post by **chief5437** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 5:11 am

Ha! Cheers Frans! Found some of the same links myself. Not all of those though! I have another cunning plan up my sleeve as well! Shhhh!

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 7:33 pm

Hello, and welcome to update 3 already...
Progress is slow, but that has kinda to do with the amount of PE and my "Ohama Beach" vignette...

Anyways, I have to replace this:

For this:

So have to clean this up to make room for the PE version of the engine cooling fins.

It doesn't have to be smooth, for it will be at the inside.

And here is a nice little puzzle...

And two hours later...

This looks way better than the original plastic parts

Glued to the back plate and glued into the hull.

Straps added. These were used for strapping down a oil barrel.
I'm leaving them empty.

4 Engine hatches need rework too.
Replacing the hinges and handles.

All together:

And after cleaning it up, this is the result.

And that's what I've got so far gentleman!
Thanks for looking!!

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:20 pm

This build is shaping up nicely
That airintake must have taken some time to build
But it looks a lot better then the kit part
Keep it up

Post by **chief5437** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:22 pm

words fail me!

Post by **DBMiller** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:37 pm

Damn, that's a lot of metal work! Beautiful!

Post by **Coen** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 4:37 am

This and the Omaha beach!!

More bowing

http://m.youtube.com/user/MrBobsBuilds · Post by **Rob** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 11:15 am

Truly gobsmacking!

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 6:37 pm

MarkVerploeg wrote:This build is shaping up nicely
That airintake must have taken some time to build
But it looks a lot better then the kit part
Keep it up

chief5437 wrote: words fail me!

DBMiller wrote:Damn, that's a lot of metal work! Beautiful!

Thank you gentleman!

It took me a while, but i'm getting there...

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 6:38 pm

Coen wrote:This and the Omaha beach!!

More bowing

Thanks for the bows Coen,

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 6:39 pm

HollywoodModelling wrote:..... please Frans please.. Marry me... I can explain to my girlfriend and maybe your wife or whatever....

Haha! lol

I will think about it mate, but you've got to deal with my wife first

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 6:41 pm

Rob wrote:Truly gobsmacking!

Thanks Rob!

Post by **Ozzie21** » Wed Jun 04, 2014 12:44 am

Truly awesome. I haven't even looked inside my AFV club Churchill box so I didn't even know it had working suspension. Think I might build the Tamiya one first as it would be a lot simpler.

Cya
Ozzie21

Post by **generalgrog** » Wed Jun 04, 2014 2:57 am

love watching a master work...

GG

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Wed Jun 04, 2014 7:40 pm

Ozzie21 wrote:Truly awesome. I haven't even looked inside my AFV club Churchill box so I didn't even know it had working suspension. Think I might build the Tamiya one first as it would be a lot simpler.

Cya
Ozzie21

Thanks Ozzie

Yeah the Tamiya version would be much simpler, for the AFV Club suspension is very fiddly.

But it's awesome though!

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Wed Jun 04, 2014 7:41 pm

generalgrog wrote:love watching a master work...

GG

lol... Thank you for that big applause GG

Post by **Paul** » Wed Jun 04, 2014 9:34 pm

Awesome work Fran's, you really are the PE king lol

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Wed Jun 04, 2014 10:18 pm

Paul wrote:Awesome work Fran's, you really are the PE king lol

lol Thank you very much Paul

Post by **UKguyInUSA** » Wed Jun 04, 2014 10:22 pm

That's a lot of brass....you should have just brought a complete brass vehicle!

Shaping up nicely!

Cheers,

Martin