Crusader Mk I

[Enzo the Magnificent]

Some of you may have noticed my obsession with British tanks of the war in the Western Desert.  On previous Blitzbuilds I have built a Matilda and a Cruiser Mk I, both in the three colour Caunter camouflage.

 

So...  I thought I'd have a go with a Crusader for this Blitzenbuild.

 

It will be the new IBG Models kit in 1/72 scale. 

 

 

"Why is there a Tamiya paint bottle in the photo?" I hear you ask.    Well, it's to provide a sense of scale.

 

This is not a big kit...   

 

 

I don't know why there are two hull tops.  I couldn't see the difference bewteen them.  There are also numerous sets of track covers...

 

 

A small decal sheet and some PE completes the ensemble.

 

 

There are three colour schemes detailed on the instruction sheet.  Oddly enough, none of them are the box art vehicle.

 

One vehicle is in the Caunter scheme, so that is what I will build.  As far as I am aware, very few Crusaders were finished in this scheme as it was on the way out when the Crusader arrived.  So that means this will be a very early Crusader, giving me the opportunity to build it with the hull gun turret in place.  These didn't last long in service.

 

So...  should be fun.  Hold on tight, rider!   

 

 

[Jinxman]

Looks like a tidy kit - anything in Caunter looks good to my eye 👍

[Enzo the Magnificent]

4 hours ago, Jinxman said:

anything in Caunter looks good to my eye

 

I have to agree.    Apparently there were variations of the scheme using different colours - including a purple shade used by British forces in Ethiopia.   I'd very much like to find a photograph of that.   

[Enzo the Magnificent]

And we're off!

 

Merry Christmas everybody! 

 

[Enzo the Magnificent]

as it turns out, this kit is small but it is perfectly formed!  There was a fair amount of slide moudling used to create the surface detail, which I certainly wasn't expecting.

 

The hull is made up of four parts: the lower hull and sides, the glacis plate, the rear plate and exhaust louvres and the upper decking.  As mentioned before, there are two sets of upper decking in the kit but I cannot see the difference between them.

 

 

As usual, I added some ballast into the hull to give the model a bit of heft.

 

There are three sets of track covers included in the kit, no doubt to cater for other versions.  I used the set as stated in the instructions.   The nice thing about this kit is that the track assemblies can be added after the track covers have been fitted, thereby making the painting process a lot easier.

 

 

 

Then to add the hull details.  There are a lot of tiny parts here. I've just added the minimum at this point to prevent the rest getting knocked off during the painting process.

 

Turret built and added.  I sprayed the interior silver and then masked it off with a wad of tissue paper. 

 

 

Now for the painting.   

[Enzo the Magnificent]

All parts promed with my usual grey auto primer froom a rattle can.

 

 

And then sprayed with Lifecolor UA-107.

 

 

If I were doing two of the three schemes in the kit, the painting would be complete at this point.  But I'm not   I'm going for the tri-colour scheme with lots of complicated masking  

 

The acrylic paint, having only just been sprayed, is very fragile.  Normally I would give it a good 24 hours to harden but I don't have that luxury.   I'm going to give it an hour and then spray a few coats of matt lacquer over it. 

 

 

[Jinxman]

Good luck with the drying - fingers crossed.

[JOCKNEY]

Blimey Enzo, you're in danger of being finished before I've finished stuffing my cake hole with too much turkey !

Great stuff, or should that be stuffing 

Cheers Pat 

[Enzo the Magnificent]

The lacquer dried nicely and protected the paint surface well. 

 

 

So...  on to the masking.  Do you know just how fiddly this is in 1/72?!?!?!? 

 

 

The silver grey was sprayed using Lifecolor  UA-525.  Lot's more really reeeely fiddly masking and then I used Lifecolor UA-265 for the slate grey.  This appears green in the photos but is actually a true slate grey in daylight.  The shite bits are Copydex adhesive which I used for masking.  I will alow this to dry and pick it off with a cocktail stick.

 

The tracks are one piece and very time consuming to paint.  I'm still not finished.  Once the tracks are done, the roadwheel outer halves, drive sprockets and idlers will be added.  Again, very time consuming to paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Enzo the Magnificent]

And I think I'm done for the day.  Time to investigate some Christmas presents.

 

 

The Moonraker is scaring me!  6.5%    That's not beer...   that's milk of amnesia.      

 

 

And I thought I would just show off another Christmas present.

 

 

 

 

This has got to be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life!     

 

[JOCKNEY]

Now be honest Enzo, have you been looking at your new train making;

 

Chuff - Chuff - Chuff noises, with the occasional woooo wooooo ?

[Enzo the Magnificent]

3 minutes ago, JOCKNEY said:

Now be honest Enzo, have you been looking at your new train making;

 

Chuff - Chuff - Chuff noises, with the occasional woooo wooooo ?

 

No, of course not.  I don't know how you can say something so ridiculous.   It wouldn't make a "wooo wooo" sound.  It's more of a "feep feeeep!"     

 

Of course, when I fit it with a DCC controller and sound unit, it won't need me to make the sound effects...    

[ArnoldAmbrose]

11 hours ago, Enzo Matrix said:

t won't need me to make the sound effects...

So where's the fun in that? 😁 The tank has come along nicely and while I could dispute the term "the most beautiful thing" it certainly is good looking. 🙂 Regards, Jeff.

[Adam Poultney]

Good progress so far! Crusaders are definitely a nice looking tank

[JeroenS]

Nice little kit. Does it come with tracks and road wheels as 1 part? That is great, I binned an earlier 1/72 IBG kit where the tracks were all tiny pieces. That was too much for my patience.

[Enzo the Magnificent]

3 hours ago, JeroenS said:

Does it come with tracks and road wheels as 1 part?

Almost.  The tracks and inner wheels are one part to which you add the outer wheels, drive sprocket and idlers.  That is what I have done here.

 

 

 

And we're almost done.  Just have to add the fuel tank and then grime it up!

 

 

[Olmec Head]

You finished before I even started!  Very impressive and well done.

[JeroenS]

Very good!

[ArnoldAmbrose]

43 minutes ago, Enzo Matrix said:

And we're almost done.  Just have to add the fuel tank and then grime it up!

Gidday and congrats. I've got to wait for paint to dry so it'll be tomorrow for me. Regards, Jeff.

[Enzo the Magnificent]

And we're done!   I used Flory Models washes for the weathering.  Sprayed it on and let it dry.  Then I used water in the airbraush as a power wash to take it off again.

 

 

 

 

[Enzo the Magnificent]

An interesting comparison.  This is the difference between 172 and 1/76 scales.  The 1/76 kit is from Millicast.

 

[Jinxman]

Lovely result, might have to acquire one of these myself.