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Cruiser Mk. I, A9 - Gecko - 1/35


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Hello everyone,

 

I was looking forward to this build, because I find A9 quite an interesting tank and I read good stuff about Gecko's kit. And I needed something pleasant to build after my experience with Vulkan's Vickers Light Tank. It turns out that what I heard about Gecko's kit was true. It is one of the best kits I have ever built. Especially regarding the details, which are absolutely fantastic.

 

A9 was quite an interesting vehicle. It was not very reliable and was prone to braking down quite often. It's recognizable by two auxiliary turrets housing Vickers MGs. However, they were rarely used, because turrets were extremely hot in desert conditions. They were used to stow additional ammunition instead. It was also plagued by the underpowered AEC bus engine. Overall, it was the beginning of the long and troublesome way to find the successful cruiser tank design that ultimately lead to great designs by the end of the war.

 

This model should represent 1RTR, 'A' squadron tank. The photo I used as a reference was tankan in April 1941 in Derna Pass. It's interesting to me that this photo was probably taken at the same time and at the same place as the photo of Panzer III Ausf. G that I was building a few moths ago. However, A9 was probably abandoned earlier this year, during the Operation Compass, because the 1RTR was not present in this area after February 1941. Abandoned tank was probably moved to the side of the road to clear the passage for the advancing columns.

 

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Model was built out of the box, with only some very minor changes, like registration plate (which was mounted differently on this particular tank) and some wiring added. Kit provides quite nice interior, and with so many hatches, I decided to keep them open. Tracks are indy links and are fabulous!

 

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Model was painted with MRP lacquers for camouflage painting and combination of Gunze and Vallejo for detail painting. This tank was painted in standard Caunter Scheme (Portland Stone, Silver Gray, Slate), although there are some deviations compared to the official scheme, especially on the frontal side of the tank. This was quite common at the time and Caunter Scheme was simplified by the army painters.

 

And here are some details. I tried to capture some of the interior.

 

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I heard some cracking noise while attaching the turret to the hull, but I was not able to determine did I break something. Until I saw photos of course :facepalm:

That's when I noticed that turret plates separated a bit. But I'll leave that to be fixed some other time.

 

And at the end, the real thing.

 

Qp8ga4D

 

Cruiser-Mk-I-A9-Antelope-of-A-Squadron-1st-Royal-Tank-Regiment-knocked-out-at-Derna-Pass-Libya-April-1941

 

Thanks for watching and looking forward to your feedback.

 

Cheers,

Nenad

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Um…WOW!  This is spectacular.  I built the Gecko A10 and thought it was one of the best kits I’ve ever built.  I then started the A9 and the A9CS as a tandem build, but got hung up with the turrets and the fiddly exhausts and they’ve been sitting for almost three years.  

Yours is easily the nicest one of these I’ve seen-love it!

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Hi Nenad,

A great result of a very interesting subject, I love it!
It must have been a headache to mask everything for the Caunter...lol...perfect.
I would like to make one of these and some other similar ones, but they are quite expensive kits...
Cheers and TC
Francis.👍

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20 hours ago, sardaukar said:

very nice

 

Thank you.

 

15 hours ago, f matthews said:

Um…WOW!  This is spectacular.  I built the Gecko A10 and thought it was one of the best kits I’ve ever built.  I then started the A9 and the A9CS as a tandem build, but got hung up with the turrets and the fiddly exhausts and they’ve been sitting for almost three years.  

Yours is easily the nicest one of these I’ve seen-love it!

 

Ohhh yes... I forgot the exhaust. Probably intentionally :)

It is sooo fiddly, I think I spent half the time building the tank on this exhaust. Broke it few time, lost few pieces that I had to scratch build... :banghead:

 

15 hours ago, echen said:

Very nice indeed!

 

Thank you.

 

13 hours ago, Geo1966 said:

Fantastic!!! Really nice build, well done Nenad.

 

George

 

Thank you George.

 

11 hours ago, DaveyGair said:

Superbly done, and the close up shots show what a neat modeller you are. The finish is just right as well.

 

:goodjob:

 

Davey.

 

Thank you Davey.

 

10 hours ago, IanC said:

An outstanding build Nenad. Nicely restrained and realistic weathering, and I love the glimpses into the interior. 

 

Thank you Ian.

 

8 hours ago, FrancisGL said:

Hi Nenad,

A great result of a very interesting subject, I love it!
It must have been a headache to mask everything for the Caunter...lol...perfect.
I would like to make one of these and some other similar ones, but they are quite expensive kits...
Cheers and TC
Francis.👍

 

Thank you Francis. Yeah masking it was quite a headache. At least I learned from my previous Vickers Light Tank build to mask and paint the camo before attaching all the fiddly stuff, like exhaust, canister holders, etc. It helped a lot.

It is quite expensive kit, but at least there's no need for any AM products. Especially concerning the track that are far better than AM choices.

 

7 hours ago, Model Mate said:

stunning work. Excellent!

 

Thank you.

 

6 hours ago, Longbow said:

That is Very, very, nice !! 👍

 

Thank you mate.

 

6 hours ago, spitfire said:

That is amazingly good.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

 

Thank you Dennis.

 

6 hours ago, vaoinas said:

Stunning work!
Lovely desert cruiser.

 

Details and weathering are spot on!

 

 

Kristjan

 

Thank you Kristjan.

 

1 hour ago, StuartH said:

Stunning work 👏

The painting and weathering are perfect....very realistic and great colour choice👏

 

Thank you Stuart.

 

1 hour ago, Milan Mynar said:

Great work.the painting and weathering are perfect....very realistic and great colour choice.

 

Thank you Milan.

 

1 hour ago, Bertie Psmith said:

My goodness, that is startlingly good! Most excellent painting. Really, really outstanding painting and weathering. Just, wow! At least 12 out of 10 scored.

 

Thank you Bertie for your kind words,

 

53 minutes ago, PF Naughton said:

Hi,

That looks incredible 😀

 

Thank you.

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On 4/29/2022 at 10:55 PM, edjbartos said:

That is beautiful Nenad, it really is . Wonderfully painted and weathered with such great detail, just fabulous, well done...👍

 

Ed

 

Thank you for your kind words Ed.

 

On 4/30/2022 at 12:03 AM, Autle said:

Superb work again Nenad, you've really captured this model as the real photos show it. The weathering is spot on for my taste as well.

 

Thank you, Autle.

 

On 4/30/2022 at 9:20 AM, Homer said:

Congratulations on a fine model well done 👏 

 

Thank you, Homer.

 

10 hours ago, kiwitrogg said:

Just stunning.  Well done indeed.

Cheers

Gaz.

 

Thank you, Gaz.

 

10 hours ago, Carius said:

Superb job Nenad

 

Thank you, Carius.

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