_GOTOBOTTOM
Armor/AFV: Modern Armor
Modern armor in general.
Hosted by Darren Baker
REVIEW
AFV Club IDF Sho't Centurion Mk. 5
wbill76
Visit this Community
Texas, United States
Joined: May 02, 2006
KitMaker: 5,425 posts
Armorama: 4,659 posts
Posted: Sunday, April 13, 2008 - 07:03 AM UTC
Pete Becerra provides an In-Box review of the 1/35 AFV Club kit 35159 IDF Sho't Centurion Mk. 5.

Link to Item



If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!
yankeearty
Visit this Community
Connecticut, United States
Joined: December 31, 2007
KitMaker: 73 posts
Armorama: 70 posts
Posted: Sunday, April 13, 2008 - 07:22 AM UTC
what a tank do know where to find it?
chefchris
Visit this Community
North Carolina, United States
Joined: February 06, 2006
KitMaker: 1,544 posts
Armorama: 1,464 posts
Posted: Sunday, April 13, 2008 - 07:27 AM UTC
The kit has been out for awhile now. All the online shops carry it (GMWS, Squadron, etc...) as well as the overseas shops which got them first. I got mine at HobbyEasy for @25 USD. The Shot Kal is also out now - Solid kit ; tons of applications.

Chris
Kelley
Visit this Community
Georgia, United States
Joined: November 21, 2002
KitMaker: 1,966 posts
Armorama: 1,635 posts
Posted: Sunday, April 13, 2008 - 01:49 PM UTC
Nice review Pete, thanks for getting this one done!

I would also like to apologize to AFV Club, "StaffJim", and Bill. Jim sent me this kit not long after it was released and AFV had sent it to the site for review. Due to "real" life things happening I didn't get to the review, thankfully, Pete was able to do so.

Regards,
Mike
jimbrae
Visit this Community
Provincia de Lugo, Spain / Espaņa
Joined: April 23, 2003
KitMaker: 12,927 posts
Armorama: 9,486 posts
Posted: Sunday, April 13, 2008 - 08:39 PM UTC
Thanks for that Pete - an excellent Review...

I must admit, that this one really interests me - never having built a single IDF vehicle in my life, it might just be the thing to do it as a one-off OOB...

Thanks again...
Nito74
Visit this Community
Lisboa, Portugal
Joined: March 04, 2008
KitMaker: 5,386 posts
Armorama: 4,727 posts
Posted: Monday, April 14, 2008 - 07:09 AM UTC
I agree, i have never build an IDF kit... i might start with this one !
NebLWeffah
Visit this Community
Alberta, Canada
Joined: October 13, 2004
KitMaker: 1,683 posts
Armorama: 1,248 posts
Posted: Monday, April 14, 2008 - 11:37 AM UTC
Nice review, thanks very much. I have both this kit and the Sho't Kal in my stash ready to build later this summer....oh boy oh boy, this'll be fun.



Bob
noliyam
Visit this Community
Philippines
Joined: December 19, 2007
KitMaker: 6 posts
Armorama: 5 posts
Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - 04:44 PM UTC
Thank you for a great review. I have the kit right now just getting it from my favorite hobby shop. I love british tanks and the Centurion is one of them. I'd like to ask you if you have had some models with the road wheels with separate rubber (inserts?). The reason I asked is because I had some bad expriences with these features from Academy. My Merkavas and a Lighning airplane came with these inserts which not only melted by itself but melted the plastic wheels as well. I hope AFV has a different vinyl formulation to avoid a repeat of this bad experience.
HeavyArty
Visit this Community
Florida, United States
Joined: May 16, 2002
KitMaker: 17,694 posts
Armorama: 13,742 posts
Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - 04:57 PM UTC
As long as you paint the plastic wheels first, with a good acrylic or enamel paint to seal them, you should have no issues with the rubber eating into the plastic.
Henk
Visit this Community
England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: August 07, 2004
KitMaker: 6,391 posts
Armorama: 4,258 posts
Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - 06:14 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Rather than spending longer time masking and painting the road wheels and tires, AFV makes it easier by providing separate vinyl tires. The wheels can be painted and weathered separately than the tire can be placed on.



For some inexplicable reason however, AFV have molded part of the (metal) wheel rim as part of the rubber tire... So some careful painting is still required.


Quoted Text

Rubber band style tracks are provided in the kit but separate individual tracks can be purchased, once again, from AFV if desired.



The rubberband tracks look very good, and buying a separate set of indi links seems a waste. Apart from the fact that you don't need to create track sag, on most modern tanks, most of the tracks are hidden behind the skirts.

It is a very nice kit though, I'm nearly finished with the NATO version one.

18Bravo
Visit this Community
Colorado, United States
Joined: January 20, 2005
KitMaker: 7,219 posts
Armorama: 6,097 posts
Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - 08:46 PM UTC
Not inexplicable really-
The detail inside the wheel could not have been molded in hard styrene. It would not have been able to be removed frm the mold. Otherwise you'd see the lack of detail inside the rim as on the old Tamiya kit.
NebLWeffah
Visit this Community
Alberta, Canada
Joined: October 13, 2004
KitMaker: 1,683 posts
Armorama: 1,248 posts
Posted: Thursday, April 17, 2008 - 03:38 AM UTC
On my AFV club Aussie Centurion that I converted to a Canadain Mk 11 LR, the same process is used where the tires are molded serarately from the wheel and hub, as it is with all of the AFV Club Centurion kits. I assembled the two parts using Ambroid Proweld (it was the only thing I had that stuck), airbrushed the wheel/hub colour and then painted the tires with a pointed brush using slightly thinned Gunze tire black. Capillary action with the thinned paint causes the tire colour to flow around the rim without any masking required. This techniques works very well and I'll use it again on the 105mm NATO, Sho't and Sho't Kal kits from AFV Club that I now have too. As 18Bravo pointed out, this molding and assembly technique allows the correct detail to appear on the rims and wheels.



Bob
Henk
Visit this Community
England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: August 07, 2004
KitMaker: 6,391 posts
Armorama: 4,258 posts
Posted: Thursday, April 17, 2008 - 03:58 AM UTC
Cheers for the explanation behind that 18Bravo. I hadn't looked at it like that yet. I tend to do the wheels last...

Henk
SEDimmick
Visit this Community
New Jersey, United States
Joined: March 15, 2002
KitMaker: 1,745 posts
Armorama: 1,483 posts
Posted: Thursday, April 17, 2008 - 02:45 PM UTC
Does anyone make replacement resin roadwheels for the Cent? I need them since I want to chew them up a bit, and thats a hard to do with the soft plastic they come in...
NebLWeffah
Visit this Community
Alberta, Canada
Joined: October 13, 2004
KitMaker: 1,683 posts
Armorama: 1,248 posts
Posted: Thursday, April 17, 2008 - 02:54 PM UTC
Not aware of any AM resin ones but have you tried going at the rubber tires with a blade or a dremel?



Bob
18Bravo
Visit this Community
Colorado, United States
Joined: January 20, 2005
KitMaker: 7,219 posts
Armorama: 6,097 posts
Posted: Thursday, April 17, 2008 - 09:08 PM UTC
Legend LF1098. Good stuff.
seb43
Visit this Community
Paris, France
Joined: August 30, 2005
KitMaker: 2,315 posts
Armorama: 2,158 posts
Posted: Friday, April 18, 2008 - 04:29 PM UTC
Dear All
I have a question concerning the Shot, historical one, If I would to depict a Shot for the Yom Kippur war this kit is useless or i can use it with minor modification AM parts maybe ?
Same question for the 1982 Lebanon war ??

TIA
Seb
junglejim
Visit this Community
Alberta, Canada
Joined: February 18, 2003
KitMaker: 1,728 posts
Armorama: 1,629 posts
Posted: Friday, April 18, 2008 - 05:09 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Not inexplicable really-
The detail inside the wheel could not have been molded in hard styrene. It would not have been able to be removed frm the mold. Otherwise you'd see the lack of detail inside the rim as on the old Tamiya kit.



Exactly, here's a shot of the real thing to illustrate (It's an inner road wheel, but same on the outside. For some reason I couldn't find a good pic of an outer one, out of the 100's of pics I had ) :



Notice the grooves on the inner rim. The Legend wheels are good, but they are also missing this detail. I can't figure out why so many don't like the AFV Club wheels, it's the only way to properly capture this feature.

Jim
Henk
Visit this Community
England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: August 07, 2004
KitMaker: 6,391 posts
Armorama: 4,258 posts
Posted: Friday, April 18, 2008 - 05:14 PM UTC
Nothing somuch wrong with the wheels, I suppose most people are put of by the fact that they still need to paint part of the rubber, and don't know why AFV have done it like this. I didn't, untill 18bravo explained it.

Another small problem are the sink holes on the hubs... easy enough to fix with a dab of glue, but annoying none the less. I'll post a pic tomorrow, when SWMBO returns from her 'Holiday'. As she took the camera...

cheese
Visit this Community
Florida, United States
Joined: April 16, 2007
KitMaker: 106 posts
Armorama: 31 posts
Posted: Friday, April 18, 2008 - 06:41 PM UTC
I ran into the wheel issue with the MK5 (or 3), as I choose to forget, Aussie Cent. Well painted the wheels as though they had nothing to do with the rims and went back to compare my progress to some pics. Lo and behold, the rim was part of the rubber!!! It was fun going back and fixing it. Cant say I had any problems with the plastic melting; could it be the glue?

On another note, just a good shot of auto primer (the not very sandy type) and everything can be painted. I found tamiya primer to not stick very well and that ended in a melting Porsche 911 GT2 after some brake cleaning fluid

As for why I choose to forget: My nephew, who is 3, broke into my office and decided that a tank should fly. What remained was indescribably heartbreaking.

Regards,
Mike
18Bravo
Visit this Community
Colorado, United States
Joined: January 20, 2005
KitMaker: 7,219 posts
Armorama: 6,097 posts
Posted: Friday, April 18, 2008 - 07:31 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Dear All
I have a question concerning the Shot, historical one, If I would to depict a Shot for the Yom Kippur war this kit is useless or i can use it with minor modification AM parts maybe ?
Same question for the 1982 Lebanon war ??

TIA
Seb



Don't want to

but...




Your best best for the October War is the new AFV Club Sho't Kal. You CAN use this kit for that conflict, but it requires the hull extension found in the new Sho't Kal kit, and engine deck louvers. It will look very similar to this '67 version, which again, the "IDF Shot Centurion" will not quite do for you:

All Centurions had been upgraded to Sho't Kal configuration by 1974, so it's very safe to say that the Meteor engined ones this review speaks of were not prevalent in October of '73. The fact that the vast majority of photos from '73 show the newer Sho't Kal would be a fairly good indicator of that as well.
seb43
Visit this Community
Paris, France
Joined: August 30, 2005
KitMaker: 2,315 posts
Armorama: 2,158 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 19, 2008 - 05:16 AM UTC
18 Bravo
Thanks my man for your explanation on the different models
Much appreciate
For kicking my a*** be my guest
But Margaritas will be better dont think so ??


Seb
NICK-NAUPLIO
Visit this Community
Argolis, Greece / Ελλάδα
Joined: March 14, 2008
KitMaker: 67 posts
Armorama: 57 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 26, 2008 - 03:05 AM UTC
Thanks for the review lads.
Next time i am at hannants i will certainly buy two of these babies.
Does any one know of any good book for the Israeli Centurion and any resin figures i could usefor it?
Thanks.
HeavyArty
Visit this Community
Florida, United States
Joined: May 16, 2002
KitMaker: 17,694 posts
Armorama: 13,742 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 26, 2008 - 03:16 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Does any one know of any good book for the Israeli Centurion and any resin figures i could use for it?



For figures, check here.
 _GOTOTOP