1:10 SCALE CHALLENGER 1 Anyone recognise this model?

[r2studios]

Hi all. I recently bought a 1:10 Chally 1 made from steel and brass. When I bought some months ago there were no tracks but with the kind help of Mark it now has some! Does anyone recognise it or know who built it. At a guess it was made in around 1984. Theres a rumour it was made at a tank base by apprentices but nothing certain. Everything on it is scratch made including the electronics. Any info much appreciated, just need to upload some photos when I work out how! Cheers.

[r2studios]

[r2studios]

I should mention it has serveral functions. Gyro stabilsed turret, top gun rotates, turret rotates and elevates and a rotating amber beacon.

[Bob G]

Not recognised but an interesting vehicle all the same.you said Mark helped you with the track, does that mean you have fitted CR2 track?

Looks fun project more pics when you can please.

[r2studios]

Hi Bob. The tracks are from a company in Germany that does 1:10 scale metal tanks. They arrived in kit form! Took a week to make them up...The chassis is rolling now but the 24v speed control has been sent off to be repaired as its very sick. I have got all the other functions going now tho. Gyro stabilised turret and gun elevation, machine gun and main turret turn and rotating amber beacon. I hope someone recognises this mystery machine...Cheers.

[r2studios]

More photos here: http://s574.photobucket.com/albums/ss187/studio_1999/

[Andyquirot]

Hi there i was going to buy this when i saw it on eb***ay have fun looks nice regards Andy Quirot

[saracen]

This is from a photo I took in the stores building at Bovington, during one of their "Access All Areas" days.



Certainly looks like a good match for yours, though I don't know whether it was made at Bovington or they acquired it from somewhere else.

Adrian.

[YorkshireCR2]

Well first of all, i wish it was mine.Secondly, i do know that the apprenticies at the Barnbow works, used to do project s like this, every apprentice would turn and make a part as part of there ciriculum and training over the two years.Could quite probabley originated from there cant be 100%, but i do know that they did a Chieftain.I also know that the Challenger 2 which is in solid gold at Bovington, used to take its prime position in the entrance hall at the Barnbow works in Leeds.If you ever want to part with it, give me a ring please.
Regards

Gary

[r2studios]

Hi All, Thanks for your replies. Yes it looks the same build as the photo challenger saracen put up (have you got any more photos of that model and did it look 1:10 scale also when did you take that photo it could well be the one I have in better days...). I was told by some ex ROF workers it looks like one of their apprentice pieces. Apparently they made models like these for inter factory competitions...Looks like the mystery is nearly solved. Cheers.

[saracen]

Hi.

Sorry, that's the only picture I took of that particular tank. I would guess it is probably about the right size for a 1/10th model.

The photo was taken in November last year so I doubt it's the same model.

If it is an ex-apprentice model, they might be willing to give you access so that you can do a side-by-side comparison.

Adrian.

[martinp]

The model was made in 1980 / 1981 by the apprentices at Barnbow in the projects shop in Leeds.
It was one of five Challenger 1 1/10th scale models produced.
The specific model is a pre production version of Challenger 1 and originally had a turret from the Shire 3 which was designed for Iran. You can tell this because of the raised glacis plate in front of the driver’s hatch which changed at vehicle 21 due to a change in the way the armour was attached to the hull.
We built two electric, two static and one powered by a very unreliable model aeroplane IC engine, I still have parts of the gear box.
The models where not used in any sort of inter factory competition as far as I can remember but where used as demonstrators for visitors and used by the design team for tinkering, hence the change of turret format on your model.
The best demo was to King Hussein of Jordan when the plastic tracks snapped just as it was going over a large wooden hill that we had built and everyone was hurried on to the next display to avoid further embarrassment.
The models where been constantly changed and bits and bobs added so the mess inside is down to this. The tracks we used had been injection moulded plastic and so did not last very long at all, why with all our engineering skills we did not make our own I can’t work out.

There was also a 1/10th scale Combat Engineering tractor (CET), an electric Chieftain, a very impressive prototype Challenger Recovery Vehicle, an SP122 built for Egypt know as the bread van, and three future concept tanks known as A, B and C, a version of Challenger with the Marksman AA turret, a Chieftain bridge layer, a Chieftain 900 and some Fox variants.

As you can see from the list we had great fun both building and playing with the fleet.
All these models vanished when Vickers took over the Factory and closed the apprentice school and project shop but the one in the last photo looks like one of our static versions as it still has its tracks.
If you need any more info just ask, its nice to see all our hard work is still around.
Martin

[Bob G]

Martin

great and informative reply, my interest though lies in the bit were you mentin Chieftain 900, as that is my current build, any shots of it (the model) I am building it after MoD finished with it and it was cut about to take the Centaur fire control system. As a 1 off it makes a great change. As i am sure you know the hull is on Lulworth ranges and the turret has just been sold.

[martinp]

I will check out my photos but as the factory was still part of the MOD when the 900 was made in Leeds there is not much chance as the use of any photo equipment was not allowed.
I was under the impression that there was two 900's built, so there may be another somewhere in a shed gathering dust intact. After Vickers took over the Leeds factory they were shipped to ROF Nottingham along with the GT501 (gas turbine powered chieftain) and the SP70 for a while, where I think I saw them whilst chasing up gun deliveries in the early 90's.
Most of the photo archive material was passed over to Leeds City Museum when we built the new Vickers factory at Leeds. This included all the site photographs that we had taken since WW2 and so if you are lucky they may have some of the 900’s.
There was an internal ROF newspaper called "Profile" which will have had a feature on the 900 with photos but alas I don't have any copies but some archive may have them.
Regards
Martin

[Bob G]

Martin
Thanks foor the reply, 2 built one called 900 and the other 800 which was used as publicity machine marked up as 900 and painted in sand, this resides at the tank museum.

You have also wetted my appetite about the GT Chieftain. Any info on that wil be grateully recieved. this has always proved to be a sort of myth but now you seem to give hard evidence. As you say any photos were hanging offences. When I used to return vehicles to Barnbow the urge to take shots was great but not worth the wrath of the Military.

In case you wonder about the Chieftain knowledge I am Bob Griffin who wrote Chieftain and am still updating it, even the wrecks move around more now than when in service.