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Bronco Comet 1/35


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I was reticent about Bronco as I've heard some bad stories, but I didn't have much choice but I enjoyed the build, and it even has workable tracks.   One strange thing is the complete lack of clear parts.  I replaced the lens in the spot light with a spare and painted on the periscopes and sights. I would have done with the mantel cover but it is an option extra and couldn't find it anywhere.  Paint is Revell Aqua Bronze Green.  I mixed it with Tamiya X-20A and it went down really well.  And this was before I figured out how to change the pressure on my compressor (see my confession in the Compressor forum).

 

For those wondering, this is still cold war.  They weren't retired until 1959 in British service and even soldiered on in some Armies until the 90's. This one was based in Hong Kong so the weathering in minimal as explained in my Centurion RFI.

 

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I came back for a second look at this, on my phone before. I like it, the Comet has long held a fascination for me, at last , the British army got the tank they always needed, but too late. I've got the Matchbox kit but have agonised over the Bronco kit, I think you just sold me one. :)

Steve.

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1 hour ago, stevehnz said:

I came back for a second look at this, on my phone before. I like it, the Comet has long held a fascination for me, at last , the British army got the tank they always needed, but too late. I've got the Matchbox kit but have agonised over the Bronco kit, I think you just sold me one. :)

Steve.

Glad to be of assistance.  it went together really well - I didn't use filler anywhere and the only add on was the aforementioned light lens.  My only criticism is the instructions are vague on the towing cables.  It give you string but no information on how long to make them and no proper information on stowage for the later version.  I tried looking on line, got no where and decided to leave them off.  Word to the wise, there are two versions of this kit.  The other has vinyl tracks.  This is CB35010SP.

 

I heard the Comet described as the "stop-gap" tank.  We needed something better then the Cromwell but Centurion wasn't ready yet so they created a new turret to squeeze in a 17 Pdr and stuck it on Cromwell body.  As stop gaps go, it was definitely the best British tank of the war and a contender for the best tank overall.  The fact Burma was still using them into the 90's says a lot.

 

I've got a Chieftain Mk 11 in the stash and a Scorpion on the way.  The question is what next?  I want to do the Berlin scheme as I served in Berlin during that time and it is almost a rite of passage for AFV modellers so I need a Chieftain Mk 10 or do I throw caution to the wind and go for a gulp Conqueror?

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7 minutes ago, stevehnz said:

Both, with WiPs please. :D 

Steve.

I've not done a WiP yet as I always forget to take pictures until I'm nearly finished building, but as you asked so nicely I may have to give it a go, although it would mean tidying my work station as it is a tip.

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7 hours ago, Big_Bad_Bill said:

I've not done a WiP yet as I always forget to take pictures until I'm nearly finished building, but as you asked so nicely I may have to give it a go, although it would mean tidying my work station as it is a tip.

I've got a pack of A3 size paper, and I just clear all of the stuff from my work bench and place half a dozen sheets of paper on the top so that I can take photos.

The Comet looks great. I built one a few years ago as a late war version. It's a really good kit, and I'm considering doing another.

 

John.

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16 hours ago, Big_Bad_Bill said:

I heard the Comet described as the "stop-gap" tank.  We needed something better then the Cromwell but Centurion wasn't ready yet so they created a new turret to squeeze in a 17 Pdr and stuck it on Cromwell body. 

It wasn't quite as simple as that.  The Comet hull was wider than Cromwell for a larger turret ring.  Even so, the 17pdr still wouldn't fit.  Comet's gun was unique, the 77mm HV, and it fired unique ammunition.  One of the reasons Comet didn't last long in service, although the main one was the general superiority of Centurion with its "real" 17pdr and later 20pdr.  While the 77mm HV had the 17pdr's distinctive muzzle brake it had a different shorter barrel. It fired the same shell as the 17pdr but mated to the very much shorter cartridge from the 3" 20cwt AA gun.  Lower velocity, reduced recoil and somewhat less effective than the 17pdr.  More of an equivalent to the US 76mm.

 

That description better fits the Charioteer, which was a vanilla Cromwell hull fitted post-war with a much larger turret mounting the 20pdr.  Also short-lived in British service but serving on elswhere much longer.

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5 hours ago, Das Abteilung said:

It wasn't quite as simple as that.  The Comet hull was wider than Cromwell for a larger turret ring.  Even so, the 17pdr still wouldn't fit.  Comet's gun was unique, the 77mm HV, and it fired unique ammunition.  One of the reasons Comet didn't last long in service, although the main one was the general superiority of Centurion with its "real" 17pdr and later 20pdr.  While the 77mm HV had the 17pdr's distinctive muzzle brake it had a different shorter barrel. It fired the same shell as the 17pdr but mated to the very much shorter cartridge from the 3" 20cwt AA gun.  Lower velocity, reduced recoil and somewhat less effective than the 17pdr.  More of an equivalent to the US 76mm.

 

That description better fits the Charioteer, which was a vanilla Cromwell hull fitted post-war with a much larger turret mounting the 20pdr.  Also short-lived in British service but serving on elswhere much longer.

I cede to your superior knowledge.  That'll learn me to try and appear knowledgeable.

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Apologies, Bill.  I didn't mean to appear or sound superior.  In simple terms the Comet is what you said: a better-protected and better-armed evolution of the Cromwell with a limited life pending the arrival of the all-new Heavy Cruiser design that became Centurion.  But that supposedly-simple task ended up with a significantly different hull, a completely new turret and a new gun.

 

It is still a common belief that the Comet mounted the 17pdr gun, not helped by it sharing the same muzzle brake and the barrel being only slightly shorter.  Mounting the full-fat 17 pdr on the Cromwell became the Challenger, with a longer hull with an extra wheel, a taller hull over the fighting compartment and a turret the size of a small truck............

 

The Comet's gun had been in development for a while as the HV 75mm intended for the Cromwell, for which it proved too large and powerful.  With the advent of the 17pdr the calibre was changed to 76.2mm in order to use the 17pdr's projectiles.  To avoid confusion it was renamed as the 77mm.  As the Centurion was designed from the wheels up to carry the 17pdr the 77mm was rendered obsolescent within a year of entering service and was never used on anything again.  The Comet itself was recognised as not being sufficiently survivable in the post-war situation and only held on as long as it did in British service because of its usefulness in Hong Kong.  For foreigh users such as Burma, South Africa, Finland and Eire it still represented a significantly better tank than anything they had but was still essentially obsolete by the early 50's.

 

It surprises me that the Comet was not selected as the basis for the Charioteer, with its larger turret ring and better armour but I suppose there were a lot of otherwise-useless Cromwells about while the Comet was still sort of useful and the Charioteer was intended more as a tank destroyer than a tank.

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On 13/09/2020 at 23:49, Das Abteilung said:

Apologies, Bill.  I didn't mean to appear or sound superior.  In simple terms the Comet is what you said: a better-protected and better-armed evolution of the Cromwell with a limited life pending the arrival of the all-new Heavy Cruiser design that became Centurion.  But that supposedly-simple task ended up with a significantly different hull, a completely new turret and a new gun.

 

It is still a common belief that the Comet mounted the 17pdr gun, not helped by it sharing the same muzzle brake and the barrel being only slightly shorter.  Mounting the full-fat 17 pdr on the Cromwell became the Challenger, with a longer hull with an extra wheel, a taller hull over the fighting compartment and a turret the size of a small truck............

 

The Comet's gun had been in development for a while as the HV 75mm intended for the Cromwell, for which it proved too large and powerful.  With the advent of the 17pdr the calibre was changed to 76.2mm in order to use the 17pdr's projectiles.  To avoid confusion it was renamed as the 77mm.  As the Centurion was designed from the wheels up to carry the 17pdr the 77mm was rendered obsolescent within a year of entering service and was never used on anything again.  The Comet itself was recognised as not being sufficiently survivable in the post-war situation and only held on as long as it did in British service because of its usefulness in Hong Kong.  For foreigh users such as Burma, South Africa, Finland and Eire it still represented a significantly better tank than anything they had but was still essentially obsolete by the early 50's.

 

It surprises me that the Comet was not selected as the basis for the Charioteer, with its larger turret ring and better armour but I suppose there were a lot of otherwise-useless Cromwells about while the Comet was still sort of useful and the Charioteer was intended more as a tank destroyer than a tank.

I didn't mean to imply that you were;  I'm new here so I'm still getting used to the culture and way of posting.  You are right in what you said and I was paraphrasing and over simplifying.  I meant it literally and not in a sarcastic manner.   I'll have to start using emojis to prevent misunderstandings.

 

Hugs? :cheers:

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