StephenMG Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Hi all, Firstly, my apologies, these photos are not the best - quickies taken on my phone! This is my Italeri Crusader Mk.III which I have finally decided to call finished after many, many months of on-off tinkering and faffing! It's more or less out of the box although I have made the front fenders a little more accurate, scratchbuilt a rudimentary turret interior with radio (because the open hatch is huge!) and improved the searchlight with a Little Cars lens. The figures are from MiniArt and Resicast. The MiniArt ones are the chap leaning on the front of the tank with cigarette and the seated one, who has a head from the remains of an ancient Airfix Multipose US Marine set and a beret courtesy of an Airfix Multipose British Infantry kit! The Resicast figure carries a 'liberated' German jerry can instead of the original flimsy and is one of the grumpiest looking blokes I've ever seen committed to resin!!! The barbed wire is scratchbuilt as I needed something to put in the corner that wasn't bushes, sand or rocks! Other bits and bobs are mostly from Bronco except for the compo box which is scratched and cast by my own fair hand. I'm not the best figure painter in the world but I'm quite pleased with how the whole thing has turned out. I thought I'd take some quick pictures before my cats wreck it...! I'll take some better ones if anyone's interested. Cheers,Mark 41 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredben Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Very nice dio, Nice build and I do like the odds and sods that you have added to the build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAYELL Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 A WONDERFUL CREATION Excellent build, paintwork and setting and the images aren't bad either good job Cheers Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Photo's look fine Mark,that's a great build and dio of one of my favourite's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Not bad, I do not get in too well for the photos, but the figures seem quite acceptable, I'm also not good with that subject ... sighYour cats can believe something dangerous to see a little boy with so much sand ... lol Cheers and HNY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Nicely done! Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Excellent little dio/vignette. My next project may very well be set in North Africa, and I'm pondering over a Crusader.... so thanks for sharing. Rearguards, Badder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinhow Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Very nice looking diorama, photos are nice too, no problem to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Israel Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Excellent build, great diorama! How did the kit go together? Looks quiet OK OOB... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAG058 Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Fantastic Mark! I love it. Will you be entering it into any competitions this year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Excellent build and finish and nothing wrong with the photos. I've built a few of these and although they are good, accurate kits, they at getting a bit long in the tooth and are crying out for a new one from one of the big boys. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Moore Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 That's an excellent looking dio. The figures look particularly good. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Cracking work.....I find getting the weathering right over black camo can be very tricky, but you've done that beautifully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenMG Posted January 5, 2017 Author Share Posted January 5, 2017 Thanks everyone for the kind words. I didn't really plan this as a dio, I started building the tank then decided it needed some 'context' so decided to place it in a small scene - hence the 'Benghazi Burner' and the crew making a brew. I always prefer the idea of 'off duty' scenes like this rather than 'action' scenes...and it fits nicely with my love of tea! I've always been a fan of the Crusader. It may not have been the best tank ever, but it certainly looks good - like a sports tank! As Bullbasket says, the Italeri kit is getting on a bit now but still stands up reasonably well with a bit of TLC. I forgot to say I replaced the kit main gun barrel with a turned metal one. That made a significant difference to the look of the model as it's a bit of a focal point. This is my second 1/35 armour model - the first being Tamiya's lovely Cromwell. I'm inspired to make a similar small scenic base for that as well now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carius Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Excellent job indeed. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndM Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 A very nice display and one of my favorite tanks. Love this camo ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwality8 Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 Top notch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenMG Posted January 9, 2017 Author Share Posted January 9, 2017 Thank you for your feedback everyone, it is very much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 An impressive looking Crusader in a superb scene! Very well done. Kind regards, Stix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 That is a beauty,..........love the setting too. Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 TOP NOTCH, IMMACULATE diorama. MY Compliments Sir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenMG Posted May 12, 2017 Author Share Posted May 12, 2017 (edited) I may be a bit behind the times but it was only after seeing HL-10's wonderful Valentine that I discovered Tamiya were also re-releasing Italeri's Crusader III - with fixed fenders (at last!) and other goodies. This reminded me that I'd found some WIP photos of my Italeri build so thought I'd post them if anyone's interested? A basic turret interior with scratch-built radio - I soon realised this was need when I saw the size of the hatches! Wheels painted, tracks and skirts fitted, incorrect Italeri fender modified, primer on... A bit of technicolour pre-shading... Camo going on... Crew coming together, including the world's grumpiest looking soldier! Finished! Edited May 12, 2017 by StephenMG Spelling! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HL-10 Posted May 12, 2017 Share Posted May 12, 2017 Superb model! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilHendry Posted May 12, 2017 Share Posted May 12, 2017 That looks really great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonT Posted May 12, 2017 Share Posted May 12, 2017 Another great model and dio, nicely done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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