Here is my current project,

Im backdating Tamiya's old but excellent MkVII to a late Mk1 using a conversion from IMA.


The upper hull is pretty much prepared for use in the conversion. The mudguards have to be completely removed which involves a LOT of cutting and sanding. The central periscope in front of the drivers hatch must be removed too.


The front hull parts are a direct replacement for the kit parts. The conversion contains mantlets for both a Mk1 with 3 inch howitzer as seen here, and a Mk2 which mounted a BESA instead.


I apologise for the poor photo but this is the filler peices provided for the open sponsons in the base kit. With no mudguards these need to be filled and sanded to prevent gaps into the hull.


The new turret is superb, perfectly cast with a lovely cast texture.

Sorry for the poor light in the photos, its overcast today here.

Any comments welcome

Hi Joe,

Looks good and an interesting project. I like the Churchill, turned out to be a much better tank than it was first given credit for.

They built them at Vauhxalls in Luton, just across the road from where I live. They are just finishing tearing down the car factory where they were made - more jobs going overseas.

Look forward to seeing more of your build.

Thanks for psoting this.

Cheers

Al

Thanks for the reply Alan,

Im a big fan of the Churchill too, it has never been given the credit it deserved.

Heres some more progress






The hull has now been assembled, the grey areas down the side and the mottled effect on the flat areas is MR surfacer, used to either add texture or fill small gaps.

Thes shots give an idea of how different the early cast turrets were to the later ones.




Again any comments or critisms welcome

Hi Joe,

Looks great. It's a pity there aren't more of the varients in plastic injection form - the possibilities are endless.

Thanks again for those - enjoy the build.

Cheers

Al

Hi Joe nice work so far ...It really is great to at least be able to get conversion kits to back date the Churchill...Your project has got me thinking about trying my Cromwell Churchill AVRE ..but I better finish a few of my on going projects first ...Keep up the good work ...I'll be following this build closely... Did you see the build of this kit in the Model Military International #2? worth checking it out ...

all the best
Rick

Hi Joe

Great work im looking forward to seeing more progress pics.
I saw the review of the IMA conversion in a recent magazine , its nice to see it in the flesh so to speak , the castings and detail on the IMA parts look great.

Keep us posted


Thanks

Ian

Joe,

I just backdated the same kit to a Mark III Dieppe, only without a conversion kit. (hello, scratchbuilding), and I noticed a couple of things. First, if you take a look at the rear deck, you'll see a diagonal shaped thing with two bars coming into each side of it. THis is a much later version of the bracket for the hatch rods. I have inserted a picture of what this should look like on a Mark I (I used modified pieces of Eduard etch)



Do you intend to have any side hatches open? If not, I will not open that can of worms.

The front periscopes are too tall. They need to be lowered to the height of those on your new turret. I used resin, but the periscopes on the Tamiya TURRET may be the right height, but don't quote me.

Anyway, it looks great so far. Keep at it. If you have any questions, don't hesitate and I'll try to help.

Daniel