A Crusader in the desert - Finnished build page 3

I like the idea,,,, will be watching,,,,,

Thanks for sharing,,,,,,,,,             ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Bill

Interesting idea.  However the turret you have is a different mark than the Crusader turret in the first picture.  The second and 3rd pictures are not Crusader turrets.

They look like they could be Matilda turrets Bronto.

Interesting project and something I've never seen before.

Bronto's right about the turrets not being a match ( the second turret is a Matilda turret, and the third is a Pkpfw 38(t) turret...which is fascinating in its own right as these weren't sent to N. Africa so far as I'm aware)...but that's beside the point of Tony's exercise here!

The cool thing about this idea Tony is that it's a "best of all worlds" exercise...you use a spare turret and get some dio practice as prep for your "big idea"...I love it!

Bronto

Interesting idea.  However the turret you have is a different mark than the Crusader turret in the first picture.  The second and 3rd pictures are not Crusader turrets.

Actually, none of those pictured are Crusader Turrets. The top one is from an A13 Cruiser, the middle pic is a Matilda Turret and the bottom looks as if it also is an A13. All appear to have a cupola with a split ring hatch and a 2pdr main gun. The 2 pdr Crusaders (Mk I, Mk II) had a single piece hatch for the loader and commander, and no Crusader had a raised cupola. All that aside though, the concept obviously was for real using whatever was available. 

Think this is a great idea and convent that you have the spare turret.  I had thought about doing the same but with the German emplacements.  Have never seen this in allied forces or in North Africa, really interesting and nice pictures.  Look forward to your progress

Stik - Think WBILL is correct, the top pic looks like a Pkpfw 38 turret to me.

that will make a nice little scene

Rob,

The first pic is indeed an A13 turret...it's the last one that is the Pz38(t).

(Sorry to repeat this, but I don't think you saw my suggestion... never mind)

Score! Where did you find the figure?

I think the title is great too. by the way, which kit did you get the crusader turret from?

Here's an extra idea, add some abandoned equipment nearby, maybe a "tommie" style helmet perhaps?

Some spent 3- pounder rounds would also hep to convince the viewer that this turrent had been in action recently.

-Just to add to my original post, you could either make the spent cases out of brass tube with a disk of styrene punched out at one end, indenting the center so it would give the impression the primer case had been detonated. Another thing, maybe add an SMLE next to the helmet?

Have fun!

Nice idea for a Dio. I didn't realise that the Allies did this.

Did the Allied turrets have the same set up under ground as the more well known pantherstellung

Most if not all of these were captured tanks dug in by the Axis forces though the British did dig in old Vickers mediums at Tobruck I dont know how long they lasted and the rounds should be 2pdr I agree if the 3rd pic is a 38t then its a new one on me

bultenibo

 I checked my stash to see if I could find someting to practice on, and I found this turret from an Italeri Crusader Mk III:

The setting is of course North Africa in 1941-42, where this was done quite regulary as can be seen in these pics:

Actually I think Tony posted the pictures just to illustrate examples of what he had in mind. Evidently the turret chosen is just what was on hand and is a reasonable alternative. A thrifty idea nonetheless.

 I see some real potential here and look forward to the progress.

(OWww, that hurts!!)

Dear Tony,
looking forward to your next update on this recycling of the Italeri Vintage kit.

With Kind Regards
Utoshita 

Tony the turret looks exactly like something that would be recycled in such a manner, great use of a left over piece from a trashed model.

I look forward to seeing what you achieve with the rest of this interesting project.

Terry.

Hi guys!

Thanks a bunch for the comments and suggestions!

Seems that you have identified the tanks in all three pics. I didn't type out the info I had on these tanks, but in should be:

1. Cruiser Mk 4A (basically a A13 but the bottom of the turrets were V-shaped).

2. Matilda II

3. Pz38(t)

So, none of them are an exact match, since I'm using the turret from a Crusader III. I havn't any confirmation that the allied  forces actually used the this turret, but as 25pdrfg pointed out the Vickers Medium MkII were used in bunker installations in Tobruk and also in the Mersa Metruh defense line, as can be seen in this pic:

Two other pics show the allied use of the Matilda II  in different fixed positions:

I also found two other pics that shows a Valentine and a m13/40 used by the axis in fixed positions.  Both are quite nice:

Anyway, my intetion was purely to put the leftover turret to some use in the vignette. We'll chalk it up to a "what if" vignette...

Paperpanzer: Great suggestions! I'm going to add some more equpiment. I especially liked the idea of spent casings, suggesting that the turret has seen some action. The figure is from Model Victoria, an Italian brand specialized in ww2 Italian figures and tank conversions. The quality of their figures is really amazing, but they are pretty expensive, $ 24 each. I got mine on e-bay for a fraction of that a couple of years ago. A rea lbargain.

Wbill: I really like that expression - "best of all worlds exercise"!

/Tony

bultenibo: Are you going to make the turret look abandoned or knocked out?

By the way, if you want prototypical accuracy, the Lee- Enfeild should be No.3 Mk1 (Lithgow construction) if you are planning to portray a Australian unit. if it were a British installation then it would be a No.4

(not sure it matters in a 1/35th scale dio, but hope it helps...)

By the way, is the figure Resin or plastic?

Here's an step-by-step update on the ground work of the vignette.

First I masked the frame and painted the whole thing in a mix of Beige and English brown acrylics, so that the white color wouldn't shine through.

To get different texture on the desert floor I used three types of sand.

No 1 is real fine sand, brought home from the Canary islands.

No 2 is ordinary hobby sand, with bigger pebbles.

No 3 was bought in a pet shop, and is normally used in fish tanks. This sand has the advantage that the pebbles are of different sizes and also color, giving the desert some much needed variation.

Three small stones was glued to the base before the sand came on.

After covering the whole thing with white glue, I added the sand, and tried to break up the uniformity by mixing the sand in different proportions on differing parts of the ground.

After that it was time for the base paint. I used a mixture of Vallejo beige, red, yellow and pale sand, trying again to get some variations, with shady and highlighted areas.

Then I added some more shadows with very diluted oil paint: Burned umber and Yellow ochra. The three white stones also got a wash.

Then I sprayed the whole thing generously with matt varnish, and added some more no 3 sand, especially around the contours of the dug in tank. When it had dried I put another coat on just to seal it.

After that it was time for the pigments to be added, both in order to do achive some highligting effect and to blend different colored parts together. I used MIG Beach sand and Light dust. Here's the finnished result on the ground work.

And here it is with the turret in place.

Now it's time to fill out the vignette with some equpiment and maybe some dead vegetation, to further break up the monotony.

Yesterday I also ordered some 2 pdr spent casings in brass that I will add later.

That's all for today!

/Tony

I'd say your dio-making skills were doing just fine Tony!

Cool idea ..............

The ground work looks great!  Love the idea and use of the turret.  Going to look real nice with the spent casings

Panzerwaffe and Shellback: Thanks a bunch for the nice comments!

Paperpanzer: Great suggestions!  I think I'll go for a turret used by the British, since I have some fitting  Enfieldsfrom a Dragon kit  in my stash. I'll also add a Mk 2 helmet on the side of the turret.

I'm thinking that the turret has been abandoned in battle, maybe due to being encircled. I considered the idea that it could have been knocked out, but since the whole thing was already painted I didn't want to risk anything by starting to add battle damages. I can't remember seen any pics of knocked out Crusaders, but I imagine that the bolted armor plates often tended to crack when hit by a shell.

The figure is resin. I'll put put up some pics of it before I start the painting.

Bill: The old diorama moves came to life pretty quick. However, before I start on the Burma dio I'll have to do some serious planning, and that's something I'm not good at. I have been looking around to see what kind of jungle vegetation that would fit the dio, and have found some nice PE products - palmtree leaves and all kinds of foilage and shrubs.

It's kind of funny that I only now is returning to diorama building. When I took up the hobby back in 2005, after some 15 years of absence, the only thing I wanted to do was dioramas. But after a while I thought that I had to practice on my figure painting skills, so I switched to that for two years. Then I thought the same about vehicles, and for two years I only built tanks. Maybe I've come full circle now?

/Tony

bultenibo: I can't wait to see what other diorama ideas you have in the future!

Atlast, almost all of the equpiment is added.

I added some irons and a bolt cutter - neccesary tools for improvements on the surrounding barbed wire - and an empty ammo box for the Besa MG. The Lee Enfield and the Mk 2 British helmet were added to give a hint that the turret was used by the British.

The only thing that remains now is the figure and the spent casings of the 2 pdr gun!

/Tony

Tony,

For foliage you may want to check out the line of Kamizukuri laser-cut paper products...they've got some fantastic stuff that will make your life a lot easier I'm sure. http://www.tasca-modellismo.com/english/item4.html  

bultenibo

The only thing that remains now is the figure and the spent casings of the 2 pdr gun!

 

Your Crusader turret is armed with a 6 pounder, not a 2 pounder. You'll need bigger spent shell casings.

Stikpusher: Of course, you're right! I thought one thing and wrote antother. The good thing is that I manage to get the order on e-bay right atleast, so there are 6 pdr shells heading my way.

/Tony

I think this a great project, certainly unique as a small dio or vignette.

For historical context, the Crusader 6-pdr first saw action at the second battle of El Alamein.  So it's plausable to think some might have been disabled at that time and turned into a fortified positon, or panzerstellungs as the Germans called it.  Some too probably broke down as they gave chase to the retreating axis and would be utilized in that manner.

As for the 38(t) photo, no I don't believe either that these were sent to North Africa other than it's chasis as the Marder tank destroyer.  I can see why some might think the pic is from the desert due to the head gear.  It was mostly likely taken in Greece, a left over from the Balkan campaign.

regards,
Jack

Very  cool work on the base. It's shaping up real nicely.