Hi guys,

Some pics of the Cromwell AVR Mk I I'm working on. It's the Tamiya kit with the AA conversion, with a home made interior.



















If anyone has a pic of the rear of this vehicle I'd appreciate it as I'm aving real problems working out how the rear tow arrangement goes.

Also anyone with REME/LAD knowledge and thoughts on the markings use would be appreciated. I want to show it with a Centaur Dozer, would these only have been use at Brigade Level or would the LAD units have been equipted with them?

Cheers

Al

Allan,
give me a bit of time to check through my ref's, I must have misread your earlier posts I tought you said a Churchill ARV. I've done this one.

Cheers

Craig

It's in the post Al.

Cheers
Kevin

Al-- if you do not mind me asking. How much did that AA conversion cost? They were very expensive at one time.
thanks
DJ

Hi guys,

Craig and Kevin thanks guys.

DJ the basic conversion is £25.00 or £21.28 export. I got their Combi Kit (Conversion Set and the Tamiya Cromwell) which was £39.99 or export £34.03.

Hope this helps.

Al

Hi Alan,




As a "rough" rule of thumb, ARVs were used by LADs down to squadron level, so markings would be the same at rest of the sqn, except that the background for the unit tacsign would be Blue/Yellow/Red. As for a Dozer, it would probably be attached from Brigade or Divisional resources and carry the markings of an Assault Regiment RE.

All that said, great looking model. I really like the way you have done bare metal finishes, the variation between the shackles and the holdfasts and within the various parts of the vice are just spot-on. And the wooden blocks and planks look just great. Keep up the good work.

cheers
David

Hi David,

Thanks very much for that, I can sort the markings from there.

Would the Dividional RE troops have worn the black beret? I assume the LAD guys would wear the unit beret with the RE badge.

Thanks again, glad you like it so far.

Cheers

Al

Good Lord Alan, another project, l.o.l. Nice work I like it alot.
Is this future Nan-Red stuff ? Sorry not up on British, Canadian, or American stuff that was there.
Make sure you add your wonderful dusting job, your armor has a realistic " in the field look ".
Cheyenne

Looks great so far Alan! Whatever happened to the Centaur Dozer?


Jeff

Hi Glenn,

Just indulging in my interest in AVRs, somthing I've wanted to try for a while. Nothing major, just my armoured interest and a nice change to try something different and get more practice working with resin and PE.

Hi Jeff,

The Dozer is in the box lol, this looked the easier of the two to start on.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Cables, stowage and tracks next, I should probably have done the tracks first lol, lol

Cheers

Al

Hi Alan,



Good question

First the easy one. LADs wear the "tribal" dress distinctions of the unit they are attached to, with their own cap badge and shoulder flashes. i.e. Black beret with REME cap badge.

Now RE Divisional, Unless someone comes up with evidence to the contrary go with the black beret, although RAC rimless helmets or GS caps are also possibilities.

From what I can gather, Centaur Dozers were late entrants in the war, coming into service in late 1944 early 45. They were used by the 87th Assault Dozer Sqn, RE and carried the unit number 819 on a Cobalt Blue background. with the 79th Divisional sign.

cheers
David

Hey Alan,
That looks great, can hardly wait to see it fitted with tracks and crew .
And a Centaur Dozer too, jeez, where do you find the time?
I wish someone like Formations or Armoured Brigade would do a British Sherman ARV Mk. I or II or a Sherman BARV.
Finding and getting anything from Resicast , Cromwell or AA is not only difficult but an expensive proposition to boot here in Western Canada.
Anyway, keep up the great work.
Cheers

jjumbo

Hi David,

Many thanks for the Div markings and Dozer info and also your thoughts on head .dress.

John,

understand your frustration. The conversions are not cheap and I imagine shipping adds a fair bit too.

I was always disappointed that Tamiya never developed the Churchill, Cromwell/Centaur and Bren kits beyound the basic model, there are so many piossibilities.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Cheers

Al

That really is a fantastic piece of work you've done - thanks for posting it!

Just a comment, personally speaking I like it the way it is - I don't think i'd weather it at all...

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the feedback. The light was just right when I took the pics but that's just the base coat I've been adding as I go, I won't change it too much but a ways to go yet.

Cheers

Al

Al,

looking good mate

David's already answered what I was going to. I don't know if you've got this for formations though:
http://web.archive.org/web/20010410004711/www.geocities.com/MotorCity/8418/21agt-1.htm
IG wouldn't have had them but Welsh Guards would have

HTH

Craig

Hi Al.
Yeah, I think Tamiya missed the boat by not not following up their Cromwell and Centaur kits with further variants.
And despite their age, the Churchill and Bren Gun carrier kits still hold up well.
IMO, with a few tweaks of those old molds, Tamiya could have a few new winners with all the different versions they could produce.
Unfortunately, vehicles in British Army Bronze Green, Dark Earth, Khaki Brown or O.D. aren't as popular as those in Dunkelgelb, Schwarzgrau or Olivgrun.
Hopefully DML will start a trend with their new Desert Rats figures and produce more Allied vehicles.
What, a Ram Kangaroo in plastic? Only in Canada, eh.............LOL
Keep up the good work.
My desktop photo gallery file awaits the completion of your Cromwell ARV.
Cheers

John aka jjumbo

Hi Craig,

Thanks for the link, couldn't get it to run. Kevin T has sent me some info of the towing hook so that'ssorted out now.

Some stowage thoughts below. I've designated the vehicle to C Sqn. 2nd Northhamptonshire Yeomanry, 11th Armoured Divcision as that is one of the few pics I've seen.

John,

I think Bronco might be our best hope for further British Vehicles but time will tell.















Cheers

Al

Al,
Strange I've just cut and pasted and it worked fine?

What did you use for the green? In that light it looks spot on.

Cheers

Craig

Any tips on how you did the 'graining' for those wood boxes? I have a few I'd like to do and yours looks very convincing Alan!


Jeff

Hi Craig,

Thanks, got it the second time and them realised I had it book marked already lol, lol, - 'old age'

For the green I use about a 50/50 mix of Tamiya Olive Drab XF 62 and Dark Green XF61 with some squirts of Vallejo Yellow Ochre, and I always apply it with a wet brush as it gets quit thick with the Ochre.

Jeff,

For wood I normally use a base of Vallejo Yellow Ochre and then washes of dark brown, black,green, gray to get what I want. The two large boxes were a mix of Yellow Ochre (913) and Dark Sand (70847) which will give you a lighter base, with several washes of Tamiya matt black and dark brown mixed together. Paint the whole thing and then when dry give it a wash of the mix above. To get the wash to lie just do a side at a time and let it dry, you may need more that one wash, so I keep a watery mix on the go until I'm done.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

Al

Hello Alan,

Great work as ever.
Here are some WD's for you.

T189125, T189206 not sure who these two were issued to though.
T189669, T189913 both Czech as far as I know.
I think that they would be preceeded with REC but others will be able to confirm this.

And when you get around to the dozer here are a couple.
T184521, T185389 ( this can be found on the IWM site, the photo reference is MH 14081).

Hope it helps.

Cheers
Kevin

Hi Kevin,

Many thanks. I think the REC was only on the trial versions in the UK but I could be wrong

Others I've seen seem to just have a WD number, but perhaps someone knows.

Thanks also for the info on the tow bar, that was a very useful read and so simpe when youb have a pic

The Dozer numbers will come in handy.

Cheers

Al

Hi Guys,

Tracks arer on and a little light weathering. Any thoughts?











Cheers

Al

Hi Alan,

It is looking great, nice job with the weathering.

What tracks did you use? I am (was) in the process of making up a Cromwell as the one sent to Australia for trials. But at present it is sitting trackless. When I went to put them on, they broke, and every time I repaired them, they broke again somewhere else

cheers
David