Looking very good John - keep at it!
Thanks you chaps @BootsDMS , @AfvAficionado @SSGToms and @frank for the continued support and keeping track of how things are going. And yes Frank, the tunnel end is fast approaching now ā¦then once the M1A1 for ODS is finished, I will crack straight on with the Chieftain Stillbrew will probably end up as C/S 31
Yeah, thanks Matt, Iām quietly confident that how they are now, and another cunning plan to introduce the correct sag will workā¦
I was also thinking about tracks in general last night as I put them together. Itās probably the same for most modern tracks but definitely for UK ones when they get issued as replacement sets.
We all seem to spend ages priming them, painting them every colour of brown and rust then weathering them to within an inch of their lives. Now this in most circumstances is fine that have been on exercise or deployed for a lengthy period but not necessarily for wagons that have only just had a very recent track change, or even been in barracks for while.
A new set of UK tracks, definitely for CVRT, Ajax, Chieftain, Challenger and others all come in a black (with a semi gloss appearance) finish. And even once on exercise, it takes a good while for this to rub off and rust etc to settle in ā¦ So in the future, maybe on my future Stillbrew , I may do that on a concrete hardstandingā¦with new black tracks ā¦
Just a random thought lol
John, I was musing over track finishes only the other day myself; my Leopard project (coming soon folks) reflects no small use on exercise. I tend to base it all on a day out I had with my son on his Chally a few years ago, when I took - amongst others - these pics; this was all after a mere 3 hours on the Driver Training Area near Tidworth (which Iām sure you are familiar with):
where to be honest, youād be hard pushed to identify the āsilveredā teeth - which we nearly always try and replicate on our models - let alone any base colour whatsoever.
To me it looks like copious amounts of Tamiya Buff are needed (which sadly tends to be my cop-out default anyway):
I hope to complete a model of this particular tank some time this year.
Anyway, this is not to play Devilās Advocate or anything (after all, who am I to teach a former RAC bod to suck eggs?) but just to show where my methodology comes from; 'look forward to more pristine tracks on whatever you devise, in due course!
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Those are some nice pics Brian, that used and abused look is nice at times. I also like it has bot types of road wheel on show as well. When I do my Chally 2 later this year I will be doing it as an OPFOR wagon and that dirty look may be coming out on it as well. 
I started my build (recurring theme here) back in 2011 when I took the pics; I used the Trumpeter kit and thought Iād procure some of the Accurate Armour roadwheels so I could replicate the real thing. Once received I then discovered that they were a different size to the kit wheels, so back it was to AA to order some of the ānormalā wheels; it was all becoming a bit pricey but I laboured on, in my normal slow fashion. Sadly, in 2012 my lad was injured so the kit was put on the back burner - I just couldnāt face doing it. However, fast forward and I think I can now tackle it; it wonāt be pretty - dark earth and Tamiya Buff to the fore I think!
Hereās another shot:
So I hope to have something like this when finished.
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Sorry John - just realised Iām guilty of a huge thread hijack - quick - put up a pic of Striker quick!
LOL ā¦ thats ok ā¦ its all good Tank chat
but here we go ā¦
From an online source for reference only.
Back on track 
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Phew!
Iāve never seen Swingfire fire - bit of a bloody bang I imagine?
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Sadley not, more of a stuttering fart then a whoosh as it tracks off ā¦ that pick shows the initial launch angle when it loops up to a max of about 50m then tracks back into the operators LoS while it goes to target ā¦ what is impressive is when detonates as a faulty missile above the Comds cupola or you have a complete missile come out still in its container, or you have a hang up which doesnt launch and burns off in the launch bins.
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We had a missile slag the launcher bin back in the 90ās because of a hang up. The crew had to wait for the rocket motor to burn out before they could exit the vehicle but the fire spread to the other missiles and the vehicle had to go to base overhaul.
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Iāve seen one go off as a hang up from the bunker at Otterburn, and the crew said it is a pucker twitching time lol ā¦ I have a had one go above the cupola which is another shock to the system, thankfully I had a spare pair of boxer shorts in my day sack in the wagon lol ā¦luckily they arenāt massive bangs as the warheads are the Prac ones, which most of the problems come from, as the missiles are made as Live and for range periods have to go back and converted into Practice ones.
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For the record, my Sqn - 77 Armoured Engineer Squadron, based at M-Grad, built the MNDSW HQ at the Metal factory from scratch in 1994. It took from April to June, 7 days a week, 14 hours a day.
Accommodation, ablutions, helipads, refuelling site, cookhouses, the lot.
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And very comfy it all was too!
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If you want arse twitchingā¦ try a live Giant Viper in BATUS that for some reason went vertical as it left the rail, climbed to its full extent and then returned to earth, coiling itself up on top of our AVRE.
1.5 tonnes of CEā¦
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LOLā¦ I will give you that one !! ā¦ Misfire ā¦ 30minutes ā¦ wait out ! ā¦and pray ā¦and pray ā¦
OH MAN! Maximum pucker factor on that one!
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Yes. We never did work out why the launch quadrant failed, but it did. Couldnāt get out through the hatches as the coil was sitting on top of them.
Fortunately (but unbeknownst to us at the time) the fuse hadnāt been fired because the viper needs to achieve maximum velocity in flight for the drogue chute to deploy properly enough to pull the pin.
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Err, no, you can keep that memory - not something I would want to participate inā¦