Challenger 1 mk 3
I've been promising this one for a while! Sorry for the delay, I thought this would be finished ages ago, but you know how it is! Plus I thought I'd best leave it for a bit after Bernd's show winning Challenger, I wasn't in a hurry to follow that!
The kit is a Tamiya 1/35 and my first attempt at building armor. I chose to go for the heavy weathered approach with this one with it being an older tank which has seen its fair share of conflict. The kit fit together like... well like a Tamiya kit! You have the choice of building the 1990 gulf war version with the extra armor as shown, or the NATO version. I've included a paint pot in the last photo to get an idea of the size.
As many of you know this is the British army Challenger 1 MBT. It replaced the Chieftain in 1983 and served till 1998 when it was replaced by the Challenger 2. The Challenger 1 had a great success rate in the first gulf conflict and not a single tank was lost. Some were damaged but none were completely written off! The Iraq republican army was reported to have lost in the region of 300 tanks to the Challengers.
I really enjoyed this build and was lucky enough to receive the Tamiya Challenger 2 for Xmas from Claire, ( and also a Chinook ). I'm not going to promise a date for either! I'm definitely going to start a tank collection though, I promise you all that!
Thanks for looking.
Beautifully finished and photographed, Richard - a really nice job all around - I like it a lot.
Thank you very much mate! Cheers
Definitely worth waiting for, Richard, it looks great. Please tell us some more about the painting and weathering. Is it an OOB build, or did you add some extras?
Cheers George, thanks! It's completely OOB. I used Tamiya acrylics, Flory models washes and Mig pigments.
Really great model Richard. Well worth the wait.
California Steve
Cheers Steve, thanks very much!
Whether the first or fiftieth attempt this is about as good as a piece of armor gets.
Very well done Richard.
Thank you Al, really appreciate that!
Wow Rich ! you really nailed that one ,really nice finish and weathering,very well done mate .N.
Thanks mate! Much appreciated.
Richard this is a winner! I like the weathering that you have done on this one!
Cheers Morne, thank you!
The weathering is a plus for this build. A pristine Challenger just doesn't look right. Yours has that lived-in look that sets it apart.
Thanks Rob. When I build the Challenger 2 I don't think I will weather it quite as heavy being a newer tank, but your right there. Any tank with a service history needs to have a used look!
Brilliant job Richard, the weathering looks great, and all the detail really sticks out thanks to some great dry brushing. I like it a lot 🙂
Thank you very much! Glad you like it!
A very nice Challenger, Richard. With this well applied weathering its looks
really impressive. Great build, you should do more tanks !
BTW Thanks for this compliment 🙂
No bother mate, compliments where they are deserved, and thanks very much! I definitely will do more, really enjoyed this build.
Big beastie there Richard, nicely done too.
You don`t really get the size of them until get up close to one, but there is not a great deal of room inside them.
Well done mate.
Looking forward to the next one.
Thanks Simon! It is something I would like to do, and that's visit a few military museums, check some of these machines out up close. When sat next to the Apache in the same scale, you do get a good idea of it's size!
Love this, Richard - great job! Am putting the finishing touches to a Tamiya Chieftain which as it happens is my first attempt at armour as well (well, my first proper attempt in a loooooong time). Love the weathering, and it looks nice & "heavy".