Tamiya 1/35 Cromwell - 5 RTR, 7th Armoured Division, Normandy 1944

[IanC]

I built this a few years ago but hid it away as I was never really that happy with it. Recently, I dug it out to have a go at some improvements including a figure, a few extra details and - hopefully - more realistic weathering. Tamiya's Cromwell is still a great kit, and I'm happy to overlook the inaccurate engine deck which I believe is its main problem. I added aftermarket bedrolls and ammo bins, stretched sprue aerials and finally got round to painting up the commander. He's not quite up to the standard of Tamiya's recent figures, but doesn't look too bad. It'll be good if Tamiya releases a British AFV crew set in the not too distant future.

 

I've been experimenting with some of AK's dried mud and 'splatter' weathering effects and used these together with my usual pigments to try and impart a typically dusty Normandy '44 look. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best wishes,

Ian

 

 

[xebec]

Very nice Ian- I would say you nailed it- very convincing dust and overall weathering. 

[SimonL]

Nice work, great base as well. That last photo is very atmospheric.

[Geo1966]

That came out great. Well done on your "rework".

 

George

[Jasper dog]

Super modelling Ian, really captured the dry dusty look. Commander looks great, nice colour definition, only suggestion might be to add the wiring to the head and hand sets and tie the stowage down.

As has been said the final b&w picture could almost be period.

 

Brilliant, like it a lot. 

Darryl 

[IanC]

2 hours ago, Jasper dog said:

Super modelling Ian, really captured the dry dusty look. Commander looks great, nice colour definition, only suggestion might be to add the wiring to the head and hand sets and tie the stowage down.

As has been said the final b&w picture could almost be period.

 

Brilliant, like it a lot. 

Darryl 

 

Thanks Darryl,

 

Yes I thought about mic leads, and also a cable to the headlight but as this was just a weathering exercise I didn't bother. As for the stowage, fair point but I was going for an overall impression based on photos and was happy enough to leave the bedrolls as they are - the straps are passed through handles on the engine deck, is my excuse!😀 The ammo bins were of course spot welded on the mudguards which was a common mod in some Cromwell units to create extra storage. But that jerry can on the back will definitely go flying in all probability - I think originally I'd threaded a plastic strap through the handle, as with the other one, but it's definitely not there now. 

 

Thanks again for your comments. 👍 

[Bullbasket]

It was worth digging this one out and giving it another go, as it's turned out really well. Nice work.

 

John.

[FrancisGL]

HI Ian,

I think the facelift you have done has been worth it, perhaps a photo of the previous state, for comparison, would have been good. The figure looks good to me, and its base is a nice addition. Good black and white photo.

Cheers and TC

Francis.👍

[Pete Robin]

There ain't too much wrong there methinks. The dusty, weathered look is superb.

Regards

Pete

[StuartH]

Superb work. The dusty finish you've achieved is excellent and the final photo is outstanding 👏

[robgizlu]

The figure painting and the weathering really raise this

Super build

Rob

[Maddoxx77]

That looks great. Really worth the efford of getting it of the shelf and finish it. The dust and overal weathering looks really convincing! 

Good job!!! 👍👍👍

[fittedkitchens]

Nice. Very nice...

 

Can I ask which paint(s) you used for the base green? It looks really well in the photos, and I'm due to build a Churchill soon which could look smart in a similar scheme.

[sheriff013]

this is top class work. I love the figure most.

[Troy Smith]

1 hour ago, fittedkitchens said:

and I'm due to build a Churchill soon which could look smart in a similar scheme.

With British armour, base colour varies depending on 'when'.   Assuming your are doing a post D-Day NW Europe Churchill (the scheme above) what you want is SCC15 Olive Drab.   (not the same as US OD) 

"1944-45 – The final change in colour came in April 1944 when A.C.I. 533 authorised S.C.C.15 Olive Drab for use as the new basic colour, to remove the need to repaint U.S. supplied vehicles.  S.C.C.15 Olive Drab was used to replace the old S.C.C.2 in M.T.P.46 patterns or on its own particularly after the abandonment of pattern painting with ACI 1100 of August 1944 except on vehicles still in S.C.C.2.  S.C.C.15 Olive Drab was the first colour in this standard range to be formally named.  It does not match U.S. Army Olive Drab No.9."

For more on this, and other era and areas, see here

https://www.mafva.org/british-vehicle-camouflage-1939-45/?v=79cba1185463

 

also has mixes for SCC15 

S.C.C.15  OLIVE DRAB.

Mix: 5 x Humbrol 150 + 5 x Humbrol 159 + 2 x Humbrol 33

Alternative;  9 x Humbrol 253 + 1 x Humbrol 80

12 x Humbrol 159 + 1 x Humbrol 33 + 1 x Revell 84.

Tamiya: 5 x XF81 + 1 x XF58 + 1 x XF71.     

In use: May 1944-45 as standard basic overall colour.

Description:  A dark drab noticeably green.  Medium contrast with S.C.C. 1A, stronger with S.C.C. 14 black.  This is very definitely NOT a blue-green like Humbrol 30

 

Note, there are SCC15 paints,  I'm dubious about various Spanish companies ability to match colours to standards though.   

A simple Vallejo mix is 50/50  70888 Olive Grey to 70924 Russian Uniform. 

this is  the vallejo mix

 

I've yet to check it against @Mike Starmer colours chips but it is a dark drab  noticeably green 

 

 

Ian's model does look good,  so hopefully he'll let you know what colours he used.

 

Neat bit of work Ian,  

On 25/07/2022 at 15:53, IanC said:

ve been experimenting with some of AK's dried mud and 'splatter' weathering effects and used these together with my usual pigments to try and impart a typically dusty Normandy '44 look. 

A very cheap dust effect is to use pastel chalk, sand it onto fine abrasive, into a palette, add lighter fuel, and apply with an old brush. 

this is how the dust on these was done

 

You can scrub a bit off again using lighter fuel,  but's pretty durable.  

A set of earth pastels can be combined win various shades to simulate different soil types

The Jeep is US OD with SC14 disruptive,  the Morris C.8 is SCC2 with SCC1A disruptive. 

 

That last B/W shot of yours with the angle could be the real thing, lovely bit of work and photographic composition, great figure painting as well.

  

 

 

[vaoinas]

Great job here.

As it was the weathering exercise, I'd say you nailed it totally. 
I like the overall dusty look and feel of it  - it looks very natural. And the base compliments the model a lot as well.

[IanC]

11 hours ago, fittedkitchens said:

Nice. Very nice...

 

Can I ask which paint(s) you used for the base green? It looks really well in the photos, and I'm due to build a Churchill soon which could look smart in a similar scheme.

 

Many thanks. I used Tamiya XF-51 Khaki Drab straight from the bottle. Not quite the right shade, I'm sure, but I'm an occasional member of the 'get it in the ballpark and it should look ok with a dark wash and a few layers of dust' school of AFV modelling! 🤫

 

I've also used various mixes for SCC.15, and @Troy Smith's  helpful post above takes you through a few of those if you want to go down that route. AK Real Colors do a SCC.15 too, which I've not tried yet but may be worth checking out.  

 

Look forward to seeing your Churchill build... 👍   

 

All the best,

Ian

 

[edjbartos]

It looks great Ian, the weathering and dust effects are spot on, well done...

 

Ed

[Nenad Ilijic]

Fantastic model! And figures are stunning!