I decided to make another modification on the driver's visor armour. I wanted to put in the five fake mounting screws on this part but suddenly decided to remake the part from scratch. Nothing wrong with the original kit part but the new part should have a more true to life profile.
Milling the front and rear faces.
Adding the fake mounting screws.
I fitted all the visor armour bits and pieces.
Finished the front drive cases so that they will be ready to attach to the hull.
I first inserted the oil seal, pushed it into its opening with a bearing and then used a 15mm socket to continue pushing it all the way home.
Then glued the front and rear bearing with Loctite 638.
Using a depth micrometer, I measured the clearance I will have between the face of the driven gear and the side of the hull - 0.7mm. Not bad if I can manage to hold the shaft of the gear in one place and not let it float sideways.
I managed to fit all the road wheels to the model. With the swing arms set at 30 degrees it is very difficult to fit the wheels with the tank hull right way up, so with the help of my wife I put the tank hull upside down to fit the wheels. Removed all the masking tape from the axles and with some 400 grit sand paper removed any signs of rust and wiped them with some acetone.
This next step is not recommended by Armortek but I did it for rust protection. I live close to the sea with high humidity so rust is a big concern to me. I applied to each axle some general purpose grease.
Fitted the wide spaced road wheels. At this stage they are just resting on the inner bearing.
Fitted the first narrow road wheel between the wide spaced wheels. This is also just resting on the inner bearing.
Continued with the rest of the narrow road wheels.
All road wheels were inched inwards until the axle shoulder was reached.
Wheels were locked in place with the kit supplied fittings and using 0.1mm shim washers so that when the screw is tight the road wheel will still turn freely. Most wheels only needed one shim washer but three wheels needed more than one shim washer.
PART 8 HERE PART 10 HERE
