jarndice

Thanks for the updates. Saving my pennies,

afv aficionado

Very interesting. Presumably Andrew is aware of the differing fender stowage boxes - early ones top opening, later, & retrofitted, being side opening - design wise, all that requires is that the bins are removable a la Chieftain.
Same with the turret top plate, and engine & tranny decks which you've already mentioned.

Ideally periscopes would be left empty, modding those on Chieftain has been fun.

Hopefully the turret stowage boxes are separate from the turret? That was a surprise for me with Chris's Cent - in 1/16th the gap is noticeable, whereas on my smaller Cents - 1/35th & 1/24th - it's not.

The engine decks of the Mk 3 Cent are a diabolical design, which you only need to suggest rather than follow.
Has Andrew mentioned crew figures - his Chieftain crew are really good.

Mal

Top Opening Fender Stowage boxes - actually open

Early top opening stowage boxes

Turret - Stowage box gap RHS rear

More Turret - Stowage box Gap RHS front

Turret - Stowage boxes gap LHS

Little seen detail behind turret LHS of hull in front of engine decks (turret reversed here)

The diabolical engine deck interior

tankman

Some good questions there Mal, I will try to get you some answers to them ASAP. Also thanks for the reference pictures, I will pass these on to Andrew. Give me a couple of days to try hold of Andrew and get some clear answers for you.

RichJohnson

Having his own dedicated control system is such a bad idea I can’t say it stronger.
the Henglong 6.1S is out there and I think close to what he had in the cheifton. It runs servos for elevation and recoil and supports Tamiya interoperability out of the box. And if you add the aftermarket apple made by the Etsy legostore guy they work great. Designing his own system will cost him more add more to the tank and wind up being useless like a taigen system. Open tank, grab, pull, throw away. Plan on then spending 1-200 more on an MFU system. So yeah, bad idea.
case in point, Hooben Fury ez8. What a POS system. Stick to already designed off the shelf components like standard rotation unit, elevation unit or servo style, with recoil and a good proven mfu...
if you go it your own way, you wind up like hooben... with junk.

tankme

Wouldn't offering the tank with no electronics work also?

tankman

Hi Rich, thanks for your input. Having spoken to Andrew about his new board he is aiming to surpass the limitations inherent in the Heng Long 6.1 system. Yes he wants the board to have up to four interchangeable sound sets, yes he wants it to fire BB’s and recoil, as well as IR battle with Tamiya protocol equipped tanks as well as Heng Long,Taigen and Torro protocol equipped tanks. He wants servo control for at least two functions. He has also asked for the board to be upgradable to support an aftermarket barrel stabilisation system.
Features many may want in an RTR model, he also recognised the fact that there are some out there who will not want a RTR control system in there tank and to that end he will as with the Chieftain be offering a limited number of Centurions with no control system battery or charger. He was at pains to point out that the new board will be tested not just by him but by the RCTR RC tank club, and if the system is a failure he is prepared to keep using the same system as in his Chieftain rather than risk putting a poor system into his model. Hope this is good news for you Mal.

tankman

Hi Mal, managed to catch up with Andrew tonight and raised your points with him. Unfortunately your concerns are well grounded in so much as Andrew confirmed some of your fears. His reply to your enquire was “ Haya is going to primarily produce ready to run models, and we discovered that with the Chieftain adding removable parts and opening lids on the bins increased manufacturing and assembly costs. Also customer feedback on some of these features was often more of a negative reaction than a positive one. With this in mind we have tried to provide an accurate generic base on which if a modeller so chooses they can rework to build the Mk of Centurion they want. Unfortunately there is a trade off between producing a model kit and producing a RTR model, that trade off must be in what a low volume producer like Haya ltd can cost effectively mould separately. Due to improvements made on this model like road wheels with separate rubber rims, bearings in the roadwheels, rotating cupola, removable engine deck to mention a few, it was felt adding detachable stowage bins on the turret and mudguards was for us not cost effective enough to warrant going down this route. We know this is not going to please everyone but neither would a big increase in prices”. So unfortunately Mal turret and side stowage bins are moulded in one and not separate items. But the good news is that there will be 3 crew figures available for the Centurion if that helps ease the pain of moulded bins.

afv aficionado

Hi Tankman
Those suspension improvements are a big plus, can't help wonder if they'll be backward compatible with Chieftain?
As for the rest of my suggestions - If you don't ask....
Though keeping in mind there is probably a limit, as you've indicated.

Might be better to approach Chris for CNC bin upgrades, think that might be the better (cheaper) route than 3D printing. My Chieftain cupola upgrade suggests that to me.
Good news on the crew.

Mal

tankman

Another good point you’ve raised Mal and one RCTR have already put to Andrew. As yet no definitive answer has come back as Andrew is awaiting the 3d printed parts for his Centurion to be done. Once compleat they will be a test fitting of a set to a Chieftain hull to confirm fit and function. He explained that although he specified the parts should be interchangeable between models he is reluctant to confirm this is actually the case until it’s physically fitted and checked to his satisfaction that all parts are indeed a straight swap between models.

afv aficionado

Hi Tankman
Very prudent. Will await further updates.

Mal

jarndice

The Centurion has been a must have for many years so if the expected demand actually does appear I would imagine that it would not be long before upgrades from all over the r/c Armour World began to appear as witness the 1/16 Tiger1,

tankman

Interesting point Jarndice, but one thing to remember is that this will be a small production run like the Chieftain, numbers being in the thousands range not tens of thousands like Heng Long. So I am doubtful if the bigger aftermarket producers will be quite so quick to jump on that particular band wagon. In saying that with the way 3d printing is developing there may well be some enterprising people out there who may see this as an opportunity to provide some aftermarket parts for the hobbyist.

Crius

Here's a suggestion, if Andrew were to do the STL files for storage boxes that open, he could then include those files with the purchase of a tank and you could print your own. Or get one of your buddies to print it for you. I'll volunteer to do a few for guys on the Forum. All I need is the STL file.

tankman

Good idea Crius, but I doubt Andrew will ask his design team to do those STL files as he would have to pay for there time with no guarantee of sufficient return on costs. However the idea has merit and if some enterprising Individual out there were to do those files or even print the parts themselves they could be on to a winner. There are a few of the guys on the forum into 3d printing but l’m not sure if there into the design side of things. I will make some inquiries and see if anyone is interested in doing what you have suggested.

jarndice

I have an unhealthy passion for the Panzer 4 and I have tried with some success to build all of the variants and I have been helped by small companies printing or casting small runs of the parts that make the conversion from Heng Long/Taigen/Tamiya PZ4 Ausf F1/F2/J to the other types and rest assured Crius will not be the only user of a 3D printer with the skill to print tool box lids and all the other ephemera that would help in changing a Mk 7 into a Mk10 or an IDF or Aussie Army Cent.

bowlman

I'm on a IDF tank kick right now building a M50 then the M51 with cast hull this would be great addition four an IDF Centurion .
Thanks
Jimmy

tankman

No such thing as an unhealthy passion for the (German Sherman) Panzer lV I am in the process of working on one myself. This is a “what if “ build if things had gone on into 1946. Just using parts I had in the spares box and an old Panzer lV chassis I had left over from a previous build. Done the usual things such as slope the rear deck, raise the front sprocket, alter the gun mantlet so it sits closer to the turret face. Now working on fitting 3d printed Steel wheels. I will pop it in a new thread rather than hijack this one.

MAUS45

Any closer to a release date?

Fsttanks

It’s still on the drawing boards in design phase, so 12-18 months is a safe time frame to expect it in.

If it arrives sooner then GREAT!

tankman

Hi guys, in answer to your question Haya ltd are hoping to release there Centurion in 2021 at some point, from what info Andrew has given us. Obviously there is no guarantee as there are things outside of Andrews control that is why there is no concrete release date. However I will keep you all informed on any updates good or bad as soon as we get the info.

MAUS45

Great news!!! Thanks for keeping us informed!!!

afv aficionado

Just saw these posted at RC Tank warfare, apparently the design phase is complete. Makes an interesting contrast to pics of the Tamiya Cent.
The actual posts - https://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/foru...hp?f=1&t=32802 - & - https://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/foru...hp?f=1&t=32802 -

Mal

Later side opening hull stowage bins

To my eye the rubber tyres look a bit thick here?



The tow rope looks accurate




The vanes on the barrel evacuator are weights to balance the shortened 50 cal RMG, which displaces the coax from it's usual place, necessitating a new port between the RMG & main gun - missing in this shot

Accurate Gunners scope, but gap between stowage bins & turret need enhancing

Drivers hatches with interior scopes

3D searchlight optional

Loaders hatch interiors

Side opening fender stowage boxes

30 cal on Commanders cupola

RichJohnson

That’s too bad. He’s a day late with his project.
Since his prices are so high for a quasi taigen / henglong type model I don’t see his product selling well over Tamiya when it will be close in price.

if I were him I would write off the development loss and immediately move to the M60a3 or whatever other tank he wanted to do that no one else has before they beat him to the punch again.

afv aficionado

Hi Rich
To quote Oddball, Aka Donald Sutherland - Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves?

Mal

pitstain

I would love a nice M60a3 as much as the next guy but the Haya tank has a larger market audience in the people who do not want to or simply can't build a kit, not my cup of tea as I prefer building everything but still plenty of fish in the sea for the Haya tank.