British Churchill Mk VII, 34. Tank Brig., 107. RAC. Backdating Tamiya’s Korea vintage ‘Crocodile’
Churchill Mk VII early, 34. Tank Brig., 107. RAC
This is Tamiya's 1/35 Churchill 'Crocodile' (which is Korean war vintage - high turret bustle, etc) to a WW2 vintage, as seen in the iconic photo's of 'Briton'
Opened track covers at turret (which apparently could jam the turret traverse with accumulated mud!), added inner structure to track sponsons, removed forward mud guard, modified intake ducts to early config (removing armor plates, etc) removed incorrect postwar hatch bustle and scratchbuilt flush turret hatch, Besa machine gun to replace flame thrower, scratchbuilt tow cables from solder, detailed oil and water cans and mounts, added weld beads. Replaced all tie downs with brass wire tie downs.
Hope you like!
And that’s the 2nd Churchill tank we see in the Highlights in the past few days! Not complaining obviously but for a tank that is seldom seen in the model form this is a feast for the eyes.
Am not an AFV modeler, and possibly because of that I have a rather unorthodox opinion about the amount of wear and tear that most model tanks I see around have. Call me conservative but I find them often way too much with some exceptions here and there if the historical context makes sense. Models like yours Collin are those I like better, but looking at those B&W photos I got the sensation tables have turned cause those real machines are Indeed dirty as hell :-). I like your Churchill a lot, much like the one Justin posted earlier, splendid models!
Thanks, I was inspired to show mine, after seeing the lovely Churchill from yesterday (congrats on that!)
I've always preferred minimal weathering to break up the toy-like look. My own opinion is, while they do go cross country at times, for the most part, armor seems to have kept to roads and should be weathered accordingly. (the obvious exception would be something like Kursk. Even then, the great clods of mud would dry and fall off, leaving dirt and dust behind)
That’s exceptional work there.. Really love the time frame too, as the Korean War seems to get overlooked quite often, and the Crocodiles used there.. great job!
Here's an interesting little size comparison - the Churchill vs the Panzer 'Maus' I was working on … talk about a mobile pill box!
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Great Tamiya Curchill Colin.. I'm a fan of the weathering and your mods! Found your article while searching for historical photos of the Churchill VII for my Tamiya kit. Thank you for bringing me to iModeler.com !