Centurion Mk.5/1 RAAC Vietnam	AFV Club, 1/35 scale
by Chris Wauchop

AFV Club's 1/35 scale Centurion Mk.5/1 is available online from Mission Models
 

Introduction

Here is Chris Wauchop's 1/35 scale AFV Club Centurion Mk.5/1, kit number AF-35100

The model represents a vehicle from the Royal Australia Armoured Corps in Vietnam, in service with C Squadron, 1 Armoured Regiment.

A combination of somewhat vague instructions and tricky fit of parts led to a fairly lengthy build time, but the results were worth the effort.

Construction

The AFV Club kit was supplemented with a number of after-market items and scratchbuilt details.

AFV workable individual track links (set number AF-35102) were used. These look great, but the fit was very tight and the completed track runs were bowed.

All handles and tie down brackets were replaced with fine brass wire. Where appropriate, a small weld bead at the base of the handles/brackets was depicted with a tiny puddle of super glue.

Tie down straps were added to turret stowage boxes from lead foil.

The electrical cables moulded to the turret and front of the hull were sliced off and replaced with fine solder.

A cable for the search light was added using 24 gauge copper wire.

The handles moulded to the searchlight were cut off and replaced with spare lenghts of flat photo-etch bent into shape.

Wing nuts from photo-etched spare parts were added to the antenna bases and tool attachment brackets.

Ties for the twin tow cables were bent from short lengths of lead foil.

A dust cover for the searchlight was made from lead foil.

The canvas mantelet cover was made for the kit part by building up layers of Milliput and sculpting it to shape. The frame for the cover was built from strips of plastic card and bolts cut from .020" plastic rod. The Firestorm resin replacement part was not available to Chris at the time that he built the model.

Painting, Markings and Weathering

All camouflage colours were applied with the Testor Aztek A470 airbrush.

The overall camouflage green is a mix of equal parts Tamiya acrylic XF-62 Olive Drab, XF-58 Olive Green and XF-49 Khaki, plus a dash of Gunze-Sangyo H312 Green FS34227.

The inner wheel rims moulded to the vinyl tyres were painted green using a fine brush.

The wooden handles of the tools were painted XF-59 Desert Yellow.

A protective coat of Tamiya X-22 Gloss Clear was sprayed over this base colour to protect the paint job from the subsequent wash. This wash was a mix of Tamuya enamel X-18 and XF-64 in equal parts, heavily thinned with mineral turpentine.

The entire model was then covered with Vietnam red dust. This was a heavy coating of various pastel chalk colours, ground down and mixed with turpentine then painted onto the model.

When dry, the dust was scrubbed off with a soft toothbrush. The result is dust in the crevices, with a fine reddish effect overall. This method of application if also very robust and can withstand handling without rubbing off the pastel.

Photography

Photographs were taken in Missing-Lynx's office, workshop and image studio (well, my basement actually) using a Nikon D70 SLR camera fiitted with a 60mm Micro Nikkor lens.

Lighting was via two studio flash units - a Bowens Esprit 250 fitted with a 60cm soft box, and a cheap 100X/S SLS unit through a white umbrella. The camera was set to manual at 1/60 sec. and aperture of f.25

Click the thumbnails below to view additional images: