Churchill MkVII tank by Rik Thistle - FINISHED - Tamiya - 1:35 - 1944

[ERS Rich]

The files I like…..deep between the cutting bits so plastic doesn’t build up, yields a smooth finish…..

 

Tamiya Files

 

Enjoy

[wefalck]

If it’s Normandy, it should be cidre/cider, rather yhan wine / comes in champagne-type bottles. To my knowledge, there are no vinyards in Normandy. The bottle modelled would be a Burgundy bottle, long slender neck, as opposed to the short necks of the Bordeaux bottles.

[Rik Thistle]

If it’s Normandy, it should be cidre/cider

 

Being that the label appears to be dated with 1937 (so the contents are around 8yrs old) and, as far as I can tell cider is ready to drink in under 18 months and hence probably not dated? ...then it appears, as you deduce from the bottle shape,  the scene is likely set in the Burgundy region - .thanks. 

 

I'm now off to find some 1944 (or so) pictures of that part of France.

 

Richard

Edited December 14, 2023 by Rik Thistle

[realworkingsailor]

58 minutes ago, Rik Thistle said:

If it’s Normandy, it should be cidre/cider

 

Being that the label appears to be dated with 1937 (so the contents are around 8yrs old) and, as far as I can tell cider is ready to drink in under 18 months and hence probably not dated? ...then it appears, as you deduce from the bottle shape,  the scene is likely set in the Burgundy region - .thanks. 

 

Unless it’s well aged Calvados… (yum!)

 

Andy

[Canute]

I, too, think it's Calvados, a spirit distilled from apples.

[Rik Thistle]

Wefalck, Andy, Ken,

 

Thanks for your inputs.

 

As far as I can tell, the British Army only deployed the Churchill MkVII in the Normandy region of France.

 

And as Wefalck deduced, the bottle shape points towards cider. And we may now have a name for the particular cider... Calvados - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvados   "In the 17th century, the traditional cider farms expanded, but taxation and prohibition of cider brandies were enforced elsewhere than Brittany, Maine, and Normandy."

 

All interesting stuff, and I'm sure the apple brandy helped it make seem the Churchill tank's top speed had been improved!

 

Richard

 

Edit: A bit more.... from the Wiki page on Calvados... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvados 

" In the Canadian ForcesCalvados is the regimental drink of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, The Royal Regina Rifles, The Royal Canadian Hussars, Le Régiment de Hull, Le Régiment de Maisonneuve, and The Sherbrooke Hussars. The troops were given Calvados as the units passed through Normandy following the D-Day invasion.[citation needed] Known as le trou normand, it is normally taken between courses at a regimental dinner, or during a toast to remember fallen soldiers. "

 

OK, not British soldiers but the 'giving' tradition was there.

Edited December 17, 2023 by Rik Thistle

[realworkingsailor]

There’s a great story about a group of Canadian soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Canada, in the summer of ‘44, taking some rest in the shade of a Normandy orchard. One of the soldiers, as he was stretching out under a tree, accidentally kicked something with his heel. Upon investigation, it turned out to be the slightly protruding neck of a buried bottle. Further investigation/excavation unearthed, much to the soldier’s delight, that it was a full bottle of Calvados. Word quickly spread of the discovery, and in short order the Canadians had unearthed an enormous stash of buried bottles throughout the orchard. Of course hot weather, and thirsty soldiers saw short work of the alcoholic windfall.  The poor farmer was heard to lament that for over four years he had managed to safely hide his entire stash from the occupying Germans, but in a little less that half an hour the Canadians came through and cleaned him out!

 

Andy

Edited December 17, 2023 by realworkingsailor

[Canute]

What are "allies" for? 😁

[wefalck]

Moon-shine calvados could come in any kind of bottles 🫢  A year of 1938 in 1944 would make more sense for calvados than for cidre though, which is generally drunken young (and traditionally from bowls, rather than glasses).

[Rik Thistle]

Hi all,

 

A very short update before the festive period commences.

 

I'm spending a lot of time on the 6x figures, basically learning how to do figure painting.

I had first of all, sprayed them all satin black. Then tentatively started testing some colours on them. The colours are way off in the picture above, but I was learning what colour (or mixture) was closest to the box artwork.

 

Below, a reminder of what Tamiya suggests.

   

 

The instruction sheet does identify what Tamiya paints should be used (eg XF-64, Red Brown) , but I already have a couple of sets of Vallejo Acrylic paints. I imagine there is probably a guide somewhere on the web that gives a read-across between the brands...I'll look for that later today. (Edit: Yes, here is one.... VALLEJO CONVERSION CHART - https://archive.kitmaker.net/features/279/index.htm )

Above, I have made a start on the Farmer figure.

 

Below, my 'painting kit'.

1 -  Some new, unused fine brushes from Amazon

2 - Kinbom brushes... currently what I mostly use. If I improve I'll invest in a better set.

3- Vallejo Acrylic paints

4 - AK Wet Palette. Works really well. Yup, it's in a bit of a mess....a new top sheet is due 😉

5 - The two brushes I use the most, a 000 Kinbom and a trimmed older brush for dry-brushing. I think I read it may be better to use a slightly larger brush so it can hold more paint. Also shown are a pair of Duratool tweezers...well made but things do spring off in to the ether out of them. I'll need to have a web search for tweezers that have a better grip function.

6 - Magnifier Visor. Works well, but I'm continually alternating them with Reading Glasses. I do have a stereo microscope (with 10x20 eyepieces) and will have a test to see if it makes face-painting any easier....I will report back on that one 😉

7 -  A couple of dishes with the 'inanimate' objects mostly finish-painted.

8 - The 6x figures. I'm slowly homing in on an (for me) optimum painting sequence eg if figures use the same colour of shirt then use up that mixed colour whilst that recipe is still fresh in my mind.  This, rather than painting one figure completely before moving on to the next.

 

Well, that's it for 2023. Have a good holiday and a successful modelling year in 2024.

 

Richard

Edited December 24, 2023 by Rik Thistle

[wefalck]

I think it was back in the early 1980s when I last painted any figures at this scale - I have since moved on to 1:87 ... Got what must have been one of the earliest figure modelling guides published in the UK, didn't check but think it is from about 1968 or so - since then techniques have moved on considerably 😉

 

Today I would use a light grey undercoat, basically to be able to better see any imperfections in sculpting/conversion. The Old Masters used a complementary colour undercoat for skin areas, meaning a light green and then applied the skin-tones in several light washes. The complementary colour underneath makes the skin-tones more luminescent.

 

In my later years of 1:35 figure modelling I used artists' oil-paints for any skin areas (and also for leather details). They could be worked much longer than the Humbrol enamels I used otherwise. However, if you want to work with oil-washes, this requires really long drying times between layers, days or weeks, otherwise the high medium-content of the washes dissolves the previous layer.

 

Today, I basically only use acrylics, mainly from Vallejo (their original business was artists' paints ...). Working with washes is fast, as they dry sufficiently within tens of minutes.

 

Talking about brushes, you may also want to look for so-called 'spotters', this are finely pointed brushes with short hairs. I am not so dexterous or don't have enough practice with standard brushes. The latter can hold more paint, which can be adavantage.

 

Don't go for expensive sable-brushes for working with acrylics. Apparently does not good to them. I use mainly the synthetic ones from the British Da Vinci brand.

 

[Rik Thistle]

Wefalck,

 

I really appreciate your detailed feedback, thank you.

 

I've got a couple of books on modelling (eg AK Beginner's Guide to Modelling) and these include sections on figure painting. I've also got a Color Wheel, so lots to learn.

 

Yes, since using the black satin I have read/seen on the web that a lighter colour undercoat may be better.

 

I did do an oil painting course decades ago with a Dutch lady painter, so learned about preparing canvases, oil paints, drying times etc. So I do appreciate that Acrylics a much 'quicker fix' and intend to stick with them.

 

And thanks for the heads-up on brushes....noted.

 

Richard

[Rik Thistle]

Hi all,

 

I've been working on the build over the festive period, but not full time. Below is where I have got to so far, plus some thoughts as to where I am headed.

 

Firstly, the figures have been painted and confined to quarters whilst the tank and scenario is being prepared.

The painting is still beginner level standard, but I have ordered a set of stand-alone WWII figures to further practice my painting on.

 

Most of the remaining unglued tank parts are shown below. IIRC, all but the shovels were glued in to position

 

I had tried spray painting the tank a grey undercoat colour, but the spray-can ran out, so it was back to black satin undercoat.

 

Now, thinking ahead to what the final scenario for the tank and crew etc might be...I ordered in a brick wall set from Tamiya. I realise that a skilled plastic modeller would make his/her own wall but that is for 'next time' 😉  Also, around WWII times the walls and bricks wouldn't have such a well-manufactured look from what I can tell from looking at online photographs....I'll try to do something about that.

I coated the wall with a dilution of AK Grey Putty to give the wall some texture. I also started cutting bricks out of the wall to age it. More bricks still to be removed!.

 

And now a quick test layout to get a feel for where the scenario might be heading.

 

The story I have in mind is that the tank has stopped to ask a passing soldier for directions, and meanwhile the farmer has seen the opportunity to sell (or give) the crew some beverages. The wall may represent the remaining side of a walled garden (orchard?)...there will only be one end with a right-angled wall otherwise it will look like a house. Walled gardens tend to have high walls to keep the wind out but doubling the wall height would obscure the tank and figures, I feel...we'll see.

I have ordered in some stiff blue high density foam (see above) that will be transformed in to 'land'. The whole lot will be mounted on a wooden base.

 

Finally, I have ordered some French road signs, for the Normandy region. I'll use a couple of them in the scenario but need make sure that they point in compatible directions.

 

 

[Edit: 5 Jan 2024. I mistakenly used the Paris Road Signs image above instead of the Normandy Signs image below. Apologies for any confusion caused]

 

OK, that's it for now...long ways to go 😉

 

Regards,

 

Richard

Edited January 5 by Rik Thistle

[wefalck]

Oh yes, those reinforced concrete signs used to be something very typical French, but they have largely disappeared together with the concrete 'mile-stones', the rounded top which was painted red (for the 'nationals') or yellow (for the 'departmentals').

 

The selection of signs is interesting: the one in the lower left corner points to the N13, which is now the A13 and runs past within sight from the house, where I am living currently. The N446 (now down-rated to D446) on the top right corner passes through a pretty area south of Paris, lots of woodland, but it become more open in the area, where sign is located, which must be in Monthlèry, given the distance from Orsay and Versailles.

The others in the top row are mostly in the north of Paris, today not so famous areas and quite densly populated, but 70+ years ago would have been more rural. 

 

[Rik Thistle]

Wefalck,

 

Thank you for that great insight.

 

I need to read up on what direction the Churchill tanks were most likely heading in after landing in Normandy. This website may give me some clues... Tactics and the Cost of Victory in Normandy - https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/tactics-and-the-cost-of-victory-in-normandy 

 

Just to be clear (and as a pacifist) I am no fan of war but there are times when needs must. I do have family members that were involved in both WWs, and remember what (few) stories they told me very well. With that in mind it was very interesting to read the book 'The Higher Call' which gave me an eye opening view of the WWII air conflict from both sides ...I think I saw the story mentioned in a build on this website but unfortunately cannot remember where.

 

Richard

[Egilman]

1 hour ago, Rik Thistle said:

Just to be clear (and as a pacifist) I am no fan of war but there are times when needs must.

Amen Brother... As Mahatma Ghandi believed, if someone will only communicate with violence, one must communicate in kind, as the important thing is to communicate, for without communication we cannot claim to be sentient beings...

 

All people must communicate, we must learn that war/violence is the absolute last resort for communication...

Edited January 4 by Egilman

[Rik Thistle]

Hi all,

 

A couple of pictures regarding the layout.

 

 Firstly, the contents of the Tamiya Normandy Road Signs. Although there are a lot of signs in the box I only intend to use two of them. The rest will be kept for other projects.

On first examination I thought the Sign scale was too large, but I can see from this article that they are correct.... https://www.themodellingnews.com/2022/02/preview-135th-scale-french-concrete.html   My layout will likely show two broken and misaligned concrete signs.

 

Below, my latest thinking on the scenario.

- The Farmer who owns the orchard that produces the apple brandy is offering a bottle to the tank Driver. The Loader and Gunner look keenly on.

- The wall is no longer a garden wall but a wall that surrounds the front of the farmhouse. I have made a small gate for the wall.

- Meanwhile the tank Navigator is trying to confirm directions to Caen (or maybe Paris?) from a passing soldier. The two concrete road signs are seen leaning against the banking - these will be weathered etc.

- I will terraform the scene. There will be a sloping grass bank at the rear. I will try to mostly use materials from my garden.

- Although the initial D-Day landing was wet, the rest of the progress towards Paris apparently took place in very good weather.

- The tank has been weathered but is mostly covered in dust. The Churchill MkVII was relatively new so there would have been little rust/road wear present.

 

The Canadian 3rd Division had, as far as I can see, more Churchill tanks active in the campaign but I couldn't resist the 'Ben Nevis' name.

 

There is a very good graphical explanation of the Normandy movements here... https://www.britannica.com/event/Normandy-Invasion  I feel I have learned a lot more about this episode than I ever did at school.

 

Any thoughts/advice/comments about the scenario and what road signs would be best are welcomed.

 

Finally, thanks again for all the Likes and Comments - they are much appreciated,

 

Richard

 

 

[NavyShooter]

A comment - I recall that in advance of the invasion, many of the road signs were said to have been torn down.   This was an attempt by the Germans to prevent easy navigation by the allies if there was a landing.  

Can I suggest - take a few of the signs, paint them up, and put them in a messy pile beside the road with some broken up concrete bits/bases and such?  Then there's an obvious reason for the tank commander to be seeking directions from the soldier on the ground?

 

NS

 

[Rik Thistle]

NS,

 

Good suggestion, thanks. I do now remember reading somewhere that road signs were deliberately knocked down, or pointed in the wrong direction.

 

Cheers,

 

Richard

[wefalck]

I know next to nothing about the Allies' movement after the actual landing. However you could take GoogleMaps and sort of map out the trajectories indicated on the road signs.

 

Taking for instance the third from left in the lower row that reads Paris-Rouen-Cabourg-Deauville, this must be located at a branch road somewhat south of the coast, somewhere between Cabourg and Deauville. If it where west of Cabourg, you should have Deauville above Cabourg. So from where the sign is, you would get to the main road between Cabourg and Deauville (probably the modern D531) and then turn either left to Cabourg or right to Deauville. From Deauville you would go South and pass Rouen (on the other side of the river) in the distance and continue on the N13 (today A13, Autoroute de Normandy).

 

You could use similar reasoning to locate approoximately the other signs.

 

Edited January 9 by wefalck

[Rik Thistle]

Wefalck,

 

Yes, I really need to sit down and get my thinking cap on regarding these road signs. I believe I have now found enough online maps etc to make a reasonable stab at it. And I will try to tie it all in with the movements of the Scots Guards - early indications are they moved Southwards towards Paris (TBC).

 

And thank you again for your thoughts....very useful.

 

Richard.

[realworkingsailor]

44 minutes ago, Rik Thistle said:

 

The Canadian 3rd Division had, as far as I can see, more Churchill tanks active in the campaign but I couldn't resist the 'Ben Nevis' name.

 

If I recall correctly, a large number of the Churchill tanks used by the Canadians at that time were either AVREs (Fascine tanks, petards etc), or Crocodile (flame thrower) variants. 
 

Most of the main armoured regiments were using Shermans or Sherman Fireflies 

 

Andy

[Baker]

Canadian movements from D'Day to the end of August.

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/casualty-identification-military/normandy-france.html

 

After that.

Northern west France and then West Belgium (map)
left Canadian (coastal side)
middle Polish units (corresponds to my mother's stories)
right english

Be careful with a Mk.VII in Canadian service at this stage of the war.

 

Scots guards? a Mk.VII = ok

 

[Rik Thistle]

Patrick,

 

Very useful information, thanks.

 

I hadn't found that Canadian Govt website before, so will read through it today. I was aware that the Canadian and Polish soldiers/tanks played very significant roles.

 

Sources I have been using include https://www.britannica.com/event/Normandy-Invasion , https://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/account-3rd-tank-bn-scots-guards-jul-1944-may-1945.31187/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aMRSnyac-0 ... plus many others.

 

It would seem that some new Churchill MkVIIs were active in Normandy, as were earlier versions.

 

So there is a lot of information to get my head round...I have no idea how the Allies and the Germans planned and organised such complex manoeuvres over weeks, months and years. It is a world I am not that familiar with but nonetheless respect the great sacrifices made.

 

As this is my first decent sized model I do not want to dive too deep into to making it 'look right'....that would take me, a beginner, a very long time. So in parallel with continuing my build I will try to assimilate  and understand what happened in Normandy (and France) during that period.

 

Thanks again,

 

Richard

 

PS: I'll also have a read through (when I find time) of the Builds listed in your Signature section - they look vey interesting.

 

Edit: Patrick, just had a read through of your 'ADGZ M35 funkwagen 1/72' ... very impressive. I think 1/72 scale has a number of advantages, not least taking up less space in my study and using less materials. Of course that is balanced by the parts being much smaller and details being finer. Further Edit: I now remember I have read your Centurion tank build - again impressive.

Edited January 11 by Rik Thistle

[mtaylor]

Here's another good source of warfare information and wars...    https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/

[Rik Thistle]

Thanks Mark,

 

Now reading this entry from your link ... 'Ordnance: The British Churchill Tank' - https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/ordnance-the-british-churchill-tank/

 

Richard

[Rik Thistle]

Hi all,

 

Thanks for the previous Likes and Comments.

 

The terraforming etc continues.

 

The base of the scenario is a piece of chipboard. Glued on to that (with PVA) is stiff blue foam. To the left of the picture below is a pot of 'One strike filler'.... it has the consistency of stiff whipped cream and takes about 24 hrs to dry, but is easy to lay down and then reshape as it slowly hardens.

The back edge of the layout will be a hedged bank, with a small drainage ditch running at the foot of it.

 

The white filler applied.

 

Once the filler was dried, it was spayed matt black. A couple of concrete signposts are tentatively sited at the rear.

 

Above - Just to add some initial colour, the bank at the rear was painted dark green and the flat part a lighter green Some more filler was added to smooth out the area within the wall. The wall + gate were also darkened/weathered. The wall has been moved to the left.

 

Two pulled up signs are added. They would have been originally seated into a concrete filled hole. I chose 'Vire' and Caen' as the names on the signs. A red line on a French sign indicates one is leaving the town (...Caen). But whether these are the original signs for those locations is anyone's guess 😉  Hence the big discussion with the tank driver (?) and the soldier.

 

I have added a bottle of apple brandy to the farmer's hand. I later found out that his right hand is also shaped to hold a bottle...he is a generous chap!

 

So the above is the basic layout. I have yet to add soil to the road plus some grass, also add grass and a pathway inside the wall, and populate the banking with vegetation and grass. The sides of the layout will be enclosed in a thin wood veneer and painted black to tidy it all up. So still plenty to do.

 

Richard

Edited January 15 by Rik Thistle

[Rik Thistle]

Hi all,

 

Three final pics to wrap up the build.

 

The scenario is that the Churchill tank, after leaving the Caen area was taking a shortcut across fields and farm tracks to join up with Infantry heading towards Vire. They found themselves on a single track farm road that emerges on to a main road that (possibly) heads towards Vire.

As they were about to join the main road a friendly farmer hailed them and offered them a bottle or two of the farm's apple brandy - who could say no 🙂

 

Meanwhile the tank's radio operator had taken the opportunity to confirm with a soldier the best route towards Vire.  Since the departing enemy had uprooted and damaged the local signage there was some doubt regarding directions.

 

And a final overhead view of the scenario.

 

Some thoughts:

- I should have (and probably will) add some track marks in the soil the tank is travelling on, even if only from farm vehicles.

- In the1st pic the tank track can be seen floating above the ground...again needs fixing.

- Although the scale used (1/35) is good in as much that the parts are not too small and therefore manageable, the scenario itself ends up taking quite a bit of shelf space. So I'm pondering whether to drop down to 1/48 or 1/72, say, after the next build.

- I have learned more about the activity in Normandy that I ever did at school... through the very useful comments and guidance given on here, and via the web.

 

All in all, another enjoyable build....no real complaints 🙂

 

Thanks again for all the Likes and Advice,

 

Richard

 

PS: And it sounds like the next build has just screeched to a halt outside my door. I think it may be a Canadian anti-tank regiment operating it.

Edited January 22 by Rik Thistle

[Canute]

Excellent work with your diorama, Richard.  My Dad was over on the Yank side, St. Lo, with the soon to be stood up 3rd Army. I remember him saying the place was a mess for road signs. 👍

[Rik Thistle]

Thanks Ken,

 

Yes, from what I have recently read, an awful lot of the signposts were deliberately dug up, damaged etc...no point in making life easy for an opponent.

 

I was quite surprised how large and substantial the French concrete signposts could be. But there is no point in having small, weak signposts, I guess.

 

Richard