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Cromwell ARV Mk I Conversion

Decals, Markings, and Stowage

I opted for a well know vehicle most likely from C Squadron 2nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry (see page 17 British Tanks in Normandy) who were the Armoured Recce Regiment of 11th Armoured Division. One point to note on this vehicle is that the rear mud guards need to be cut down to a smooth type and the front fenders need a slight alteration too. The Tamiya decals provided are suitable for this vehicle but the front 45 needs to be cut down a bit to fit. No WD number exists for this vehicle that I am aware off so I opted for a 2NY one with a number obscured by mud. The squadron sign was painted on by hand as I had to amend it to a white version.

Stowage came from various bits left over from other builds. The last elements in the form of a spare battery and petrol spout were added and the build finished by adding the small PE antenna and blanking plate for the top of the cable.

Paints used were:- Tamiya, XF61 Dark green and FX 62 Olive Drab, Tamiya XF 64 Dark Brown, Taniya X 10 Gun Metal, Tamiya XF Metallic Grey, Tamiya XF1 Matt Black, Tamiya XF 66 Light Grey, Tamiya XF 18 Medium Blue, Tamiya XF 75 Buff, Tamiya XF 49 Khaki, Tamiya XF 2 Matt White, Humbrol Matt 70, Vallejo Yellow Ochre, Vallejo Dark Sand 70847, Vallejo Ivory 70918, Mig pigments Dark Mud P033, European Dust P028, Light Dust P027, and Filter Dark Brown for Green P245

Conclusion and References

Overall a really enjoyable build, I had an issue with the rear hull plate that required a bit of sanding on one side of the Tamiyamold kit. I thought at first I had made a build error somewhere, but close inspection showed one side of the kit was slightly longer than the other, perhaps I got a Friday one. A fun build and a good learning experience.

References:

Imperial War Museum website
British Tanks in Normandy by Ludovic Fortin (page 17 picture from Tank Museum 406/B2)
Cromwell Cruiser Tank 1942-50 by Osprey Publishing
Article by John Prigent in Military Modelling Vol 31 No 4 2001