Churchill BARV - Done !

[buzzbomb]

Finally back at the bench after the move of abode.
This weekend at a Model Club Build Camp.... loving it.
Took an old Churchill build that need a revamp.

Reading around Churchill sites, there have been a couple mentions of the original BARV (Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle) concept, may have been based on the Churchill, before moving to the Sherman as the base hull.

With the carcass of the Churchill, it was time to have a go at a "what if" Churchill BARV. It is an old Legends conversion of the Tamiya Mk VII Churchill back to the Mk IV versions.

Bit of hackage to remove bits not needed


Start getting the hull shape together. The basic concept of the boaty hull works, to get all the bits of a tank that does not like water, waterproofed was clearly the way forward


Bit more detail and starting the rivetting. Out of rivets so, more to follow a bit later.


Next will the push gear, more rivets, walkways and lots of other stuff

Thanks for looking

[Wardukw]

Buzzy mate ...this is the stuff I love..this is getting alot more than a once over from me buddy 
I was wanting to build an assault gun based on a Chruchill then I remembered..I don't have one ..so ging to use a Centurion instead.
Keep it going ..im loving this 

[The Chaos]

Great Idee 

[NARSES2]

Great Idee 

It is indeed 

[zenrat]

Interesting.  I wasn't aware of BARVs but I just read the wikipaedia page.
I like the idea of a tank with a diver in the crew.

[Dizzyfugu]

Cool! 

[Wardukw]

Oh I'm shocked Fred 
BARVs been around since WW2..the Sherman is the most common ..next came the Chieftain and I'm sure the Brits still use em based on a Leo2 or 1 tank ..or both 
I'd never seen a Churchill version so I'm loving this build .

[Rheged]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_armoured_recovery_vehicle  might be of interest.  Talking to a couple of Royal Marines I know, they are not totally happy with the "Hippo"  and would, ideally, like the Centurion BARV back!

[zenrat]

Oh I'm shocked Fred 
BARVs been around since WW2..the Sherman is the most common ..next came the Chieftain and I'm sure the Brits still use em based on a Leo2 or 1 tank ..or both 
I'd never seen a Churchill version so I'm loving this build .

Oh i've always primarily been a car modeller who has been sidetracked into planes.  Armour is something I enjoy building but not something i'll research.  Except the little bit needed to make sure what I am thinking about building is a whiff.  That and reading Tank Girl comics.

[Wardukw]

Oh I'm shocked Fred 
BARVs been around since WW2..the Sherman is the most common ..next came the Chieftain and I'm sure the Brits still use em based on a Leo2 or 1 tank ..or both 
I'd never seen a Churchill version so I'm loving this build .

Oh i've always primarily been a car modeller who has been sidetracked into planes.  Armour is something I enjoy building but not something i'll research.  Except the little bit needed to make sure what I am thinking about building is a whiff.  That and reading Tank Girl comics.

That's a very good excuse matey 
That Tank Girl M5 would be a challenge to build..hell of a lot of bits on that  and most won't be found in most blokes parts boxes .

[Weaver]

Oh I'm shocked Fred 
BARVs been around since WW2..the Sherman is the most common ..next came the Chieftain and I'm sure the Brits still use em based on a Leo2 or 1 tank ..or both 
I'd never seen a Churchill version so I'm loving this build .

Oh i've always primarily been a car modeller who has been sidetracked into planes.  Armour is something I enjoy building but not something i'll research.  Except the little bit needed to make sure what I am thinking about building is a whiff.  That and reading Tank Girl comics.

That's a very good excuse matey 
That Tank Girl M5 would be a challenge to build..hell of a lot of bits on that  and most won't be found in most blokes parts boxes .

I made a start on the original comics version (a sort of giant Scorpion rather than an M5, and surprisingly free of junk-shop dressing) using two 1/48th Marders, a chopped-up 1/48th Tiger II turret, a 1/48th WWI fighter plane and a 1/144th Vostok rocket  .  Didn't get much further than sticking a few bits together though, as I got bogged down trying to engineer the wild running gear and then got distracted by other things.

[Wardukw]

Oh I'm shocked Fred 
BARVs been around since WW2..the Sherman is the most common ..next came the Chieftain and I'm sure the Brits still use em based on a Leo2 or 1 tank ..or both 
I'd never seen a Churchill version so I'm loving this build .

Oh i've always primarily been a car modeller who has been sidetracked into planes.  Armour is something I enjoy building but not something i'll research.  Except the little bit needed to make sure what I am thinking about building is a whiff.  That and reading Tank Girl comics.

That's a very good excuse matey 
That Tank Girl M5 would be a challenge to build..hell of a lot of bits on that  and most won't be found in most blokes parts boxes .

I made a start on the original comics version (a sort of giant Scorpion rather than an M5, and surprisingly free of junk-shop dressing) using two 1/48th Marders, a chopped-up 1/48th Tiger II turret, a 1/48th WWI fighter plane and a 1/144th Vostok rocket  .  Didn't get much further than sticking a few bits together though, as I got bogged down trying to engineer the wild running gear and then got distracted by other things.

I've got the movie of Tank Girl and yep I've looked at the thing closely ..just to much fiddling about to make it look like the movie tank and to be honest I'd rather do something else with a M5 as the tank girl machine don't really rock my boat.
I'd rather put a gatling gun on one like a vulcan 20mm  

[zenrat]

The Tank Girl movie is, while fun, nowhere near as good as the comics.

[buzzbomb]

Meanwhile.. back at the bench 

thanks for the interest.

On a roll with this one.

Added some more detail and had a rivetting experience. I use Tichy Train rivets. Simple to use, mark carefully, drill, cut the rivet and drop in.


Half profile full frontal Damn one set of tracks is backwards Luckily not fully fitted yet.


The top with the access, inlets and exhausts


Next step is the walkways and some detail gubbins.

[Wardukw]

It's great man . ..hope your gonna weather the hell out of it ..or even lightly for that matter..it's amazing how fast the paint changes when it's been smacked by slat water regularly.