The Hamfisted Modeller: 1/48 Tamiya Crusader Mk II

Monday, 20 January 2020

1/48 Tamiya Crusader Mk II

Ist Armoured Division - El Hamma Tunisia - March 1943

Another year another 1/48 piece for the NSW Scale Model Shows Panzer Tracks Trophy, 2020's theme is "The Desert War", so anything that fought in North Africa is fair game

I actually won this kit in a club raffle so as I didn't have another subject the choice was easy. I ended up choosing the MK II with the camouflage pattern rather than the other options which were all over desert sand (or whatever that colour is called).

Construction wise there was no real issues (as usual). All up I think there was about 3 hours of construction to get it ready for painting. I did buy a metal barrel, but despite it being marked as a 40mm barrel for the MK I/II it looked like the larger barrel for the Mk III.

I used my Silhouette Portrait cutter to cut some masks for the wheels. This made painting the dark (rubber?) outer pretty quick and simple.

I enlarged the instructions and made masks for the painting process. Where the surface wasn't flat I used some Panzer Putty to complete the pattern. Once painted it was sealed with a semi gloss coat for some weathering.

I decided to add a few bits and bobs to the kit. The instructions tell you how to fashion some rails for stowage. I started with those but soon lost interest in that. So I just attached them to the hull in a way I think is feasible. They are parts from the Tamiya Jerry can set.

Weathering was primarily enamel filters from AK , oil washers and the Tamiya Weather sets along with some Pigments. The pigments were sealed with IPA sprayed through my airbush as I find this actually locks the pigments in.