1/35 Italeri Crusader Mk. III

[pingvuiini]

Another quick initial OOB build of 1/35 Italeri British Crusader Mk. III. The box and bags were open and some of the parts were missing like the turret antenna mount behind the searchlight. I will probably scratchbuild something to replace it. Nice operating suspension. I just noticed I forgot to snip off a piece of the sprue on the round driver's hatch. Oops!

Pics:

 

[Glorfindel]

Looks pretty sharp OOB. Scratch building missing parts......that's cake! Your a modeler, it's in your blood.

 

[Jimi]

what was the kit like to put together, any fit issues?

 

[pingvuiini]

what was the kit like to put together, any fit issues?

This kit was not the tightest I've built in terms of fit, and judging by the box it looks to be an older model. There are gaps in certain areas like the top turret hatches and fuel tank sides, but nothing that won't be hidden by my usual excessive weathering later on. In once instance the hose connecting the fuel tank to the chassis was too short so I scratchbuilt a connector using styrene rod.

I would say that the flash was more annoying than any fit issues. The flash wasn't as bad as the horrid Beobaachtungswagen by RPM that I did, but just enough that I had to give lots of parts a few scrapes with the knife. But overall, the kit went together very quickly and I was able to finish the initial build in a day.

Looks pretty sharp OOB. Scratch building missing parts......that's cake! Your a modeler, it's in your blood.

Thanks! Just over a year ago I feared doing any type of scratchbuilding or even anything beyond OOB. But having been exposed to it all I am now eager to explore new things like third party PE and resin and scratchbuilding using styrene stock or leftover sprues whenever necessary. Decades ago I took a jewelrymaking class in college which I hated but needed the credits to graduate. Now I find that all the tools I bought for that class *really* come in handy for modelbuilding. I am sure glad I kept those tools!

 

[danb]

Great build so far very clean well done my friend

Dan B

 

[pingvuiini]

Thanks for all your comments!

I just finished the initial paint, decals and detailing. I opted for the El Alamein markings and paint.