1/16 Centurion Tank in Paper

[Guest]

Great work, so far.

The Mk5 had a 20lbr gun and .30 cal co-axial mg

The Mk5/1 was as Mk5 with the addition of extra armour plate welded to the glacis.

The Mk5/2 was as the Mk5 but replaced the 20lbr with the 105mm gun but NO extra armour on the glacis.

It can be a bit of a nightmare sorting Centurion Marks out unless you have studied them.

Keep up the good work, I`m looking forward to the end product.

[Guest]

Centurion March 9 Update

I think I have the front (Glacis) sorted out now.

Redesigned the Storage Box...my original one is basically a rectangle,

whereas the actual Container should have the upper left corner angled.

Not sure if I will correct my Model, but the kit is adjusted.

Also got those Lamps done...at least I think they are some sort of Lamps?

To be honest, I have not researched them to find out what they are. lol

I just hunted, and found two nice photos of the parts, that I could use to

design the paper versions. My originals (as you can see here) came out a

bit too big. I have reduced them (in the kit) to about 80% of this size.

These seem like an optional item...very few Tanks in photos seem to have them.

But they are on almost every Canadian Mk5 I have seen, so that why they are

added to the kit.

I also stole three links of previously assembled Track to fit into the Bracket for

spares. I'm not sure, but I think some more spare Track links are attached to the

Turret...so that just adds more to my much needed Track production! lol

I am currently working on the Turret attachments...

starting with the Main Hatch.

First parts of the Hatch Extension

This is basically the egress tube, that is fitted to the top of the Turret casting.

The swiveling Hatchway will fit on top, and into, this tube.

At first I was just going to form the extension with 2 or 3 parts, but it became obvious that

it wasn't forming properly (too flimsy) and it would need to support a lot more items (eg metal

guards, about 10 periscopes, the entire hatch assembly itself, etc)...so I created an internal

form for the extension.

However, getting the two mated took a little bit of redesigning, and I had to make a couple of

changes to the original top plate (on the turret). But all seems okay now.

[Guest]

Centurion March 9 Update continued

So, here is the completed Extension fitted to the top of the Turret.

This will be glued in place as tightly as possible.

My top plate (on the turret) has the wrong cutout in it.

The part in the kit has been fixed...but I cannot at this point swap out

this plate...so I will have to make some small cuts in the Extension part

to get it to fit as neatly as possible. I don't think you will notice this.

Now I am assembling the swiveling hatchway which is basically a set of rings that house

a bunch of periscope ports and the main hatch itself.

The periscopes are protected by some flat steel Guards and there will also be parts for

a machine Gun mount (to come later)

The angled parts shown in this photo are deflectors to go on the top deck, just in front

of the Hatch extension...and the small Hatch door is to be ignored. (lol) Its just an early version

of the secondary hatchway...but the hatch shapes were very wrong and they didn't fit.

I'm already working on new ones.

Heres the Hatch assembly sitting in the extension part...it is not glued into place. It can be, if

you want...but it can also be left to swivel. I will have to wait and see how it stays in place

once a machine Gun has been fitted. I am unsure at this point if the assembly will need to be

glued into place or not.

And then, here is everything fitted to the turret. Looks good what?

The simple Hinge for the hatch seems to work good so far...so hopefully no changes needed there.

I am quite happy with the way this looks.

For now, I am moving over to the secondary hatches.

[Guest]

A few more bits done today...

was a good day for watching the Nascar race and getting some more parts assembled.

My third design of the secondary Hatches worked out pretty good.

Along with the forward Periscope (and Wiper attachment).

A couple more shots of all new parts installed.

We're cruisn' now!

[Guest]

Just a quick update...took a break from the tank again.

Too much frustration over the Track design.

I'm happy with the look of the Track, just not enjoying the tedious and slow assembly work.

Finally decided to reboot...with a fresh approach to the Tracks.

And good thing I did.

Seems I had made a major measurement error, and the Track I have been working on isn't going to fit anyway.

So, I have a new Track design...and I am currently in the middle of beta testing a section.

Once I am sure it is going to work, I will post an update.

And hopefully get back to regular work on this model.

For those who have been watching so far, I appreciate the support and interest!

[flyjoe180]

Look forward to seeing more in the near future.

[Guest]

Most impressive!

[Guest]

I have seen some impressive builds from styrene sheet and rod, but never anything this good out of paper, an absolutely stunning build, keep it up im totally hooked on this

[Guest]

May 15 Centurion Update...

so, the new Track design looks like its a GO!

Other than one small tweak still to do, everything looks good.

I finished one section (26 track links) and tested it on the Tank model.

The track looks pretty much the same as the first assembly, so there's no disappointment there

...overall dimensions are pretty much the same, so no visible change in that respect.

I may as well run through the basic assembly (since these threads are often instructional as well

as newsworthy)...and for the benefit of those people who helped me sort out the first track design.

1. I start with a printed page...this contains almost all the parts for one section of Track (thats 26 link sections).

You must print 8 of these pages to assembly two full tracks.

And the first step is to score all the fold lines and crease points (before cutting anything out).

2. Next, cut out all the little inside holes. There are about the same number of holes to be cut, as with the old

design, but they are all the same size and shape, and all aligned the same, so it only takes a few minutes.

Biggest change here is with the main (separate) parts for each track link - replaced by the long strip of links shown

at the top of this photo - which eliminates the need to cut out a ton of notched and oddly shaped parts!

3. Next, cut out all the parts and sort, ready for assembly...also do some edge colouring at this point.

4. These are the "cleats" - which still have to be folded and glued into shape, but are now a separate part that will

be affixed to the track "foot plate".

5. The "foot plate" itself is the only part to be laminated - doubled up - to create some necessary scale thickness.

Easy enough to cut out the parts as a group, laminate to a second layer of card, and then cut out the parts.

6. Track sections are "joined" with single layer card part, which a "foot plate" will glue over top. It will add a third layer

of card at this spot, but should be hardly noticeable once the entire track is assembled.

You will also notice I have coloured the back side of all the creases, so that they don't show between the plates when the track is flexed.



7. Affix all the laminated "foot plates" by lining up the edges and slots...easy peasy!



8. Then glue the assembled "cleats" on to the "foot plates - center and align.

(One thing I keep doing, is folding the crease at each link, just to make sure no glue sets on the creases and stiffens the part)

You can also see in the background, I have begun assembly of the inner Track parts - this boxy part holds the "track guide"

and creates the Road Wheel running surface for the Road Wheels.

The "track guides" are all together on a separate page of parts (which you will need to print twice).



9. Assembled track looks pretty much the same as the older design.

Although the Road Wheel running surface is a little neater, smoother.

(This particular section of track does not have enough space between the road wheel surface parts - this is the last tweak I need to make.)



10. Three more sections will complete one full Track.

My estimate is about six to seven hours in total (spread out over three days) to complete all the work depicted here.

I think thats at least half of what it took for the older design! Maybe, a third of the time!!

And although there is still a lot of repetitive work, its definitely a lot simpler, and less tedious.

I think that is worth giving up the real "pin" hinge assembly.

[Guest]

That is incredible and out of paper!!!!! I bow to your superiority.

[Guest]

Well, I will be working on some more Turret parts (over the next few days).

Because I finally got a full Track finished.

Took me two...to three weeks.

I'd say somewhere between 20 and 30 hours.

And thats including a number of modifications and assembling a lot more track than I need.

Compare that to 8 months of previous work completing half of one track

and I am much happier.

Hopefully completing the second Track will go as well.

So, a quick update...

New one piece track sections, layered parts to build some scale thickness, a lot less cutting...

Then I went back and adjusted the colours.

It was suggested to me that the track parts were still coming out too beige/sandy.

So I grayed everything out a lot more...left only some rust tone...and added the darker roadway/tire marks.

I also created a little jig to help with the gluing of the roadway parts.

Not perfect, but I decided to remove the glue tabs from these parts...too small to deal with.

And the little jig holds the part while I put some glue in the corners.

I can work on folding more parts while the glue sets up.

Every now and then a little glue squeezes through and glues the part to the jig. lol

But for the most part it helps.

...Next, comes the install...

I've tried to test fit the Track a few times, and its awkward feeding the Track in and over all the wheels.

Its also a little risky, trying to keep an eye on 20 different parts while you do it, so as to avoid bending

or breaking anything. So, for this final installation, I removed the Turret and turned the Tank over.

I made a quick holder, to support the Tank upside down, and keep fragile parts off the table.

Feeding the Track is now a little easier, since the Track falls away from the upper return rollers, but it

stills requires some patience and care.

...

Once the Track is in, I prepare the joiner section for overlap and gluing.

And then make the final connection.

(I used Fast Grab Aileenes glue for this step and it worked well.)

...

At first everything looked good, but then I noticed the tension on the rear Drive gear and its assembly.

Because I didn't use the adjustable front tensioner (which I designed after my test Tank was assembled),

my Track is a little too tight on this model.

And as a result, it is pulling the rear Drive Gear out of place.

So I decided to disconnect the Track again and try one link longer.

Its a loose fitting track, but I can live with that for the purpose of getting this test finished.

...

Once the side plates are installed, most of the Track is hidden, so I can hide some of the Track

sag at the top. For now, it looks like a Tank with a newly installed Track that needs adjusting!

Note (in the photo) the Smoke Pot assembly ready to install on the Turret.

[spanner570]

Brilliant!

I do admire not only your design capabilities, but the way you come across minor problems, sit back and rethink things through to make life a bit easier for prospective modellers, of which there will be many, I'm sure....

[Guest]

bump...

Centurion project is on hold for this month while I catch up on a bunch of projects in preparation for this years International Paper Modelers Convention.

I plan on working full time on the Centurion in August to get it finished.

So watch for a build report then.

Thanks again for all the interest and kind words.

[Guest]

hello again everybody.

I'm back at this darn Tank again!

Trying to get it finished this time (before the upcoming Paper Model Convention at the end of October)

Took a month off from the Centurion...to be honest, I was glad to put it away...

had to finish up a bunch of other projects.

During that time I put a lot of thought into the Tracks, which have been a constant source of frustration.

When I finally got back to working on the model (two weeks ago), I decided to try a whole new Track design.

This will be the third? fourth? design...all in an attempt to make it simpler and quicker to build

I would like it to have less parts and be more accomodating for the less experienced builder.

Anyway, to cut the story short...I came up with a whole new idea...printed out some parts, did a test build.

And was satisified enough to tackle a complete new Track.

Everything has gone well...I finished the Track today and installed it on the Tank.

And as I said, I am satisfied with the design and will be replacing the right side Track as soon as possible.

I'm hoping two more weeks to get the other track done.

After that, I only have to install the side skirts...and I think thats it.

The other BIG part of the project is finishing the Instruction Pages and the Parts/Page layouts for the kit.

Thanks for waiting patiently!

[Guest]

For all those who are still watching....I know, the gaps are too long...its tough to stay connected to a project this way.

Thats the same prolem I have had.

I will not be taking on another project of this magnitude again. lol

If it can't be finished within 12 months, its too much for me!

As I mentioned, in my last post, the new (and final) Track design worked well

and it took me a couple of weeks to finish up the opposite side.

I uploaded a short video of the newly installed Tracks and the almost completed state of the model, here:

The last thing to do was install the side skirts...which I have done...

and a couple of other small details that I overlooked

...and with that, the model is finished!

Next step is to sort and arrange all the parts into pages and assemble the final Paper Model kit.

I've also got to complete the Instruction pages and all assembly diagrams.

Probably got a months work doing all that, before I can even think about getting a kit ready for sale.

I also have to dig out the DSLR and take some good final photos.

And, I want to look at necessary modifications to put out variant kits (Aussie, Brit, Israeli...)

I guess thats about it for this thread unless anyone has any questions about this model

or paper models in general.

Feel free to ask away.

Other than that, I thank all of you who had an interest in this project.

[i have saved emails from a couple of members who are interested in this kit, and I will be contacting them

as soon as a kit is ready for purchase.]