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A new side piece was cut from 10th plastic card using a photo taken from the 35t at Aberdeen Proving Ground, to add to this a piece was cut and glued across the two parallel members which would be on the underside when fixed. This assembly was then glued in place and a 1mm strip was then glued to the top of the scraper blade flush with the hull
We now come to the sights for the mgs and the driver. The Mg sights were made from strip plastic with a hole drilled out near one end which was then rounded. The strip was cut to length and the base cut and the whole assembly was super-glued to the barrel. This was repeated for the other mg.
The driver’s site was made from a length of 0.5mm tubing, from Precision Metals, and a loop from thin brass wire which came from a small motor out of an electrical appliance. These are great sources of wire and depending on the type it gives different diameters from transformers and motors. The loop was formed around a small diameter drill bit and the ends twisted together. The excess was cut off and both parts were soldered together. This method gives the joint more strength than a glued one and as the part is exposed I thought this advisable. The part was then glued into the front plate which had been drilled out.
The tow rope from the kit is made of plastic and I decided to make a new one using the tow cable ends. The ends were cut off and a hole was drilled into the ends to accept the new cable.
Three strands of wire were cut to twice as long as required. One end was twisted together and put into a bench vice, the other was put into a drill. The drill was switched on to rotate at a slow speed and this twisted the wire. Watch the twists and stop when they are the correct size and taught. Pull the wire tight to ensure it’s straight.
Cut this to a little over the size of the plastic one and then using super glue fix the ends.
One cable end was then glued to the hull and when dry the cable was bent round the jerry cans on the rear plate the free end was then glued to the jerry can top handles. The wire was glued to the hull and a small clip was manufactured from the ever useful wine bottle foil. One final touch was a small box added to the engine deck in front of the jerry cans.
