Aussie Cent: 1/56 scale Centurion Mk.5/1 tank by Rubicon Models

BASIC BUILD | Centurion Mk.5/1

Huw Morgan builds a Vietnam-era Centurion tank in a different scale – 1/56, courtesy of Rubicon Models’ kit.

AEC’s Centurion was the first of what were initially called ‘universal’ tanks, but soon renamed main battle tanks, replacing earlier British concepts of cruiser/infantry types.

A crucial factor in the Centurion’s design was its ability to engage in direct tank-to-tank combat, rather than the previous specialised roles mandated under the earlier British armour doctrine. Despite the success of up-gunned Shermans, combat experience gave increasing weight to the growing argument for the development of a multi-purpose ‘universal’ tank capable of mounting at least the Firefly’s 17-pdr main armament.

The new tank was designated A41 and would become one of the country’s most successful post-war designs. The concept would be validated in combat in Korea, Suez, India/Pakistan, Vietnam, Israel, Egypt and Syria. Named Centurion, it entered service in December 1946 with the 5th Royal Tank Regiment in Germany, ultimately being used by 11 nations, while Centurion-based AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers) recovery versions were still in use during the 1991 Gulf War – where they were known affectionately as the ‘Antiques Road Show’.

Although early Mk.1 and 2 models performed well in Korea, a major upgrade in the late 1950s resulted in the Mk.3, which replaced the main armament with a 20pdr weapon. This this would be developed further into the Mk.5 (the subject of this build) and later the 5/2, which featured an L7 105mm rifled gun.

A number of Mk 5 chassis were constructed with a bulldozer blade made by TB Pearson of Newcastle – also fitted to the early AVRE examples, though not all of these received the armoured glacis in order to limit nose-heaviness.

Discover more Centurion tank content here.

Use in Vietnam

Australia received 127 Mk.3 and Mk.5 Centurions, all being delivered by 1961. The Australian Government's concerns about Communist expansionism in South East Asia led in 1968 to them committing to support the South Vietnamese in their struggle against the North, deploying elements of the 1st Armoured Regiment to Phuoc Tuy province as an initial force. This initial deployment was subsequently reinforced to a total of 20 tanks including some fitted with bulldozer blades. Before entering combat, the Australian Centurions were modified to better suit the environment; side skirts were removed to prevent mud build-up, the side-stowage boxes had reinforcing strips added to their sides and smoke dischargers were removed to reduce snagging on tropical foliage, a 100gal armoured fuel tank was added to the rear hull, a 0.50 cal ranging machine gun added to the mantlet and an infra red imaging system made available. Australia's commitment to Vietnam continued until 1971.

MODEL SPEC

Click here to read Airfix Model World's initial review of this kit.

An unusual kit

Rubicon Models may be an unfamiliar name to many readers, as will the 1/56 scale of this particular model – aligned with 28mm figures, the scale traces its origins back to wargaming. While other offerings in this arena may have been simplistic, Rubicon's models are seriously competitive in the detail stakes.

The kit comprised four main frames carrying 127 parts, some of which are duplicated to represent the Mk.5 or modified Mk.5/1 versions – different turret roofs and guns. The plastic was moulded superbly and held terrific detail but the key point to note is that it was ABS rather than conventional polystyrene – this meant standard tube-type glue wouldn't work terribly well, although Tamiya extra thin liquid glue and aggressive plastic weld-type adhesives would. Component break-down was reasonably conventional for a middle-scale armour model, although the line's wargaming heritage possibly showed in the presentation of the tracks as one-piece mouldings complete with road wheels, idlers and drive sprockets plus the inner wheel halves being supplied as joined-up units.

The detail on the tracks themselves was rather simplified although two or three links were fully detailed as they wrapped around the front idler, where they would be most visible.

It's just a shame Rubicon didn't repeat the detail over the drive sprocket at the rear.

Above: A legacy of Rubicon’s wargaming design was possibly reflected in the one-piece track sections. Moulded detail was excellent, possibly helped by the harder ABS plastic used.

STRANGE ‘STICKER’ SITUATION

Rubicon’s kit came with an impressive decal sheet covering Centurions as seen in Germany, the Suez, Korea, Vietnam and the Israeli-Arab wars. However, and quite regrettably, no markings or painting guidance was provided.

How did it build?

Unusually, construction began with the tracks – as described earlier, these consisted of one-piece outers with inner road wheel halves held together with a plastic bar which was potentially visible from the outside. The wheels could be separated from this bar easily, neatened and attached separately, making the whole appearance more elegant.

Construction of the multi-piece hull and suspension was straightforward with no real option for articulating the suspension without major surgery. A test-fit showed the completed track units would simply click into place on the built suspension, although they were left off at this stage to ease subsequent painting.

Above: With the tracks, the end result could be improved significantly by separating the inboard road wheels (top) from a joined strip (bottom) they were supplied upon.

Above: One side of the suspension was completed (top) with the other laid out separately (bottom). It wouldn’t be easy to modify the section for articulation.

Next on the hull was the assembly and fitting of the dozer blade, admittedly a feature used by just two of the Australian Centurions sent to Vietnam, but irresistible nonetheless. Its assembly was straightforward, being made from seven parts with a lower mounting glacis plate, which replaced a plain example on the gun-only tank. The main blade was slightly simplified, having the folding top flap moulded in the up position – this would normally hang down in front and only be pushed up when the blade was fully loaded, thus warning the driver to back away. In this case, modifying the blade appropriately would involve significant effort.

Above: The bulldozer blade assembly comprised seven parts, and could be left moveable, although the main blade had the top flap moulded in the 'up' position.

There was a choice concerning the upper glacis plate depending on the specific sub-variant; the Mk.5/1 was offered with the up-armoured version without the box for the driver's hood. It should be noted not all dozer-equipped Centurions had this plating because of the already substantial weight of the blade. In this case, it was reasoned the Australian vehicles were somewhat hybridised so they would all have received the armour. Furthermore, Mk.5/1 tanks also routinely had a pair of spare road wheels mounted on the glacis, although there are reports of complaints from drivers that the nearside example partially obscured the driver's view. Some Australian vehicles had this wheel mounted lower down the glacis while some had it removed altogether (as on this model).

Above: Different glacis plates were supplied for the Mk.5 with a stowage box for the driver’s hood (top) and an armoured Mk.5/1 example with spare road wheels. That ahead of the driver’s position was omitted.

At the rear of the hull, all the Aussie Centurions had an auxiliary 100gal armoured fuel tank fitted to the rear plate and the kit offers this as an alternative to the standard fixture. The top deck and engine cover were very well detailed but some additional guard strips typical of operations in the jungle were added to the track guard stowage boxes. Strictly speaking, the track guards should have been replaced or strengthened with thicker material, but it was judged this would be barely noticeable in the scale, so wasn't attempted.

Above: Australian Centurions had extra steel strips welded to the stowage boxes to protect the latches – these were replicated.

Oceanic specifics

Turret components offered the options of early or late versions, type ‘A’ or ‘B’ gun barrels (the latter having a mid-length fume extractor and no muzzle counterweight) plus plain or canvas-covered mantlets for Mk.5 or Mk.5/1 variants. The last item was provided with the 0.50 cal ranging machine gun fitted to Australian vehicles.

In this case, the choice was easy; later turret, Type ‘B’ gun and covered 5/1 mantlet. The turret built easily, but again, some modification was needed to represent the bulk of Australian tanks, particularly with the removal of the front smoke dischargers. Similarly, the attachment of four support poles were for the commonly-fitted ‘hoochie’ rain/sun shade above the turret.

Above: Early/late turret tops, Type A/B barrels (the latter with a mid-barrel fume extractor) plus plain/covered mantlets were supplied. Australian-specific parts featured an additional ranging machine gun.

Above: Rubicon provided a tow rope represented by woven thread – this was replaced with twisted copper wire filaments taken from electrical cable.

All Australian vehicles were fitted with a turret-mounted stowage basket and many featured a large searchlight slaved to the gun. Components for the former were rather clunky and the enthusiast could potentially replace them with bent wire (in this build, they were disguised somewhat by adding brass mesh to the sides and underside, and filling with stowage). The searchlight was hollowed and a plain clear plastic ‘glass’ attached after painting the interior aluminium.

Above: Turret modifications included mesh added to the stowage basket, removal of the smoke dischargers and the rain shade supports.

Above: The main components of the build laid out. Note modifications to the turret – typical of the Vietnam deployment with a mesh-lined basket and supports for the ‘hoochie’ sunshade.

The track units were painted separately, first spraying the wheel centres with Mr. Paint MRP-349 SCC15 Olive Drab (www.albionhobbies.co.uk) and hand-painting the tyres with Vallejo 70.862 Black Grey (www.creativemodels.com). Track links were brush-painted with a homemade mix of Tamiya XF-64 Red Brown and XF-1 Flat Black (www.hobbyco.net) then dry-brushed with 70.865 Oily Steel.

Above: With the main components primed and assembled loosely, the excellent detail became abundantly clear.

Lower parts of the main hull were painted with MRP-349 and before fixing them, the tracks and hull had muddy accumulations replicated by stippling MIG Productions’ (now an Abteilung 502 product – ABTP031) Vietnam Earth pigment mixed with Vallejo ‘binder’. Everything was over-sprayed with shades of rust from the Vallejo Model Air range to blend the colours together and impart a generally dusty look. Final assembly was straightforward and various stowage items were added from Rubicon's own separate Allied Stowage Set 1 (280033). Final weathering was to add pastel chalk weathering to give some depth to the effects.

Above: Following the modifications, the turret was decorated and adorned with a figure in the open hatch.

Above: Initial weathering was undertaken before assembling the main parts, specifically, the addition of mud and earth with a mix of MIG Productions’ Vietnam Earth powder and Vallejo binding agent.

On its feet

While the model appeared to be a finished, dramatic effect could potentially be enhanced by placing it on a small base to represent a section of a Vietnam ditched country back road. A thin plywood base was cut to fit into a commercially-available picture frame and the landscape built with layers of 5mm foam board cut to represent the contours of a ditch. The whole composition fitted just within the height of the frame.

Above: The model was to be posed on a base representing a country road with a deep ditch running alongside the track.

Above: Slices of 5mm foamboard were stacked to provide to the ditch section with adequate depth.

The ‘skeleton’ of the base was coated with a thick layer of household filler and left to dry for several days before smoothing with a power sander and painting with two layers of artist's heavy structure gel coloured with Burnt Sienna acrylic. With the basic elements fully dry, a more representative colour was added using various shades of Vallejo Rust and Dark Brown stippled into the base of the ditch. It was then possible for clear resin ‘water’ to be applied before fixing grass tufts, foliage and simulated saplings from various model railway-intended sources and from Belgian company JoeFix (www.jfx-shop.com).

Above: The foamboard under structure was coated with household filler to suggest a roadway with deep ruts bordered by a ditch.

Above: The basic colour of Burnt Sienna was enhanced with various rust shades for a more realistic appearance.

Finally, adding visual interest, an empty rusty 200lit drum from Rubicon's stowage set was half buried in the ditch. ‘Scummy’ water was then added using two-part clear resin stained green with acrylic paint to complete the Centurion scene.

Above: The clear resin, tinted with green, gave a reasonable representation of stagnant water, while a worn barrel was also used to add to the scene.

Above: While barely representing jungle, the foliage gave the impression of being constrained to a narrow track through such an environment.

Rubicon's kits of World War Two and post-war armour might at first sight appeal to a limited market given the unusual scale. Size notwithstanding, these are excellent kits, superbly produced, very well detailed and represent a range of interesting subjects. The company’s products are very well worth a foray off the beaten track.