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Churchill Never Looked So Good

a build story by Werner Kampfhofer
14
Comments

Foreword

The reason for building this kit was the “Best Allied Vehicle” contest, from www.Panzer-Modell.de. This means some stress, as for finishing, taking pictures and submitting items there is not much time left as the contest is limited to 1 and a half months. I have chosen an additional “challenge” and reworked an old M4A4 of mine which should also participate.

I thought, in the back of my mind, that Tamiya’s Churchill resembled a Mark VII, while for the AVRE version the earlier Mark III’s or IV’s were used. Therefore it was necessary to backdate the Tamiya kit, which was quite time consuming and stressful if one is caught in a 1 and a half month timeframe.
 

History

The Churchill's development was based on the experiences from WWI and thus a heavy infantry support tank with trench crossing capabilities was requested. The first Marks were delivered in June 1941. They suffered from many “children-diseases” and it took almost one year to sort them out.

For many people one Churchill looks as the other but there were at least 11 versions, with several subversions, in production. For the invasion AVRE ( Assault Vehicle Royal Engineers ) versions were introduced. One of these variants is the AVRE with 290mm Portar Mortar. This weapon threw a 40 lb. bomb (General Wade’s Flying Dustbin), and was supposed to destroy fortifications.

Copyright ©2002 - Text by Werner Kampfhofer (tankbuster). Photos by Wolfram Bradac. All Rights Reserved.


About the Author

About Werner Kampfhofer (tankbuster)
FROM: WIEN, AUSTRIA


Comments

210cav
Werner--Danke. Great job as always. DJ
AUG 06, 2002 - 02:15 AM
staff_Jim
I hope everyone is going all the way to the END of the article. That's where all the finished pics are. Really I don't understand why this article has been read so much less than others. Is the Churchill that disliked?? Jim
AUG 27, 2002 - 01:48 PM
Kencelot
No Jim. I was stuck at work for the past month and am now just discovering it! Very, very nice job Werner! I love it's ugliness so much it's beautiful. Really!
AUG 27, 2002 - 05:29 PM
BlueBear
I've always found the Churchill interesting. I have a couple 1/72 AVRE's with small box-girder bridges, an AMRCR, a Mk. 7, a Mk. 1 and a Mk. 2CS. If you want, its not impossible to make the full AVRE family. A facine carrier would be an easy mod for the old Matchbox AVRE and once you got the framework for the bobbin made, the matting wouldn't be hard to do---just check your local fabric shop, same for material for netting and base for hessian. It would be nice if someone out there in the world made detail parts to help us out some with small scale mods and conversions. I'm looking for 2 sets of production air intakes to graft onto a Hasagawa Mk. 1 and a Mk. 2CS for a Deippe diorama without having to cannibilize from other kits.
AUG 27, 2002 - 06:25 PM
AVRE165
hi may i say it is finished very nicely but!! to be correct. the main two points i have on the tank are :- (1) you have forgot to include the sliding Loaders hatch . this is where the Petard was loaded. (2) no AVRE that i have seen photographs or from crew man or my farther would ever fit a tool box on the rear everything was tied on the rear. main reason was because of fitting of the winch. some stowage boxes were fitted here but they had two "u" shape bits of metal which went in to the grills. historic notes. designed by Lt Deneveon Candian ME Company after the failure of Dieppie. the Petard was always called a flying Dustbin or Petard. a Wade Charge is a seperate charge stowed in side in the pannier doors to which the crew would climb out & attach to a obsticale to be destroyed. the fixings on the side are the CIRD fittings used as rightly said for attaching differant equipments. these were not fitted to Italian AVRE's, nice looking model ossie
MAR 18, 2004 - 07:40 AM
jimbrae
I never saw the feature....pity really as it is truly brilliant.....Jim
MAR 18, 2004 - 07:49 AM
zer0_co0l
woah cool thats the churchill thats on my british tanks rule tshirt.!!!! cooool nice piece of work!
MAR 18, 2004 - 08:46 AM
Graywolf
I first read this article as I see in the Dutch forum translating the Dutch article to English,glad to see the original now . The built ,the article and translation was all great :-) congrats Werner and Juul.
MAR 18, 2004 - 07:10 PM
Major_Goose
Now finishing my Churchill Crocodile , the mudding tracks work has been usefull to me and i have seen this article time ago . Very good work
MAR 18, 2004 - 07:39 PM
mikeli125
good article as resicast do a conversion for it as well and I think cromwell are supposed to be doing one Legend also has a conversion kit as well thinking of doing one got 3 churchhill tucked away and needing built!
MAR 19, 2004 - 06:21 AM
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