Nenad Ilijic

It works now! It turned out great. Cheers, Nenad

Impressive work all around. Nice name choice, fits very well.

Beautiful diorama MD. It really tells a story. I like everything, but water and paintwork are my favorites.

Great work Stix. The weathering is really nice. I think I never saw your model in 1/72.

Thank you. Thank you. Here's the model before painting in case you need a reference for the changes needed for these early Crusaders: Thank you, mate. I have this one on my Kindle but haven't started it yet. Do you recommend it? Thank you. Thank you John. I think I've seen your version (I think that's where I found out about these strange air filters). Good luck with your new project! Thank you. Thank you Milan. Thank you. Thank you Andy. Thank you. Thank you Stuart. Thank you Ed for your kind words. Thank you, Francis. Yeah, one of my favorites as well. I see it as a very important step for later more successful designs. Caunter is very tricky indeed, especially considering that they are almost always wrong in the manufacturer's instructions. That's why I always rely on Mike Starmer's drawings. Thank you Simon. I did Border's kit some time ago. It is a great kit, I highly recommend it. Thank you!

Beautiful work Roman. Inspiring.

Hello folks, Here's my latest build. It should represent an early Crusader Mk. I, from the time it was first used in combat, in Operation Battleaxe. It is based on a particular tank that belonged to 6th RTR, one of 52 Crusader tanks assigned to the regiment on May 17th, 1941, after arriving with the Tiger convoy, on May 12th (67 Crusader tanks arrived in total). This tank and its crew participated in several battles between the 15th and 17th of June and it is one of the tanks that was captured by the Germans (there were 16 Crusaders left on the battlefield). It is interesting to see in German reports after the battle. Their evaluation of Crusader Mk. Is, that they first encountered during the battle, was that it was thinly armored and very easy to knock out with a variety of weapons, but it was impossible to chase because it was very fast. The model is an old Italeri kit, No. 6432, with quite a lot of AM stuff added. 3D printed E.T. model tracks, two Royal Model upgrade kits (one for fenders and the other for the rest of the model detailing), Master BESA machine guns, Eureka XXL tow cables, and a mix of different stowage items from a spare box. There were some scratch building involved as well, like air filters, a version that is very specific for this particular batch, some changes on the fenders, antenna (?) mount on the side of the turret, rack on the back, and maybe few other changes here and there. It's painted in a Caunter camouflage scheme, based on the Mike Starmer drawings, with a combination of MRP, Vallejo, Gunze and AK Real Color, but mostly MRP. Masking was PITA (I hate masking Caunter camo), but not as close as my previous build (AEC Matador). Did just some subtle weathering. Chipping and pigments (first sprayed and then additionally rubbed on places). Here are some detailed shots of the stowage. And here is the reference photo I based this model on, although I wanted to depict it in its state before the capture (it has captured German jerry cans though :). I enjoyed this build a LOT. I prefer this type of build: simple kits, that involve some amount of scratch building and some AM parts. That is a perfect sweet spot for me regarding the fun involved. Now I have to build one more Crusader, Mk. II this time Cheers, Nenad

Congratulations on finishing this challenging kit But for some reason, I don't see photos. Both here and in WIP thread. Cheers, Nenad

Fantastic rework John! I like it a lot.

Hi John, I think I found the photo of this particular tank you would like to build (the one that the artwork in your first post is based on). At least to me census number looks like T15769 and the camouflage is quite similar. Mantlet should be a later (closed) one. Other than that it looks like Crusader Mk. I to me, but I am not an expert. Cheers, Nenad

Thank you guys, this is great!

Hello folks, How should Crusader Mk. I tow cables look like? Should they have this rod in the middle as Eureka XXL suggests? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/38550425493 I'm not seeing it on the photos, although I'm having trouble finding some photos where cables are clearly visible. Also, what should be the length? Thanks, Nenad

Fantastic work all around. Cheers, Nenad

Thank you mate! Thank you Darryl. Thank you MD for your kind words. Thank you Nico. My first time doing vegetation so it means a lot to get a confirmation that it makes sense. I was concerned a lot about how to make it to be in scale. Thank you Simon. Thank you. Thank you. I was also puzzled about the soldiers. And it seems like all of them are dressed differently. Would love it if someone could shed some light on this. If I woule ever try to make a diorame, this scene would be the first on the list.

Wow, this is so good! Amazingly realistic. Can't stop looking at it Nenad

Beautiful model. I love it! The weathering is fabulous. Nenad

Thank you @GStreet for your kind words. Thank you @VinBizz4786_. Thank you @evilbobthebob. Happy to hear.

Thank you Andrew. It means a lot to me.

Wonderful work! I wish I could do figures like this.

Wow, this is just superb! Great work all around. How did you make camouflage nets?

Maybe this one? This one is quite unusual I am wondering what it is. Crusader is Mark I with later sandshield I would say. Nenad

Thank you. Thank you for your kind words. Thank you Homer. Thank you Toryu. Yes, this was quite refreshing for me, I haven't built many wheeled vehicles, so it was a nice opportunity to learn some new techniques and to learn about artillery units. Will have to to that more often Thank you. Not only high part count but also very overengineered, combined with errors in instructions, makes kits a bit challenging. Appealing for masochistic types But again, I must say that the bottom line is that kits can be built into nice models, and I like them for that fact.

This is some serious modeling! Real masterpiece. Good that you made the panels removable. I hate interior kits for the fact that you have to close your hard work at the end. Cheers, Nenad

Loving it! Great work John. Especially suspension. Cheers, Nenad

@Carius, @Richard E, @Foghorn Leghorn, @Bullbasket, @Pig of the Week, @Retired Bob, @Nigeyboy, @Pauly Block, @Andy H, @Longbow, @Model Mate, @Keeff, @Armorrich, @IanC, @Stef N., @StuartH, @Milan Mynar, @vaoinas, @JeroenS thank you guys, you are very kind.