Your next British tank... which one?

[Rubicon Models]

We have two polls that we would like to do based on our Wish List* over the past five years, but first thing first...

Which British tank you would like us to do next... and why?

After this, we will do our second poll...  Looking forward for some replies and comments!



* We do really do kept a Wish List somewhere in the studio!

[ripley]

Valentine  . Not sure which marks used  used in desert  ( at work , shhh  ) with sand skirts and fender mounted  spare fuel tank , 2 pdr gun  , iconic desert tank . This version  also sent to Russia in the lend lease program . There was also a version with 6 pdr gun ( same turret ? ) and late in the war a version with a 75mm gun and redesigned turret used as command vehicles in SP gun units . So with a little for thought a multi version kit might be possible as I believe the hull was the pretty much the same for all versions ( note Canada made some with cast nose { about 1400 IRC } , but all sent to Russia ). If you design the kit so all lower hull . wheels and track are on one sprue you might be able to use it in a Archer or Bishop kit by adding a new upper body , and gun turret  / mount sprue

[ultravanillasmurf]

Yes, I would back the Valentine. Probably the most used British tank (in terms of countries), with a good number of theatres (only missing out on France 1940)*.

The Bishop would be good as a resin variant using the plastic hull. The Archer could be combined with a seventeen pounder project, but in plastic.

* - Assuming we live with the Warlord Matilda.

[H0ffmn]

Another vote for the Valentine

[EarlyWarGamer]

I would be happy with:

Valentine Mk II onwards.  The Mk I never saw combat. All models from Mk II on saw service somewhere. 

Cruiser A13, all marks.

Assuming that Rubicon is not interested in getting into the Matilda "space" at this time.  And I don't think they should.

[ripley]

Warlord has the Matilda covered . I've been given  the  plastic kit and its not too bad at all , covering the BEF , desert and lend lease version . It could use some variations in the  nose bin covers , tow shackles , maybe the other 2pdr barrel type ,and also  Aussie Frog modifications . Nothing a good model builder couldn't kit bash  if he wanted to have that version  . Nothing really to warrant a full redesign and release by another company IMO .

[ultravanillasmurf]

@Ripley - that is what I thought, even though I have not got one (or more) yet.

[RFT]

A plastic Comet would be fantastic.

[303in204]

I'll add my support to the Valentine, please include what's needed for the lend lease versions!

But as a Bolt Action player, to be blunt I'd rather see a Humber, Daimler, or Staghound armoured car before any new british tanks.

[Rubicon Models]

Thanks for the input... we will do some research on the Valentine to see which variant(s) can be included in a single kit.

What's your view on which Valentine variant(s) you want us to do?


After the weekend, we will announce a new British tank project (NOT RELATED TO THIS POST) for our "New Project of the Month"... stay tuned! 

[Rubicon Models]

Here is our second poll...

Besides the Valentine, if we were to do a Churchill, which variant(s) would you like to see and why?

Of course, these variants had to be consistent in terms of hull features with no major design changes.  The turret can be different.  We had some ideas, but would like to hear from you guys for more comments.


We might have a third poll later! 



Reference Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_tank

[EarlyWarGamer]

Well, Churchill III, IV, V and VI all had riveted hulls. Starting with the VII they went to welded. I assume that is enough of a change to mean you can either do the riveted hull variants, or the welded hull variants, but that would be two separate kits.

Churchill I and II looked significantly different from the models that followed. Tracks were not fully covered, and the turret was smaller.

Starting with the III the turret size and shape changed significantly.
Starting with VII, the turret size and shape changed again

So just based on this, I could see possibly three kits:

Mk I and II (2 pdr armament) - Saw little front-line service. Dieppe comes to mind.
     (@ 1,350 produced)
Mk II, IV, V and VI (6 pdr and infantry support howitzer) - Main versions of the Churchill, saw service in Africa, Italy, Russia and Normandy
     (@ 2,750 produced)
Mk VII and VIII (QF 75) - Known as the Heavy Churchill (2 tons heavier).  Late-war version, saw action in Normandy and Italy
     (@ 1,600 produced)

So the second option looks to me to be the best bet for a multi-version kit that will have different turrets/weapon, and greater fielding opportunities.

[303in204]

Why not just announce you are producing a Churchill kit to compete with the Italeri kit which has existed for several years?

[Rubicon Models]

Why not just announce you are producing a Churchill kit to compete with the Italeri kit which has existed for several years?

We have no intention to compete with other companies.  We are just exploring different options for our next batch of future BRITISH releases.  This is why we post this as a POLL to ask for feedback.

[ultravanillasmurf]

On the subject of the Churchill tank, I would like an A22F Churchill VII.

That would not be in direct competition with the Warlord/Italeri version and would give you a proper Crocodile and according to the family tree in the Wikipedia article an AVRE option.

I can see that as that version was not delivered to the Soviets, that is one market that is not present for that version.

Crocodiles were deployed to Korea, so would tie in with the new Bolt Action supplement.