This is Tamiya's 1/35 Churchill VII with Eduard PE, stowage mainly by resicast, with some verlinden bits, and welded on armour from the spares box. It's weathered with washes, Polyfilla mixed with static grass, Mig pigments, pastilles and sprayed paints. There is a crude scratch built interior (creative gizmology!!) because it's going to be set in a diorama for the Commonwealth in Normandy campaign (but I've missed the deadline ) and there will be crew on the hull, but I haven't finished them yet.

Hope you like it, but I'm willing to listen to any suggestions for improvements that I could make.











There are more pictures in This Gallery


Sean

Hi Sean. First impressions ... excellent. Looks great .. especially the stowage on the back, and the realistic mud.
Suggestion - The only thing that IMO needs a little touch up is the spare track stowage. The model has a certain hue ... that the weathering has created, but the orange-brown of the stowed tracks appear a bit glary in comparrison. Maybe toning them down slightly with the same weathering effects as the rest of the tank would make them look more natural.

Hi Sean,

Good looking Churchill, I was just thinking about Churchill's. I have an old one form a past life that I might be able to breath some life into.

Like you weathering, very effective. Would agree with Frank, the spare track needs toned down a bit and don't forget to paint the rope.

Very nice indeed, might give me the inspiration to try and make mine into something presentable.

Post some more pics when you've added the crew and finished off.

Nice one.

Al

Sean, that truly is excellent stuff - more please!

By the way, check you PM Mailbox..

great looking job i love the weathering show us more when its finished.

Hi Sean,
The two things that caught my eye were;
1) The inside of the hole in the armor appears green. Depending on when the damage was done, wouldn't it be a bare metal or rusty?
2) The drive sprockets look a bit clean in comparison to the rest of the running gear.
Just nit picks. The overall job is excellent. I'd go . Also, a nice touch using the Sherman tracks for supplemental armor.
Joe

Hi Sean nice work ,IMHO the amount of weathering & mud on the tracks is just right as is the stowage on the rear deck. cheers Pat

Sean

Looks great - I'll print out your photos as a reference when I do the same kit which is currently sitting in my stash. The only niggle is the end of the tow cable sitting on the left hand rear mudguard - it doesn't appear to be attached in any way.

The other thought I had regards the stowage - if you think about it, when the tank is lurching about, the stowage as you have shown could slide out from under the securing ropes. If any of the boxes etc had handles, the rope would logically be tied through the handles.

Rob

Good work Sean. I like the shade of green you've used. The weathering and the build up of dirt on the sides looks good too.

Sean,

Looks great! Would like to see the dio when finished! I'd have to agree that in my opinion the spare tracks should be toned down just a little... Well done!

Very nice, sean


Great dusty finish, Mud looks great as well

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I've made some of the changes suggested and hopefully there will be more pictures soon.


Sean

For me, at least, the best of this, is showing what (with imagination) can actually be acheived using what is a pretty old model. Many of the 'wishlists' have new Churchills as high priorities, however, this model shows how using an older kit and a bit of AM an impressive result can be acheived. Just today's 'thought' for the day

Thanks Jim. I think that although it's an "old" kit, it's one of Tamiya's best. The PE does make a difference, and I would recommend replacing the kit's barrel, but even forking out the extra for that doesn't put the price too far above the top of the range Dragon kits. And in terms of ££ spent per hour's building you get a fair return on your money with a PE set, if you enjoy working with it.

What I do think is a pity is that there isn't easy access to kits of "Hobart's Funnies", particularly since they are so well known. Resicast do some excellent conversion kits in resin (but they don't come cheap!). Now I'm starting to practice my resin building skills I'll be looking at building a Churchill AVRE using one of these in due course: I need to significantly thin out my stash first though, so don't hold your breath for a string of Churchill variants!


Sean

very nice...the weathering and extra details.

Hello,
Nice build , looks great , besides the points other members of this forum have mentioned , I like the added tracks on the hull , and turret . The extra stowage on the rear deck , is tied down , good idea . If you have ever been on an AFV , unsecured stowage on the exterior tends to fall off . The track on the turret ? Are they after market parts , or salvaged from another Tamiya Churchill ? I am building a Churchill Crocodile , with " scrim " , on the turret , and extra " indy " Sherman track to " beef " , it up . So Happy Modelling !
Frank
" PERSEVERANCE "

I think the tank looks great. But maybe the spare track looks a little to rusty and aged. If its in the Normandy campaign its only been in theatre a short period and I wouldn't have thought it would have rusted so much.

des