Churchill NA75 — under way at last

 

Here's a project I started quite some time ago, and then just left to gather dust on my painting desk -- a troop of 15mm Churchill NA75 for Italy.

I printed the models from a design by the prolific Mr Bergman, and opened up the top hatch and added some commanders. One of them I built in Blender and 3d printed, the other two are plastics from Battlefront.

The primer coat is a useful dark brown I mixed up from Vallejo surface primers German Red Brown and US Olive Drab. It makes a good base colour for almost anything.

I've panel-shaded that base dark brown with VMA 71.035 Camo Pale Brown, which makes a decent match for SCC2 Service Brown.

It's good to have these under way, after neglecting them for so long.

I've added some basic markings, and given them a light dry-brush to begin to bring out the detail.

Interestingly, the period photographs I've seen of this vehicle from Italy show minimal markings, at least from the front. There's this famous picture of one advancing through an Italian town, and about the only marking that can be clearly seen is the T number on the hull front; I can't make out any tactical markings at all, though that might just be a contrast issue — there might be something on the turret sides, but it's quite indistinct.

I've included the tactical markings simply because I think that British tanks look a bit naked without them.

2024-06-10

I've started the weathering by spraying and sponging on some light dust and mud — these tanks are not going to be excessively filthy — but I'm a bit stumped about how I'm going to handle the tracks. They're not very detailed, so there's only so far it's worth going.