|
|
|
|
Click Photo For Enlargement (129 Kb)
|
|
|
|
The upper hull is made of 4mm ply which turned out to be rather
splintery. When I built this (it was the first thing I cut) I tried
edge-glueing it, which wasn't strong enough. I then tried supporting
it with wooden strips inside, which worked to an extent, but it was
hard to get the angles right. I was considering covering it with
fibreglass, but then remembered papier mache from my childhood... I
mixed up PVA wood glue with water (about 50/50) in a bucket and then
added torn-up newspaper. Soaked for a few hours, you can spread it
over the top to make a smooth surface, or squidge it into a sort of
putty which sticks to the inside of an angle and holds it rigidly in
place. After it dried I could easily stand on the tank. Warning- I
should have sanded it down before painting, as paper lines are still
visible. The cat is "helping".
|
|
|
|
|
Installing the marker was pretty straightforward (although admittedly
at the time of writing I haven't fired it, as I need an "O" ring). The
marker pivots on the bolt which passes through the red brackets. The
paintball tray (you can see its underside in brown) is attached to the
top of the tank and fed through a hatch in the top which doubles as
the commander's hatch. I did hope to be able to leave the gun
unaltered, so that I could remove it and use it for paintball, but
there wasn't quite enough room and I had to shorten the feed tube to
make everything fit.
|
|
|
Click Photo For Enlargement (124 Kb)
|
|
|
|
Click Photo For Enlargement (139 Kb)
|
|
|
|
Others have explained how the hinge tracks and radio work, so I won't
go over that again here. What I do want to mention is that practically
everything you see here has gone wrong, dropped off, or needed
improving before it worked properly. I won't bore you with all the
details, but here is one example: I inserted this wooden centrepiece
for the back axle as the rod I'd bought wasn't quite long enough. It
lasted about 3 yards on grass before breaking. I replaced it with a
steel tube used as a sleeve. Note to self- hardwood does not have much
strength across the grain!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There's plenty more work to be done, but I've had a great time
building this tank, and as you can see I couldn't resist adding some
figures. What will yours be like? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
