IDF Centurion Shot Cal
This is my build of the 1/35 scale AFV Club Centurion Shot Cal – one of my favorite armor subjects. I did it as a vehicle serving in the Golan in 1973. A number of Centurions lost their side skirts in that intense action. I prefer the look of the centurion without the skirts in spite of the fact that this is unusual for an IDF tank.
I went for a fair amount of dust and dirt build-up with EZ Mud around the suspension. Weathering this model was a long meditative process, starting with an oil wash, then applying and dusting off many layers of pigments, pastels and graphite. It paid to look at ii in different light conditions as I went until it settled in to something that looked realistic The tracks are built up from the AFV Club single link snap together set, bought separately.
I haven't seen many of these AFV Club Centurions finished online. I think it came in for some criticism from the IDF aficionados. Personally, I think it's a well-designed kit and mostly well molded, apart for a few annoying skink marks on hard to fix parts e.g. some hatches and ammo boxes. I really like the look of the turret basket out of the box. I crammed it full of stuff, including a couple of different kinds of paper IDF ration boxes. Antennas are stretched sprue and apart from those, the mantlet dust cover and the stowage, everything is OOB. Actually the add ons are all AFV club. The mantlet cover was tricky to attach (particularly since I wanted to make it rough looking) . I also had to work to get the gun barrel to depress to the angle I wanted underneath the vinyl cover, which was very tight.
Painted with MM Acryl Israeli Armor Sand, darkened and faded in places for weathering effect.Once again, not a masterpiece done with high tech filters but I think it looks like the tanks I see in pictures and video of the period.
Hope you like it.
Colin
I absolutely love this kit. You really got a fine result there, Colin. The vehicle looks as real as it gets! Well done and very much liked over here! Stay safe.
Thanks, Michel. Realism is what I go for. So far, that has meant trial and error with some of the same techniques I use for aircraft models (except for caked on mud effects with stuff like EZ Mud)
Excellent! I've no armor experience, but i would address it as a "Typical Colin Gomez perfect build". It looks astonishingly real, my friend.
All the best!
Thanks, Spiros. I keep working at it. The desert weathering techniques on sand color paint jobs seem to work best for me. My weathering may be too subtle for the camera on aircraft but it definitely shows up on armor.
Really nice work! I'm working on the AFV Mk. III right now.
Thanks, Bruce. I appreciate your kind words. I look forward to seeing your Mk. 3. Will you do it in Korean War markings? Could be a good diorama there.
Bravo! I like it! The weathering looks very good. Thanks for posting your armour models, we need more AFVs posted here. Keep 'em coming!
Thanks, Jim. I had noticed that there are more aircraft models than AFVs on the site. I've hesitated to post on some other sites because I use pretty simple techniques which don't garner much respect at model shows, it seems. Getting it realistic from my perspective is the main thing. I like to bring some of the vehicles that interest me as alive as I can.
Hello Colin,
You did a fine job with your Centurion. You nailed the look with the dust, dirt and grime that always accumulated in a matter of minutes after you left the motor pool. I like how you added the crew's personal gear too...
It's a reliable old work horse and has been around the block a few times. It kind of reminds me of our old M-60 series that I crewed. That was another good "old" tank...
Please keep up the great work, and like the others stated, "Keep them coming"...
"liked"
Thanks, Louis. I'm really happy that I've captured the right look. I figured the Shot Cals were already getting old in the '73 war, so I wanted to get that tired workhorse appearance. BTW, I have boxings of the IDF M-48 and M-60 and Merkava that I hope to get to later on. i will keep posting more armor as well as aircraft. Thanks for you encouragement and detailed observations.
Great job Colin! I did this kit a number of years ago. Thought it was well detailed kit but with a high parts count and some fiddly bits all over the place. But it looks nice built. You did a good job. The additional stowage was a nice touch.
Thanks, Dennis. Yep. Lots of parts. The suspension was especially tricky. I was concerned that band type tracks would bend the flexible suspension in the kit design. Using AFV Clubs snap-together links solved the tension/warpage problem. They also sag nicely when encouraged to do so with some gluing and poking with a pencil.
Really really nice.Love the finish.
Excellent build, very realistic!