I am currently working on the Tamiya 1/48 Cromwell, and I must say it is a great build and a nice change from the 1/35th scale subjects I have been working on. I am stumped though when it comes to the weathering phase. How beat up, and dirty did most of these tanks get during Normandy? I thought most did not survive long enough to get very dirty or worn, but I am most likely wrong. If anyone has some info that would be great,
Thanks,
-YANK-

Hi Loudyank

I would go easy on paint chipping as when they came ashore they were pretty much factory fresh or had been given a fresh coat of paint , but theres no reason not to go to town on the dirt and dust , you also see a lot pictures of Cromwells with one or both of the front fenders missing


Ian

hey, I've seen them on pictures during the liberation of Ghent Belgium, so that a long distance from Normandie,looked dusty, not to much battle damage, lot of thing written on by liberated people, "naak berlien" being to berlin, in german "nach berlin" and if an English speaking person woud try to speak it it would sound like naak berlien,that said, most had some special camo draped on and fine wires around the turret (for the camo?) witch had a canteen and other stuff hanging on, that's pretty much what I remember,Ps the book is only available via library, they don't sell it anymore.


Hope I helped out some.
Peter

Well, a tank can get filthy in a single day, so weather the heck out of it. Don't bother fading the paint, as it wouldn't have had time to fade on a brand new vehicle, and would be concealed by dust even if it had. Sheet metal can get dinged up even during the loading on the landing craft, so if you want to damage the mudguards, go ahead. Many Cromwells in Normandy also had dark sealant residue around the mantlet opening and the turret bolts leftover from the landings. Most Cromwells photographed in Normandy also had hessian tape added to the turret and hull to break up the vehicle's outline, but most builders choose to skip that, since it conceals all that lovely detail.
While the summer was dry, during the fall of 1944, heavy rains produced seas of sticky mud as troops advanced on the borders of Germany, so you can goop up the suspension if you want to depict a vehicle later in the campaign.

Thanks for the input,
I will post a few pictures once I completed everything.
The problem is, I am always scared when it comes to "dirtying up" a nice clean model, but that will pass once I get better...hopefully.