Cromwell Mk.Vl.

[beefy66]

Well I will have to keep an eye on this one looking good so far John.  

 

Stay Safe

beefy

[Bullbasket]

Good of you to say so Beefy. Glad to have you watching.

 

John.

[Bullbasket]

Not much to show in this update. More waffle than substance.

Airfix have tackled the upper hull in a completely different way to that of Tamiya. Looking at it, you definitely get the impression that it has been designed with other versions in mind. Key things are the separate part for the gunner/drivers hatches (possibility of an F hull or maybe a Vauxhall hatch). The engine deck is another indicator. The one in the kit is for an A/B/C deck, so possibly they will produce a D/E/F deck. Lastly, something which I discovered which I haven't seen anyone else pick up on, is the attachment points for the forward right hand stowage bin. All of the others have pre defined holes for the pegs to drop into, but for the RH forward one, you have to drill the attachment holes from underneath, suggesting (to me anyway) that they intend producing an F hull with the drivers hatch mirroring the gunners. One can but hope.

So, moving along, the upper hull needs to be cleaned up properly, as it's a tight fit onto the lower hull. I clamped the two together and left them overnight to harden.

On the glacis plate, there are two bars which run from side to side, which I think are splash guards for deep wading. (If I'm wrong, please let me know). Tamiya moulded them in situ on their Cromwell, but Aifix decided to go down the route of producing them as separate pieces of etched brass, which means that they are a RRPITA. I watched a video on Youtube on this kit (thanks George for the link), and the builder came to the same conclusion. In fact, he did one in etch and the second he made from strips of plastic. I know which method I will use on any future builds of this kit.

 

 

I've more to upload, but I'm struggling at the moment. I have what the rheumatologist call, a flare up. Certain movements are causing a lot of pain, so I'll post some more when things improve.

 

John.

[bigfoot]

Nice work John. If I remember correctly airfix originals plan, which they showed in the CAD drawings was to do the VI properly with the F hull but for some reason simplified it and stuck the same kit in both boxes. Hopefully, if these kits sell well, and I think they seem to be, they will finish it off and release the F hull. We can hope. 
 

I picked up two sets of the soverign wheels at Telford too, mainly with the intention of using them on my SKP challenger but I’ll have enough to do an Cromwell too, so may pick one up at some point. Once I’ve built my three Tamiya ones obviously…

 

Those metal splash guards do look a right PITA, I watched the same video. I thought they were bullet splash guards rather than for deep wading, not sure what good they would do in the water.

[vytautas]

It looks good and interesting, I will definitely follow the construction site!
Health to you, take care of yourself.

 

Vytautas

[edjbartos]

looking good John, hope you get better soon..

 

Ed

[diablo rsv]

3 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

I have what the rheumatologist call, a flare up. Certain movements are causing a lot of pain

That doesn't sound good John, hope it clears up soon. 

Nice to see some progress on the Cromwell though.

Wayne

[Bullbasket]

3 hours ago, bigfoot said:

Nice work John. If I remember correctly airfix originals plan, which they showed in the CAD drawings was to do the VI properly with the F hull but for some reason simplified it and stuck the same kit in both boxes. Hopefully, if these kits sell well, and I think they seem to be, they will finish it off and release the F hull. We can hope. 
 

I picked up two sets of the soverign wheels at Telford too, mainly with the intention of using them on my SKP challenger but I’ll have enough to do an Cromwell too, so may pick one up at some point. Once I’ve built my three Tamiya ones obviously…

 

Those metal splash guards do look a right PITA, I watched the same video. I thought they were bullet splash guards rather than for deep wading, not sure what good they would do in the water.

Thanks BF. You could well be right about those bars. As you say, not much good in water. Not high enough.

I think that Airfix's approach is the right one as they have left it open so that other versions can be produced from the kit. I'll certainly buy more.

 

John. 

[Bullbasket]

3 hours ago, vytautas said:

It looks good and interesting, I will definitely follow the construction site!
Health to you, take care of yourself.

 

Vytautas

 

18 minutes ago, edjbartos said:

looking good John, hope you get better soon..

 

Ed

 

13 minutes ago, diablo rsv said:

That doesn't sound good John, hope it clears up soon. 

Nice to see some progress on the Cromwell though.

Wayne

Thanks for all the comments, both Cromwell and health based. I've had RA for more than 20 years and treatment has kept it at bay for most of that time, but my GP took me off of them back in April, as he thought that the dizzy/nausea attacks that I was getting were side affects of my meds. Turns out it wasn't. But I'm seeing the rheumatologist on Friday, so hopefully, she'll sort it out. Fingers crossed.

 

John.

 

 

[Jasper dog]

Good to see the Cromwell progressing John. Hope your "flare up" settles down soon.

 

Best wishes 

[SimonL]

Looking good John, hope the health issues get sorted soon.

[PlaStix]

Good morning John. Happy New Year. I hope your health improves soon. Looks like another fascinating project from your goodself. Lovely attention to detail as always.

Kind regards, 

Stix 

 

[Hamden]

 

Hope you feel better soon John.

Cromwell coming together nicely now looking forward to more when you can

 

    Stay safe           Roger

[Bullbasket]

15 hours ago, Jasper dog said:

Good to see the Cromwell progressing John. Hope your "flare up" settles down soon.

 

Best wishes 

 

5 hours ago, SimonL said:

Looking good John, hope the health issues get sorted soon.

 

2 hours ago, PlaStix said:

Good morning John. Happy New Year. I hope your health improves soon. Looks like another fascinating project from your goodself. Lovely attention to detail as always.

Kind regards, 

Stix 

 

 

1 hour ago, Hamden said:

 

Hope you feel better soon John.

Cromwell coming together nicely now looking forward to more when you can

 

    Stay safe           Roger

Thanks for all of the comments and good wishes. The good news is that the anti inflammatory tablets that I have taken seem to be working. I can hold a scalpel and paint brush again, so I hope to be back at the bench today (Unless 'er indoors finds work for me).

 

John.

[Bullbasket]

Next up, the engine deck. I have a copy of the Tankette magazine which shows the work needed to turn the A/B/C deck into a D/E/F deck. Incidently, I also own an Accurate Armour deck conversion which allegedly purports to be an F deck. Unfortunately, they got it wrong! The front panel lines on each side are in the wrong place. This is best illustrated by some images.

 

So armed with a chisel blade and a No.10 blade for scraping, I removed the hinges, filled the panel lines and scribed new panel lines in the correct position. I covered this when I did a WIP for my welded hull Cromwell a few years ago, but it's easier to repeat it here than to keep referring back.

 

New lifting handles were made from brass wire, and the locking points were made from triangular pieces of 5 thou card, sanded to shape and detailed with a punched circle of 5 thou card, with a hole drilled in it. After I'd made the locking points, I discovered that on the Aber sheet that I have for the Cromwell, they include these! C'est la vie. I didn't replace the smaller grab handles, as I believe that these are of the type which drop down and lay flush with the surface.

 

Engine deck glued in place, after some “adjustments”. The brass wire for the side grab handles protruded down too far, making it impossible to get it to sit properly on top of the lower hull, but this was overcome by filing some notches in the sides, in line with the handles. Sorted!

Armoured cover for the intake added along with two more brass grab handles.

I'll post some more in a day or two.

ATB,

 

John.

Edited July 15, 2023 by Bullbasket
Replacing missing photos.

[Bullbasket]

The tank which I'm building was fitted with a Normandy cowl, but I'm not keen on the one in the Airfix kit. It has four baffles moulded inside. I've not seen any photos of Cromwell's fitted with this type of cowl, but I'm ready to be proved wrong. The nearest that I've seen to one like this is the two part ones, fitted to Comets. What they were fitted with was three stays attached top and bottom of the opening.

Anyway, rather than try to remove the baffles and have a major clean up job on the inside, I decided to use one from the Tamiya kit. All that needed doing was to remove the locating tabs on the bottom of the cowl, and slightly reduce the depth, as it protruded about 1mm over the rear edge of the exhaust box.

But first, the etched brass mesh and the frame.......

 

 

…..and in place.

 

I added some details from the Aber set for the Cromwell, but some are mind numbingly small, ie; the lockdown attachments for the mesh frame. They are small L shaped lockdowns, with small nuts on the end, about 1mm long. They don't even show up in the photos.

 

 

 

That's it for now. I saw the rheumatologist today and she has put me back on my meds after 8 months. But I've got to have X-rays, MRI scans and fortnightly blood tests. Oh, the joys of growing old.

Thanks for looking and any comments.

 

John.

Edited July 16, 2023 by Bullbasket
Replacing lost photos.

[Lummox]

5 minutes ago, Bullbasket said:

That's it for now. I saw the rheumatologist today and she has put me back on my meds after 8 months. But I've got to have X-rays, MRI scans and fortnightly blood tests. Oh, the joys of growing old.

Sorry to hear that John. No-one escapes Old Father Time, but you seem to be coping OK with his ravishes given the quality of work you produce. Long may it continue. 👍

[Carius]

Very nice my friend, an accurate detail as always.

 

I hope the health issues get sorted soon.

 

Take care,

Cesar

 

 

[Lazy Modeller]

1 hour ago, Bullbasket said:

That's it for now. I saw the rheumatologist today and she has put me back on my meds after 8 months. But I've got to have X-rays, MRI scans and fortnightly blood tests. Oh, the joys of growing old.

You have to take it with patience...there's no other way, getting old is not a bad thing ... they say!! bah! Anyway this little hobbies can makes us a bit distracted.. as far as we can continue to do them!

Cheers

LM

[Bullbasket]

18 hours ago, Lummox said:

Sorry to hear that John. No-one escapes Old Father Time, but you seem to be coping OK with his ravishes given the quality of work you produce. Long may it continue. 👍

 

17 hours ago, Carius said:

Very nice my friend, an accurate detail as always.

 

I hope the health issues get sorted soon.

 

Take care,

Cesar

 

 

 

17 hours ago, Lazy Modeller said:

You have to take it with patience...there's no other way, getting old is not a bad thing ... they say!! bah! Anyway this little hobbies can makes us a bit distracted.. as far as we can continue to do them!

Cheers

LM

Many thanks for all your comments. They are very much appreciated

 

John.

[edjbartos]

I love the attention to detail that you put into your builds, just fabulous, Hope your health issues get better soon...

 

Ed

[LeeM]

Love all the modifications and attention to detail. Hope you feel better soon.

[Milan Mynar]

It looks  very good and interesting.

[phildagreek]

Looks good so far.

[stevehnz]

You've got that coming along very nicely John, the extra detail looks really good. Good to that your rheumatologist has got you sorted by the sound of it. We can look forward to more of this sort of thing.  

Steve.