Centaur half-track (British prototype)

thingiverse

This is a 1:76 model of an interesting prototype Land Rover variant that was developed by Lairds of Anglesey some years ago. It deserved better, but was only used on trials by the British Army, and a small number were purchased by Middle East customers, one acting as a personal transport for a N African dictator. It is an intriguing model, and might act as a fun variation in wargames. The starting point was a model in the SketchUp library by ram0761 (to whom my thanks). This was very helpful, but it had many limitations, so I re-engineered the design and updated sizes, suspension and shape. As usual, the work was done in 3D Builder and Sketchup, so thanks to Microsoft and AutoCAD. The half-track is an interesting compromise, but has not remained popular after WW2. The model has difficult tracks; these should be printed at the highest resolution (I have used 0.05mm) to retain the detail, and with supports only from the base in Cura, or the cleaning task becomes almost impossible without damaging the fine tracks. The radiator front is not ideal, but should do. The rest of the LR bits seem to be OK. Documentation suggests that the wheels and tracks came from the Scorpion family, which is why I started this project, but I do not believe that the wheels are Scorpion (they look too small in photos), so I have used my judgment. The model is without windscreen or cab top (there are photos supporting this variant in use); I hope to add these later. I do not know how to model canvas covers well at this stage! I hope this model is of interest to the community. Enjoy!