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John Healy
151 articles

1/35 Cromwell Mk.IV

February 27, 2019 · in Armor · · 14 · 5K

This is the kit that dates from 1997. It's also the first armor model that I've posted here on imodeler. I actually started it several years ago and ran out of steam to complete for various reasons.

I spent January happily working away on my Hasegawa Lancaster kit until the famous Polar Vortex hit Chicago on the 31st. I was at the painting stage with the Lanc, but really didn't feel like airbrushing and exhausting heat out of my basement workshop with outside temperatures of -28F. Not one to waste modeling time, I pulled this kit out that had already been sprayed with its basic paint job! I intended to do a bit of work on it and get back to the Lancaster. I started having so much fun, that I just finished it. It's built pretty much out of the box except for the Hessian tape camouflage netting and some stowage that I added from a couple of aftermarket sets that I picked up. I also added some railroad chain to the bow of tank. I made the nets from Pegasus netting and Tamiya tape strips, cut and painted with various greens. The entire model was painted with Humbrol enamels. It's finished as a 2nd Battalion, Welsh Guards vehicle from the Market Garden timeframe. I'm not a very good figure painter and decided to hold off painting the commander until I study up a bit! This was a lot of fun and I have a couple other armor projects in mind to tackle in the near future. Up until now, I've been good for one tank kit per decade. The last two were a King Tiger built in 2005 and an Is-2 Stalin done in 1995. Thanks for looking.

Reader reactions:
8  Awesome

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14 responses

  1. That is one awesome looking Cromwell, John! Congrats for pulling it off after so many years!

  2. Wow wow wow. What a wonderful model. A great job.

  3. For not building armor all that often, you really knocked this one out of the park ! I especially like the camouflage wrap on the main gun barrel, and stored on the rear fender.

    As a former US Army tanker, I can say from personal experience that yours looks spot on... I say go for it and build up some more.

    Like you I have several armor builds planned for this year. Once in a while it's a welcome change to build something different. Two thumbs up my friend !

    "liked"

    • Thanks, Louis! Compliments coming from a guy who operated these things is much appreciated. I just researched images of Cromwells and studied up on armor techniques online. I ended up doing this real old school, Shep Paine style. A style that I really admire. One thing I noticed is that these Welsh Guards Cromwells seemed to carry less stowage then Shermans. Maybe because they were the reconnaissance element of the Guards Armored Division? Anyways, I tried to make it interesting without loading it up unrealistically. Thanks again!

  4. John, this is excellent, I really like the overall look and especially the nice touch with the weathering. Well done !

  5. Good looking Cromwell Chuck, nicely done.

  6. Excellent target you achieved there!

  7. I finally painted the figure!

  8. Great looking Cromwell, it really has a realistic hint on it, well done

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