Airfix 1/35 Cromwell IV

[81-er]

Hello folks, this is my first foray into this part of the forum I’m usually an aircraft builder, but I’ve been wanting to get into building armour as well. Airfix recently had a double discount for club members which was the perfect excuse to pick up both this Cromwell and a Tiger I, both in 1/35. I think this could be my first tank build, though there’s a hazy memory that I might have stuck one together as a kid. Suffice to say there’s been much watching of guides!

 

I’m sure you’re all familiar with it, but here’s the box. I’ll be building the bottom of the two options on the front, with the hedge cutter:

 

 

As I’m used to having to do a lot of painting of interior parts before being able to assemble anything, being able to assemble pretty much all of the parts before paint is something of a novelty for me. At the end of Saturday evening’s session I had some large chunks assembled:

 

 

The outer side panels are off in that shot so I could fill the two ejector marks that aren’t covered by the (I assume) intake grilles on the sides. Which I’ve since discovered are covered by some of the hull plating later.

 

Most of the bits are attached to the rear, with the exceptions of the shackles and the tow hook. The latter had a deep sink mark that I’m currently fixing:

 

 

I also got the main body of the turret together:

 

 

 

The gun needed a bit of attention to the seam around the end of the muzzle, which I dealt with using some sprue goo:

 

 

Picking it back up last night, I’ve now got the bulk of the hull assembled:

 

 

 

 

The front PE upright has been knocked off twice so far, I’ll have another go tonight and see if I can get a better joint. The rear one is rock solid.

 

The gun is now in the turret as well:

 

 

Here’s the bit where I ask for some advice. The first question is about the gun; I’ve fitted the poly caps without any glue, but I can’t adjust the elevation of the gun. I don’t want it as a working feature, but it’s currently got a slight downward angle. Any tips on how I can adjust it without breaking the plastic?

 

The second question is about the fire extinguishers. Airfix have these called up as red in the painting guide. Would these really have been red on a tank in service, or should they be green like the rest of the tank?

 

If there’s anything I’ve got incorrect with the build, I’m happy to hear feedback.

 

James

[Bullbasket]

You're off to a good start. It depends on how accurate that you want to be, but it's been mentioned on here many times, but the Airfix kit has got a few problems. The engine deck is for an earlier version. The road wheels are all missing two bolt heads each, and the pistol port is missing a couple of bolt heads/rivets. The last item can be covered up by draping camnets over it. Apart from that, like the Tamiya kit, you can produce a good Cromwell from this.

 

John.

[Kingsman]

And you can't use the turret side stowage boxes on this Cromwell IV.  Those were only found on late production models with the Type F hull where they replaced the front right stowage box which was removed to make way for the side-opening driver's hatch.  As @Bullbasket says, the engine deck is just as confused as the old Tamiya offering.  In fact, OOB without mods I'm not convinced that you can make an operational Cromwell from this kit.  I'm thinking training only.  Only the final 400 or so Final Specification Cromwell IV and VI were considered operationally deployable.  Correcting the engine deck would certainly be necessary, but as Bullbasket also points out some stowage can hide a multitude of sins........

 

As for the wheels, a photo popped up on another forum - from the US IIRC - showing corrected 8-bolt wheels in the kit (but in grey plastic?) and a revision number against the product number on the box data panel.  So I would be interested to know if the wheel tooling has been corrected.

[81-er]

Thanks chaps. I'm aware of the wheel bolt issue, but as a first-timer it doesn't bother me enough to fix it. Likewise with the deck (I'd rather just build something passable enough to get my teeth into it now). The missing bolts on the pistol ports is also something I'm aware of, I'm planning to drill some holes to insert a bit of rod into to give them impression on those.

 

I'll have a look at the wheels included in the kit when I'm back home, but I think they're still the 6 bolt ones as they're moulded in the same tan plastic as the rest of the kit.

 

James

[Keeff]

You're making swift progress on this one and the kit itself doesn't look too bad (other than the inaccuracies identified)

It's looking good so far and you'll soon be onto painting! 

 

Keith 😁 

[Bullbasket]

1 hour ago, Kingsman said:

As for the wheels, a photo popped up on another forum - from the US IIRC - showing corrected 8-bolt wheels in the kit (but in grey plastic?) and a revision number against the product number on the box data panel.  So I would be interested to know if the wheel tooling has been corrected.

Fingers crossed. I don't care what colour the plastic is, just correct the wheels. Perhaps Airfix might do what Academy did when they made a mess of the VVSS units for the Grant.

 

John.

[Andruz61]

G'day

 

To answer your question re fire extinguisher

I suspect it will actually be brass coloured.  One of the more common types of fire ex of the day were CTC (Carbon Tetrachloride) Fire Extinguishers. An early form of the Halogen Type fire Ex (Now Banned thanks to punching a hole in the Ozone Layer..... But Thats another story)

Its Brass coloured as the chemicals would and could strip paint (The other main use for CTC was in Dry Cleaning !!)

 

The wikipaedia page has images of them at the bottom that could help check if my ID is correct

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_extinguisher

 

(ps thank you wikiP

 

[Kingsman]

The standard early war Pyrene type of fire extinguisher in the kit would be brass with a black decal.  But it seems that they were commonly overpainted.  

 

 

An improved rounded bottle type was introduced later in WW2, some time in 1944 IIRC.  The colour of these has been the subject of some debate.  During WW2 I believe they were SCC15 with white decal.  Orange seems to be a common post-war colour as here.  

[81-er]

That's perfect, thank you! The kit models the later rounded type, so I'll fit those now and paint them with the rest of the tank.

 

James

[81-er]

Starting with what you’re all wanting to know, I checked my wheels when I got home last night and they now have 8 bolts:

 

 

My box has a revision code on the barcode panel:

 

 

I ordered my kit direct from Airfix about 3 weeks ago, so I think it’s safe to say any kits in their stock have the update, other retailers may still have older stock.

 

On to last night’s progress. The turret is now complete in terms of the parts Airfix supply. I’m going to run some filler around the joints at the top as I’ve got a couple of small gaps. I’ve also drilled a hole where the power cable for the lamp comes out of the top of the turret and a corresponding one in the back of the lamp so that I can add that from fine wire once the filling is dealt with. Otherwise I think the only other job on the turret is the bolts for the pistol ports:

 

 

Down at the front end, I’ve manage to get that last bit of PE on and it seems to be reasonable strongly attached. I’ll be minimising handling in this area just to be on the safe side. I would have fitted the lamps and the rest of the parts on last night, but one of the lamps needed a sink mark fixing. I’ve even managed to adjust the angle on the main gun. I just needed to get a bit more leverage on it with the back end of some tweezers:

 

 

Most of last night’s session was spent on the wheels. I’ve got one whole side done now, including distressing the tyres on the road wheels. I’ve not tried that before, so hopefully it’s not overdone. It was a great deal of fun though, even if I did end up covered in shavings:

 

 

One more set of wheels to do, then it’s just the tracks to go.

 

James

[Hamden]

 

Nice progress with this one, are you sure you've not built armour before?

 

   Stay safe                 Roger

[81-er]

Thank you, Roger  I might have stuck one together as a kid (but it certainly wouldn't have been weathered or detailed back then, and probably lucky if it was painted at all), but otherwise this is genuinely my first armour build. I've been watching some guides to work out the differences in approach between aircraft and amour, then just having a crack. I've got the Airfix Operation Citadel Tiger 1 that I bought with the Cromwell, I figured I'd start with this and work up to the Tiger

 

James

[Bullbasket]

1 hour ago, 81-er said:

Starting with what you’re all wanting to know, I checked my wheels when I got home last night and they now have 8 bolts:

 

Well that's good news. At least Airfix listened. You're moving this along at a fair old lick. The wheel distressing looks good. Nice work.

 

John.

[81-er]

Thanks John

 

James

[81-er]

Ok, so there was a little bit more to do than just the tracks. I’ve added the power cable to the turret light now, correcting it to enter via the bottom after looking at the routing:

 

 

I’ve also added some rod to give the impression of the bolts around the pistol ports. The ports themselves will need a bit of filler before paint, as there’s quite a gap:

 

 

 

Lights and guards have been added to the front glacis plate, along with some cables for the fender lights:

 

 

 

All the roadwheels are now distressed, so I can get her up on her wheels ready for the tracks:

 

 

Assembly wise, it really is just the tracks now, which I’m hoping to not stick to the road wheels during assembly so I can remove them for painting. After that, a last check over for any gaps that need filling, then time for primer.

 

James

[Bullbasket]

Nice work, especially the bolt heads around the pistol port.

 

John.

[edjbartos]

That looks really good James, I really like the detailing that you have done, good work..

 

Ed

[81-er]

Thanks gents  Next up, working out the best way to build the tracks, what paints I've got that can get close to SCC15, and how weathering AFV's works. This should be fun!

 

James

[modelling minion]

Very quick work on this James, and very good too.

Looks like we will be seeing her with some paint on very soon.

 

🇺🇦

[81-er]

Thanks Craig  I'm very much hoping paint will be soon

 

James

[Terry1954]

Great to see you in this part of BM James and what a great start you've made on the Cromwell. I'm dabbling with some AFV's myself at the moment, after a string of gliders and drones last year. No WIP's to see for the AFV's but will RFI them when done.

 

Will watch this one with interest.

 

Terry

[Keeff]

You're progressing well with this ..... and I'm liking the extra details you've added like the cable for the light.  👍

 

Looking forward to the painting stage now!  

 

 

Keith 😁

 

[81-er]

10 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

Great to see you in this part of BM James and what a great start you've made on the Cromwell. I'm dabbling with some AFV's myself at the moment, after a string of gliders and drones last year. No WIP's to see for the AFV's but will RFI them when done.

 

Will watch this one with interest.

 

Terry

Thanks Terry  I'm finding it a lot of fun trying something different. I'll have to keep an eye out for those RFI's

 

2 hours ago, Keeff said:

You're progressing well with this ..... and I'm liking the extra details you've added like the cable for the light.  👍

 

Looking forward to the painting stage now!  

 

 

Keith 😁

 

Thanks Keith! I'm hoping it shouldn't be too much longer until we start seeing paint now

 

James

[81-er]

Digging through my spare decals for another project last night, I managed to definitely answer the "did I slap a tank together as a kid" question. Which is a yes, as I found the (unused) decals for one of these. I'm still classing this as my first armour build though, as back then I really would have just slapped it together however it fitted (or didn't fit), and I definitely wouldn't have painted it. Sadly it won't show up on a photo due to the colour of the backing paper, but the decals are hilariously out of register, the crosses have more of a dropped shadow/double cross effect than a white boarder. Bin fodder, I think

 

James

 

[Maddoxx77]

On 20/03/2023 at 10:30, 81-er said:

Here’s the bit where I ask for some advice. The first question is about the gun; I’ve fitted the poly caps without any glue, but I can’t adjust the elevation of the gun. I don’t want it as a working feature, but it’s currently got a slight downward angle. Any tips on how I can adjust it without breaking the plastic?

 

The second question is about the fire extinguishers. Airfix have these called up as red in the painting guide. Would these really have been red on a tank in service, or should they be green like the rest of the tank?

Sometimes using a bit of extra thin on the parts previously glued helps the break the bond. 

Maybe on of the parts has a bit of excess sprue on it that you missed. Or some of the glue used on other parts seeped on to the polycaps.

 

The fire extinguishers were painted in the same color as the tank. The only extinguishers that were red, as far as i know, were inside the tank.

There are exeptions in colors but never ( civilian ) red.

 

So far, great start. Looks like a decent kit.