Friday, 5 April 2024

Cheeky Cromwell

 


A quick and fun build of a Cromwell from my Christmas stash (Airfix 1/76). Very pleased with it. A bit big for my 80mm hexes but still usable.

Reading around the subject of Cromwells while I was modelling I was interested to learn that the very large 17pdr Challenger variant was actually lower in height than a Sherman (2.77m to, say, 3m). I always imagined it as the same size as barn, so I am quite interested in seeing if there is a 1/76 Challenger available.

BTW many projects are in various stages so I'm planning to post a few updates this month.

13 comments:

  1. Colour looks good - can I ask what it is? The basic shade, I mean.
    Colkitto

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    1. Hi Colkitto, The base is Vallejo Bronze Green 70897. It turned out very dark so I did a heavy dry brush of Russian Uniform 70924. Final light dry brush of Dark Sand 70847. All pretty crude but it produces some nice depth of colour. Cheers

      Jay

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    2. Thanks Jay - I might need to try that!
      Colkitto

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  2. Nice model. There are a few 1/76 Challengers available- a very nice one from Milicast, an OOP Cromwell Models, a Frontline (cheap but with a number of inaccurate features) and a Butlers 3D printed model. There are also a number of 1/72 ones.

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    1. Thanks for the recommendations. I have some Frontline tanks so that looks like an option. It looks like £7 if I'm reading the list correctly.
      Cheers

      Jay

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    2. The Milicast and Butlers are more expensive but the Frontline doesn’t quite look like a Challenger especially the turret. I spent a fair bit of time modifying it to match the drawings and gave up on the hull.

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  3. Wow that model looks outstanding, sir!! I particularly like the hedgerow cutters on the business end.

    Also, if I had a Cromwell tank, I'd want it to be a cheeky one. 😋

    Looking forward to your updates this month.

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    1. Thank you DF! I will make them as exciting as possible :)

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  4. Nice job Jay, particularly on the tracks, which can be a struggle on Airfix kits (thank you super glue!), plus the highlighting on the track looks perfect, I have only just discovered the modellers trick of doing this with the graphite from a lead pencil.

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    1. Hi Norm, the tracks are a major improvement over the rubbery ones. However, not without their challenges. I ended up using silver on the track highlights, the gun metal I tried first was too dark. I think even with 1/76 vehicles I need to go a step lighter than I would expect to.

      Cheers

      Jay

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  5. A nice model. No messing around with tracks like the old Airfix kits.

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  6. Hi Peter, Thank you. The tracks are a major improvement on the old style. Hopefully we will see more of these..

    Cheers

    Jay

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  7. Fantastic little kit and well made and painted!

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