Polish 1st Armored Division Centurion Mk III NT

[barraxr8]

Hi guys !

Here is my "What if ?" Centurion....

I call it "Centurion Mk III NT" or Centurion Mk III "Night fighting Tank killer".

"It is 1947, and the Allies are back at the borders of the Fatherland after the disaster of the Ardennes which drove them back into Western France. A long drawn out battle of attrition has taken place since the Nazi developed super weapons started being used in early 1945. The defeat of the Soviet Union in the East allowed the Germans to launch a series of vigorous counter attacks Westwards in January 1945.

The Allied bomber offensive has been relaunched (previously posponed due to the German domination of the skies with their new generation Jet Fighters) with new high altitude B47 Jet Bombers, and this has taken its toll on the 'Fatherland' with Industry and supply lines now suffering more than ever.

British, Canadian and Polish armored units have been issued with the new Centurion Mk III NT tank killer to combat new German heavy armor. This example is one from the Polish 1st Armored Division, in Belgium, the name of the tank is "PAZUR" (or 'Claw') and it is with 2nd Armored Regiment.

The commander is having a smoke after dispatching another E-100 with the latest 120 mm APFSDS.

This "Cent" is equipped with the latest Night fighting IR equipment and a huge new main armament development (120 mm gun with Thermal sleeve). No German armor can withstand the firepower of this main gun, and the momentum of the Allied armored thrusts in NW Europe is taking its toll on the retreating German army."

The lighting and pictures aren't the best - better next time hopefully  !!
























This is the old Tamiya Mk III kit with the following improvements / changes.

AFV Club "Nato Centurion" Vinyl tracks – the Tamiya tracks were too bent and fragile.
Lion Marc Challenger II 120 mm Barrel (with thermal sleeve).
Formations Resin Centurion Mantlet cover.
Tasca 50 cal    
Tamiya Chieftain IR Spotlight (LHS Turret) – lots of chopping, a bit of Evergreen Styrene, and Tamiya putty here.
Tamiya Chieftain Commanders Cupola and spotlight – this looks much better than the standard cupola.
Stowage from Verlinden, and Plus Model. I love the sack of potatoes on the rear deck.........I can see Polish Potato pancakes coming !
Commander from UltraCast.
Decals from "Polish Shermans I" by Hussar.
Sinsengumi Camo Decals for 2 rolls on the turret (WH Splinter pattern ver B, and SS Plane Tree Autumn).

It was painted with Tamiya and Vallejo Acrylics, and weathered with Mig production Abteilung 502 Oils, and Mig Pigments.

I tried Sinsengumi Camo Pattern decals on the two 'rolls' on the turret, and used a fair bit of Micro Set to soften the decal sheet so I could 'push' the decal into every crevice, but the rolls turned out nicely. I'm going to try these decals on some German SS smocks at some stage. This process requires a fair bit of patience, but the results are satisfying !!

This build has been a lot of fun, and a bit of a 'change' from the standard stuff !!

Now where is that Aussie "What if ?" Leopard 2A6M (AS2) ?   :|  

Cheers

Paul

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Nice WHIF you have come up with and certainly not too far fetched considering the Centurion was able to accommodate ever larger main guns during its rather long service.  The search light blends well with the side of the turret which is kind of a surprise when you think about how the Chieftain had the same set up on the side of the turret just set a bit further back.

[barraxr8]

Nice WHIF you have come up with and certainly not too far fetched considering the Centurion was able to accommodate ever larger main guns during its rather long service.  The search light blends well with the side of the turret which is kind of a surprise when you think about how the Chieftain had the same set up on the side of the turret just set a bit further back.

Thanks Jeffry 

The IR light required a lot of cutting and styrene / putty to get it to fit and blend nicely...

I tried to make this WHIF as realistic as possible 
Cheers

Paul

[batmancustoms]

Wow!   like it !

[Jostein]

As z Pole, I must say, that I am moved. But as myself - it's wonderful!

[barraxr8]

As z Pole, I must say, that I am moved. But as myself - it's wonderful!

Cheers,

yes my interests involve the First Polish Division, especially their actions at Falaise and later in other parts of NW Europe.

I have a Polish 1st Division Tasca Sherman V and a Tasca Firefly Vc on my workbench also....

I'll use similair colors and weathering on those two machines 

Cheers

Paul

[thedarkmaster]

So very nice, always got time for  " Free " Polish units, it's a family thing. Top class work   

[nev]

Fantastic work on the commander figure b)

[General Zod]

Paul

That is a great looking Centurion 

[barraxr8]

Paul

That is a great looking Centurion  

Thanks Nev, General Zod ! It's the first Olive Drab machine I've done for ages.

I'm happy with the result, the next OD beast will be much better  

CHeers

Paul

[ChernayaAkula]

Nice build and way cool backstory!  Awesome work on the tank commander. And thanks for listing all the mods. I'm not too familiar with Centurions (although I have a kit of the Aussie Nam version), so that list is most enlightening.

Thinking about it, one does wonder how long the heavy armour of the German designs would have held up against new anti-tank rounds/systems.

[Weaver]

That's a beautiful piece of work and the backstory is excellent. The commander in particular is top notch. 

[buzzbomb]

Works for me.. model and backstory.

Great model and nice finish

May not have needed too many what if's to make the backstory into a reality

[Joe C-P]

Hey, great job, looks good enough to have been real.

[sudzonic]

Like i said before awesome build.