Total Pageviews

Greetings!

'A gaping silken dragon,/Puffed by the wind, suffices us for God./We, not the City, are the Empire's soul:/A rotten tree lives only in its rind.'

Monday 5 November 2012

Of tanks and last things...

... the Armourfast Crusaders are undercoated. I think that the jury might be out on these models. On the one hand they are cheap, 'Made in England', two in a box, quick to get to the table, and sound as wargame models. However, a good deal of detail is simplified or missing; and it may be that some would find too much has been simplified. I'm not sure. I suspect that I might have been spoiled by the venerable Airfix Crusader which came out in late 1971, I think. Now, I haven't made an Airfix version since the mid-1970s, but it still looks like a good kit (are they still available?). Spurred on by John Sanders, I attempted to put together an entire one to one ratio Crusader squadron. I didn't succeed, but I do still have my heavy-handed attempts at the graceful form of the Crusader:


Here's one, with sandshield changes to make it look more like a Crusader Mk.I. The turret searchlight is missing now, as is the pennant-bedecked aerial which used to adorn all my desert kit. But, even under the thick coats of 1970s paint, you can still see that this was/is a pretty sharp kit.


And here's another 1970s build next to an undercoated Armourfast Crusader. Now, what is interesting is that the Armourfast version is marketed as 1/72, while the Airfix is, of course, 1/76, yet, dimensionally, there are next to no differences. Odd?


The answer may well lie in the article by Terry Gander in the February 1972 Airfix Magazine (with a nice shot of an Aussie Phantom on the cover). Mr Gander's article was illustrated by some good views of a Bovington Tank Museum Crusader, but also by contemporary photographs, including the one below showing a red tabbed chap in a Mk. II with useful detail of the turret stowage boxes.


But the main point that Mr Gander made was that the Airfix model was too long by around 'one scale foot'. This probably goes some way to explaining the nice compatability between the Armourfast 1/72 version and the Airfix 1/76. Anyway, more on the Armourfast version yet to come.

I picked the last of my Egremont Russets today, on a bright, but damp Autumn day. I read recently (sometimes the press have a use) that Egremont Russets are a rare commodity in the shops (I nearly typed 'greengrocers'. Ha! I mean oligopolistic octopuses) due to the awful Spring weather of cold and wet together. But I've been fortunate, and will still have a week's worth of Russets to eat. Including these:


the last of this year's crop.

Something else that I have seen the last of:


Oh woe is me! My dam' blood clotting nonsense means that my happy pipe smoking days are gone. Gone!

Finally, 'merde!', as the creeping Miliciens might say:


North Star 28mm Resistance. The creeping around continues...

9 comments:

  1. I think we may share the same views on Armourfast. The detail is just too spartan for my taste. By the time you put the work into improving them you end up with a depleted spares box and are left wondering how fast your "fastbuild" really was. My 2 cents...

    Cheers, Dave

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm beginning to agree, especially with your point about the time it actually takes to get them to the table. It rather defeats the object if they take just as long as a full blown kit. The PSC are better in that they offer more and are not too simplified. And don't Italeri do something similar, two vehicles to a box?

      Delete
    2. Yes, Italeri fastbuilds are two per box. The level of detail is very good, but quality is not uniform across the range, especially in terms of accuracy. Jeeps and US halftracks are particularly good. Panther has issues. A few problems with the Shermans. Not sure about the Soviet stuff. On-line research of individual items is strongly recommended before you buy...

      Cheers, Dave

      Delete
  2. Apparently the Airfix tank has problems with the wheels being too large and the tank being upscaled to match or some silliness. Matador have more on it: http://matadormodels.co.uk/tank_museum/zairfix_crusader_1.htm

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for this link! Some interesting comments on the Airfix classics. I do think, however, that they are a little too harsh on the Crusader - chopping out a few millimetres from the back of the kit would do the trick.

      Delete
  3. A wide ranging and interesting post.Lovely looking apples ,my middle daughter's favourite incidently whch we find shopwise without too much hassle.
    I think the armour fast look great- too many twiddly bits mean a kit is less robust for the gaming table I wonder?
    Can't wait for more creeping...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers, Alan. The odd thing is that the Armourfast Crusaders don't feel robust as the plastic they are made out of is incredibly light. But, I'm sure they'll look ok in the end. Glad to hear your middle daughter (the arty one?) has good taste in apples. I've still to start on my Red Falstaffs, which are reddening on the tree still.

      Delete
  4. All in all a good job despite the issues Stephen. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers, Paul. I think your Airfix and Matchbox bias is very sound. They are still hard to beat - just look at your PzIVs at the moment.

      Delete