First One For A While

[monkeyhanger]

Simple Airfix mixture, Churchill Mk VII, gun from Centurion.

http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s219/pe...churchill-1.gif

The changes are done using good old putty and plastic card. The next stage is sand it down and then add some details like new hatches......


More to come.

Robert

p.s. Who mis-spelt 'armour', no, don't start!!!

[monkeyhanger]

Sherman with 90mm gun......


http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s219/pe...nt=IMG_0250.jpg

.... Churchill progress.....


http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s219/pe...nt=IMG_0249.jpg

[General Zod]

Robert

Some great looking armor On the Churchill,is the putty for up armored version?

On the Sherman,where did you get a 90 with the fume extractor?

[ysi_maniac]

Like them bttb

[nev]

Cor blimey that Curchill looks like its about to topple over!

[monkeyhanger]

Again,apologies for not contributing much recently. I have completed the move from Plymouth to Preston so I now have time for the important things in life!

The idea of the Churchill was to fit a 20 pounder gun from a Centurion (both Airfix). It occurred to me that the Churchill hull could be extended and the putty work is mainly to expand the turret size.

The 90mm gun on the Sherman came from a Revell M47 kit. They come with two guns. the M46 has a 90mm gun plus the 105mm L7 gun. More upgrades coming!

I was considering fitting a Sheridan with a 'normal' gun. It seems that the tank was so light that firing the gun made it rear up to the second or third wheel!

More soon on other projects..............when I get the boxes unpacked.

[nev]

BTW, I don't want to rain on your parade, but when they tried to put a 17pdr in a Churchill (the Black Prince), they needed a bigger turret, which needed a bigger turret ring, which needed a wider hull.........

[dy031101]

Didn't some Churchill tanks have turrets scavanged from destroyed M4 Sherman tanks?

Would they have been compatible with, say, Israel's upgunned Sherman turrets (with high velocity 75mm gun and later low-recoil smoothbore 105mm gun)?

[monkeyhanger]

Absolutely right Nev, the black Prince didn't get anywhere but so what, this is a WHIF!

I'd love to up gun the Matilda or Crusader, but both of these tanks had no stretch left. Also th eChurchillwas slow compared to it's contempories so the Conqueror/Centurion line took over. Much more development potential.

[Sisko]

I await the next update with baited breath

[nev]

I'd love to up gun the Matilda or Crusader, but both of these tanks had no stretch left.

The Russians tried up-gunning their Matildas (57mm?) but had the same problems with the turret ring.  Not managed to find any pictures of it though.

[BillSlim]

Didn't some Churchill tanks have turrets scavanged from destroyed M4 Sherman tanks?

Would they have been compatible with, say, Israel's upgunned Sherman turrets (with high velocity 75mm gun and later low-recoil smoothbore 105mm gun)?

They mounted the "front" of the Sherman gun mantle on the front of a Churchill turret.  IIRC

That's pretty much exactly what they did. The 75mm gun and mantle were taken from worn out Shermans and fitted, with a bit of trouble to Churchill Mk.IVs, creating the Churchill NA 75 (North Africa 75mm). They served in Italy and were apparently quite popular with their crews.
A Captain (later Major) Percy Morrell, REME, came up with the idea, based on experience in Algeria. The success of the conversion earned him a promotion and an MBE.

As nev mentions, the A43 'Black Prince' was a bigger tank, but as the Centurion Mk.1 and Mk.2 could do everything it could, and the Infantry/Cruiser tank split was being abandoned in favour of a 'capital tank' which could do both jobs, it never entered service.
A 17pdr armed Churchill would have been useful earlier on in the war, though.