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Armor/AFV: Allied - WWII
Armor and ground forces of the Allied forces during World War II.
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British Crusader III tanks in North Africa
Iliketanks
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New Hampshire, United States
Joined: August 22, 2006
KitMaker: 18 posts
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Posted: Friday, September 01, 2006 - 10:12 PM UTC
Hi guys. I have the old Airfix 1:32 Crusader III kit I would like to build after I get my other projects done. I would like to paint it up in a striking North African camo pattern, like the gray-blue, green and tan as seen on the Matilda’s, but the only pattern I have come across is the tan base color with black disruptive paint (blob like scrawl) on the sides of the hull and turret. It is an attractive tank so a fancy scheme would be nice. Any ideas gentlemen? Thanks
ukgeoff
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England - North East, United Kingdom
Joined: May 03, 2002
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Posted: Saturday, September 02, 2006 - 05:26 AM UTC
You're pretty much limited to an overall light stone/portland stone, with or without the black/charcoal grey finish. The three colour "Caunter" scheme had been discontinued by the time the MkIII Crusader was introduced.
Iliketanks
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New Hampshire, United States
Joined: August 22, 2006
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Posted: Sunday, September 03, 2006 - 08:10 PM UTC
Thanks.
Bodeen
#026
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Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: June 08, 2002
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Posted: Monday, September 04, 2006 - 12:26 AM UTC
You might want to hold on to that kit...it may be a collector's item within a few years...Airfix is apparently out of business.

Just a thought,
Jeff
Tommy2Thumbs
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England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: February 01, 2004
KitMaker: 43 posts
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Posted: Monday, September 04, 2006 - 12:42 AM UTC
You could paint it in a scheme, in use at the time of El Alamein, of overall desert pink with dark olive green stripes and white counter shading on the turret sides and front hull.

Colour mixes can be found at:

http://www.mafva.org.uk/PDF/BritishCamouflage3.pdf

Not quite Caunter but colourful all the same.

Hope that helps.
crossracer
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Delaware, United States
Joined: April 26, 2005
KitMaker: 117 posts
Armorama: 116 posts
Posted: Monday, September 04, 2006 - 09:21 AM UTC
Build it, build it, build it. It is a great build and still a fine model. You will have a great time making this and will find it hard to believe that it is a 30 year old kit.
Bill


Iliketanks
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New Hampshire, United States
Joined: August 22, 2006
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Posted: Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 12:16 AM UTC
Oh I am going to build it. There is another one on ebay as I write this, so they are out there. I have been collecting 1:32 die cast tanks for the past few months so when these 1:32 models come along I grab em. I have a ton of unbuilt Soviet and American 1:35th scale stuff down in the basement, but I have no time to work on them. The die cast is built already so it goes right on the shelf after I bring it home. I can get the time to put one of the more least produced 1:32 kits together once in a while. How many of these 1:32 kits did Airfix produce? I noticed that Airfix came out with a 1:32 Cromwell but appears to be more of a toy. I would consider getting one and detail it for the collection. What gray/black did you use on your Crusader? Beautiful job BTW. Scott
ukgeoff
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England - North East, United Kingdom
Joined: May 03, 2002
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Posted: Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 12:40 AM UTC

Quoted Text

How many of these 1:32 kits did Airfix produce?



They only did six 1/32 vehicle/gun kits:

Crusader III
SdKfz 250/3 (Rommels Greif h/t)
M3 Lee
M3 Grant
Montys Humber Snipe staff car
17 pdr a/t gun

Both the M3s were vastly superior to the earlier Monogram kits and would be worth seeking out, though they might command rather high prices.

The 1/32 toys they brought out to accompany their figures were:

Abbot (Modern{at the time} British s/p gun)
Bedford RL truck
Alvis Stalwart
105mm light gun
Cromwell
SdKfz 251
PzKpfw IV (one of the early types)
Daimler armoured car
Iliketanks
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New Hampshire, United States
Joined: August 22, 2006
KitMaker: 18 posts
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Posted: Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 01:52 AM UTC
Thanks. I have the 1:32 Monogram M3 (American version) as well as the Monogram Jagdpanzer IV. I have the Forces of Valor die cast British M3 and it does look great. Both Monograms are simple kits but shape does look good on them. There really is not a lot of 1:32 tank kits out there. But I wanted to have a WWII collection, and not have to build a lot, so will get what I can. What is your opinion on the Airfix Cromwell? Can anything be done with it? Thanks, Scott
ukgeoff
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England - North East, United Kingdom
Joined: May 03, 2002
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Posted: Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 05:13 AM UTC

Quoted Text

What is your opinion on the Airfix Cromwell? Can anything be done with it?



Probably not, from what I recall (I've not see one first hand for 30+ years).
The shape maybe OK but there was no hull bottom (to allow for the push-along wheels. The track and wheels were simplistic one piece affairs that would require sacrificing a Crusader to replace. Even then, I'm not sure the plastic used would even accept glue. As I recall, it was a type of polythene though of a harder type than was used for their figures.
Iliketanks
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New Hampshire, United States
Joined: August 22, 2006
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Posted: Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 08:05 AM UTC
Thanks. You really don’t see those things on this side of the ocean.
Sabot
Joined: December 18, 2001
KitMaker: 12,596 posts
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Posted: Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 06:49 PM UTC

Quoted Text

You might want to hold on to that kit...it may be a collector's item within a few years...Airfix is apparently out of business.

Just a thought,
Jeff

The kit was recently reissued along with multipose Desert Rats and DAK soldiers: http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/?FULL=AX08366. I doubt we've really seen the last of Airfix kits and their molds.

I bought an old Crusader kit at my local shop a couple of years back. It was on the clearance shelf with a lot of kits from an estate sale. The kit was $5 but missing the commander figure pieces. Very nice kit, especially considering it is 30 years old.

I have two of each of the M3 Lee and M3 Grant kits. They were the best M3 medium tank kits out until the recent Academy Lee. Well, I guess the Grant is still the best Grant ever made until a new one is released.

Both were vastly superior to the Monogram kits and the Tamiya kits.
propboy44256
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Ohio, United States
Joined: November 20, 2002
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Posted: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 05:19 PM UTC
1:32 scale?????, thats an odd scale, I have not seen
Sabot
Joined: December 18, 2001
KitMaker: 12,596 posts
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Posted: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 07:53 PM UTC

Quoted Text

1:32 scale?????, thats an odd scale, I have not seen

1/32 scale pre-dates 1/35 scale. It began with old Renwal armor kits of the 50s and 60s. Monogram followed suit during the same time frame as did Airfix. Renwal died around the time Tamiya showed up with the new 1/35 scale. Tamiya's proliference in the scale prompted Monogram to change their scale to 1/35 before they stopped making armor kits.
Iliketanks
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New Hampshire, United States
Joined: August 22, 2006
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Posted: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 08:18 PM UTC
Actually back in the late 50s and into the early 60s that was pretty much the scale that was produced by companies like Monogram, Renwal, Frog, Airfix and other manufactures. The Japanese were the ones that really were responsible for putting the 1:35 scale kits on the map. Even though Monogram did produce a 1:35 M48 in the late 50s. I won that kit on EvilBay, thinking it to be 1:32, and did a side by side comparison with my 1:35th Tamiya M48. They match up almost perfectly. Because of 1:35th mass production and popularity, the 1:32 scale stuff, and not a lot of it out there to begin with, slowly disappeared with sporadic re-releases from time to time. Monogram and Renwal re-released these kits back in the early to mid 70s. They are not bad still, but compared to the Japanese stuff, they are very simplistic. But workable. They are more fun to build (less labor intensive) then the 1:35 stuff. I have a lot of 1:35th scale stuff but I find putting these old 1:32 clunkers together to be more enjoyable.
rfeehan
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Kansas, United States
Joined: July 20, 2003
KitMaker: 727 posts
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Posted: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 08:48 PM UTC
I learned to love armor on the old 1/32 Monogram kits with the Shep Paine inserts. I remember siting staring at those for hours and then scrounging materials to try and make my own dioramas. Those and an old magazine called (I think) "Military Modeling" which I had many issues of and dragged around for many years until they got lost in a move.

My childhood modeling memories are Matchbox, Airfix, Monogram and Bandai kits. It was a long time before I saw and build my first Tamiya kit.
Sabot
Joined: December 18, 2001
KitMaker: 12,596 posts
Armorama: 9,071 posts
Posted: Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 12:03 AM UTC
I still remember all the "big" kids had the Renwal and Monogram kits. We "little kids" had the Aurora kits. The working features and details were so much better than the Aurora kits, but more difficult to build and of course, more expensive.
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