British Tanks? What British Tanks?

[ultravanillasmurf]

Or valentine? 

They are not really a tank that has interested me, though they might be popular with Soviet players.

For early/mid war I would prefer a Matilda II, again possibly popular with Soviet players.

[Pinky]

The Matilda and Valentine both have a relatively narrow appeal.  Of the two, the Matilda II would probably be more popular, because it featured prominently in the early part of the North African campaign and also played a role in the Fall of France (with the BEF), the Eastern Front (with the Soviets, although not very successfully) and the Pacific (the Australians used them up to the end of the war).  It would probably be possible for Rubicon to provide all the parts to build the various versions (there were a number of modifications over its service life, and there was a close support version and a flamethrower version).

I think a Churchill would be far more popular, especially if there was an AVRE version included.

[ultravanillasmurf]

I agree with Pinky about the potential popularity of a Churchill and an AVRE would be the icing on the cake.

It would be quite a squeeze to get all the bits on four sprues, but it might be possible to arrange it so an AVRE could be built from three and have a later kit with an additional sprue for some of the bolt on toys (dozer, fascine, bobbin etc.).

I think Pinky is right that a Matilda II kit could could cover the whole life of the design, though providing both high heels and flats would require ingenuity.

They were still in Australian service in the fifties, I think in Civil Defence. An interesting decal option.

[Pinky]

It would be quite a squeeze to get all the bits on four sprues, but it might be possible to arrange it so an AVRE could be built from three and have a later kit with an additional sprue for some of the bolt on toys (dozer, fascine, bobbin etc.).

Agreed.  I think it's doable - look at Rubicon's Tiger I, which is a large vehicle but includes a lot of options.  And Rubicon have had a lot of experience in kit design since then.

I think Pinky is right that a Matilda II kit could could cover the whole life of the design, though providing both high heels and flats would require ingenuity.

Do you mean the raised suspension that featured on some BEF A12s?  This wasn't standard, and could be ignored.

They were still in Australian service in the fifties, I think in Civil Defence. An interesting decal option.

Until about 1955.  Not bad for a tank designed in 1938.  That actually makes it one of the few tanks to see service throughout WW2.  I dunno how important the Australian market is, but Rubicon saw fit to include Aussie markings for their Crusader. 

[ultravanillasmurf]

Yup, the BEF version, it is distinctive for that theatre, together with the Vickers' coax, exhaust arrangement and the trench crossing skid.

http://ultravanillasmurf.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/matilda-in-high-heels.html

Oh, and if anyone reads the above, the Tamiya kit is still in its box...

Another survivor were the Syrian Panzer IVs.

[Pinky]

Hey, I read it.  Your BEF Matilda looks very convincing.  I had a poke around your site - very entertaining.  You have the same grasshopper-like tendencies as me when it comes to finishing projects...

[ultravanillasmurf]

Thanks

You have the same grasshopper-like tendencies as me when it comes to be projects...

And they are the projects that have got somewhere ^___^.

[Laffe]

Yup, the BEF version, it is distinctive for that theatre, together with the Vickers' coax, exhaust arrangement and the trench crossing skid.

http://ultravanillasmurf.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/matilda-in-high-heels.html

Oh, and if anyone reads the above, the Tamiya kit is still in its box...

Another survivor were the Syrian Panzer IVs.

For what it's worth, I have a Tamiya Matilda and a Stug IIID also still in their boxes...

[stevepalffy]

Stuart honey M3 would be great....you already have the tracks and wheels done in the M8 and M5A1....

[ultravanillasmurf]

The Honey is a bit meh for me.

Osprey have a New Vanguard next year for the Valentine,  you would think their partner company might have a matching kit out at the same time. Also BA has a desert war supplement next year.

[Pinky]

I wouldn't mind a Honey - especially with all the desert modifications (sand shields, stowage boxes, smoke dischargers etc).  But there are a lot of other vehicles I'd rather see first!

I'm pretty down on the Valentine - it just wasn't that important as a combat vehicle.  Let Warlord do one in resin.  On that score, I've noticed that Warlord's flow of plastic vehicles has really slowed down.  Rubicon are going beat them out of the gate with several kits that both companies announced, including the M8 and M10/M36.  They seem to have diverted a lot of their plastic production into their new BtGoA range (which I think looks pretty dire).

[Patrick R]

M3 Stuart is nice for Africa and later Lend-Lease to the French and Soviets as well as some action in Italy and Western Europe.

For the Valentine there's the Archer and oddball versions such as the command/OP versions and the bridge layer.

Matilda II is one of the iconic tanks for North Africa and soldiered on in the Pacific.

[Pinky]

I see from Warlord's site that they are planning to release a Churchill in plastic, which will include an AVRE version.  Just thought those of you pushing for more British armour should know.

[Rubicon Models]

I see from Warlord's site that they are planning to release a Churchill in plastic, which will include an AVRE version.  Just thought those of you pushing for more British armour should know.

We are not in a hurry to release a Churchill at this point.  Brought several reference books on the vehicle, including background history and blueprints.  Need to read through all the material before we can decide on which variants to focus on.

We are not worried about other manufacturers planning or releasing a Churchill.  From our understanding, Warlord "buy" and "up-scale" existing 3rd party digital drawings to create their own brand name products (other than those partnered with Italeri), which greatly limited their choice and creativity for each design.

We have our own production plans for 2016, mainly focused on customer demands and on various 28mm WW2 game systems.  The military modelling market is also important to us as well.  We had never considered other 28mm kit manufacturers (plastic and otherwise) as competitors, we are just one of the players... of course, we always wanted to be the best among all of them!

[Yaquir]

Word!