A Tale of Two Churchills

[Windy]

The final stage for this one was weathering with powdered artists pastels. I used a mixture of yellow ochre, white and vandyke brown mixed up with white spirit. I gave it a thin wash on the upper surfaces and built it up quite thickly on the running gear and sides of the hull. Then I used a stiff brush to scrub it off in places and a slightly damp brush to create a streaked effect, especially on the turret sides. I was trying to replicate the filthy look of the vehicles in the original photo.

The start of the process:
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And the final result posed against an old ammo box which is painted Service Brown (SCC 2). You can see how much the dust alters the colour!
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Time to make a start on the Dragon version now. Watch this space!

[tr1ckey66]

Hi Alex
Mighty fine Churchill. Looking forward to seeing it's brother. BTW, I see the Sherman lurking in the background and it's almost crying out to be finished!!!
Nice work

Paul

[Neil Merryweather]

Very nice indeed,Alex :thumb2:

[Windy]

Thanks guys! And don't worry Paul, the Sherman is not abandoned. I was just having some issues with it that resulted in a temporary suspension. These Churchills are getting me back into the swing again.

[Guest]

I reckon it's either SCC 2 or SCC 15. Probably the latter. What do you think?

July 1944 in Italy? I would go with SCC 2. The order for SCC 15 only came in April that year, off the top of my head, with the proviso that existing stocks of SCC 2 were to be exhausted first and vehicles should only be repainted when it was actually necessary. The Italian front being a backwater, I doubt it would have been high on the list for shipments of SCC 15.

[Windy]

July 1944 in Italy? I would go with SCC 2. The order for SCC 15 only came in April that year, off the top of my head, with the proviso that existing stocks of SCC 2 were to be exhausted first and vehicles should only be repainted when it was actually necessary. The Italian front being a backwater, I doubt it would have been high on the list for shipments of SCC 15.

Hi Jakko. That was my thinking. 51st RTR only arrived in Italy in April '44 so the vehicles they took over would more than likely still have been in SCC 2. It's so maddeningly difficult to tell from those colour pictures though. Even after fiddling around with the colour settings they sometimes look brown and sometimes green!

[Graeme C.]

The Churchill you have done looks a very close match for the photograph Alex, question about the photo is, was it a colour photo to start with or colourised later? Obviously colourising a black & white means they could have done anything with it & colour film of that era wasn't up to the standards we are used to, giving odd shades.

[Windy]

The Churchill you have done looks a very close match for the photograph Alex, question about the photo is, was it a colour photo to start with or colourised later? Obviously colourising a black & white means they could have done anything with it & colour film of that era wasn't up to the standards we are used to, giving odd shades.

Thanks Graeme. It's an original colour photo, one of a series in the IWM archive.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/search?filters%5BagentString%5D%5BBritish%20Army%2C%2051st%20Royal%20Tank%20Regiment%5D=on

[Guest]

It's so maddeningly difficult to tell from those colour pictures though. Even after fiddling around with the colour settings they sometimes look brown and sometimes green!

It’s even worse when you’ve only got black-and-white photos to go from. However, if you’ve made your deductions and can support them with reasoning, then let the other guy prove you’re wrong

[Windy]

Hi all. Had no bench time for the last week - all my evenings have been taken up with online training. Utterly, mind-numbingly, soul-destroying! I've still got two courses to do but they just will not load. So they'll have to wait. I've got far better things to be doing with my time, like making a start on the Dragon version of the Churchill IV.

Obligatory sprue shots first, and the instructions. Only one page but this is a far more detailed kit than the PSC offering. It's even got a commander's vane sight and No 19 Set antenna base. And two beautifully moulded Besa MG's. Shame all you'll see of them is the barrel.

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[Windy]

Grief! It's really been slow progress on this one. These bloody online courses have really sucked the life out of me! And now I've all my soldiers' annual reports to write too. My annual exercise in perjury!

Anyway the Dragon Churchill IV is ready for final assembly and detail painting. Here it is in base coat of SCC2.

[Windy]

Evening guys. I thought I'd have this one done by now but I've really buggered up the paint job and need to strip it and start again. I tried Dettol last time but it didn't end well. Any suggestions? I've heard that oven cleaner works but I've never tried it.

[Graeme C.]

I used a kitchen cleaner containing bleach to remove Tamiya paint, what kind of paint did you use?

[Windy]

I used a kitchen cleaner containing bleach to remove Tamiya paint, what kind of paint did you use?

Thanks Graeme. It's Humbrol enamel over Halfords primer.

[stillp]

Mr Muscle oven cleaner, or brake fluid.
Pete