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Author Topic: Quick dug in Churchill tanks 1/87  (Read 1596 times)

Offline vodkafan

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Quick dug in Churchill tanks 1/87
« on: January 08, 2019, 12:11:24 AM »
Sooo, I got these 4 diecast Churchill tanks from my wargaming buddy Peter. They are spot on 1/87 which is a scale we don't game in but they are such nice models (well the top halves are, I am coming to that) that I wanted to do something with them.
 Although it had rubber tracks the running gear and wheels were very toy like and not accurate at all for a Churchill. So I took them apart and put all the metal parts in the dip to clean them.
I decided that I would just use the upper hulls and hit on the idea of a sort of drive in bunker constructed of logs and earth where only the turret would be showing. I am sure this sort of thing must have existed, maybe I have seen it in a film somewhere.
Anyway I don't want to spend a lot of effort on these so here is what I have done on the first one so far:


Chopped the locating lugs off the bottom so they sit flat and cut some thick card bases 80mm x 120mm


Constructed the logs from barbecue skewers stuck with hot glue gun


Made it quite snug. With the bottom painted in dark shades I hope it will not be obvious that there is no lower hull.


Rough cut up some foam from an old camping sleep mat to bulk up the sides


Covered it with filler.

That is as far as I have got so far. 40 minutes work .
Earth banks will be textured and grass added and a row of sandbags or two along the top of the logs. Or I could do it snowy?  For some reason this is making me think of Korea , or being dug in on the banks of the Rhine in miserable weather in winter 44-45....

Comments welcome.
I am going to build a wargames army, a big beautiful wargames army, and Mexico is going to pay for it.

2019 Painting Challenge :
figures bought: 500+
figures painted: 57
9 vehicles painted
4 terrain pieces scratchbuilt

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Re: Quick dug in Churchill tanks 1/87
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2019, 02:23:02 AM »
That should look very good when you are done.

Offline vodkafan

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Re: Quick dug in Churchill tanks 1/87
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2019, 11:24:12 AM »
Only another hour's work to get the other 3 up to the same stage:


everything now given a coat of primer

Offline has.been

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Re: Quick dug in Churchill tanks 1/87
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2019, 07:16:47 PM »
Well done. You have done more, with them, in a couple of days
than I did in a couple of years.
By the way LAFers, Vodkafan is obsessed with wheels & tracks, so if anyone
out there has any they don't want please fell free to send them to him.

Offline vodkafan

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Re: Quick dug in Churchill tanks 1/87
« Reply #4 on: January 09, 2019, 12:45:37 PM »

One base logs painted in basic woody colours and sand added. Others still in black undercoat only dark brown added to logs.


Basic coat of dark green on tanks over black undercoat.

Offline vodkafan

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Re: Quick dug in Churchill tanks 1/87
« Reply #5 on: January 10, 2019, 11:57:14 AM »
Change of plan! I was not happy with  the way the dug outs were looking- I had made them too roomy and it was obvious there was only half a tank there, and the bit of the base behind the tank was a dead giveaway.
So last night I started over on a mark 2 version:

It is deeper and narrower and I have now made the front one log lower than the sides so that the tank would be able to fire at full depression of the gun.
Making the other 3 up now. They take a little longer to build.
Meanwhle the Churchills have had a dark pinwash:


Offline vodkafan

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Re: Quick dug in Churchill tanks 1/87
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2019, 12:31:38 PM »
Other mark 2 bases done yesterday:


Experimenting with drybrushing:


Bases part painted and with sand added:


Next job will be sandbags!

Offline Borderguy190

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Re: Quick dug in Churchill tanks 1/87
« Reply #7 on: January 15, 2019, 06:46:55 PM »
Very cool. A nice reuse of minis that might just sit. Good inspiration for others to use in building dugout/log bunkers for anybscale and era.

Offline has.been

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Re: Quick dug in Churchill tanks 1/87
« Reply #8 on: January 15, 2019, 08:57:42 PM »
Never mind 'might sit' they flipping well did, for years at my house
till Vodkafan started working his magic.

Offline vodkafan

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Re: Quick dug in Churchill tanks 1/87
« Reply #9 on: January 15, 2019, 11:33:45 PM »
Never mind 'might sit' they flipping well did, for years at my house
till Vodkafan started working his magic.

Always worth poking through your boxes to see the stored treasures....

Offline vodkafan

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Re: Quick dug in Churchill tanks 1/87
« Reply #10 on: January 25, 2019, 01:18:46 PM »
Was busy with other stuff for a week but now back on this mini project.

Stared on the green stuff sandbags:


That's enough I think?


This was my first attempt at sandbags, at the moment they look OK to me but I welcome any comments or tips.

Offline vodkafan

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Re: Quick dug in Churchill tanks 1/87 Finished!
« Reply #11 on: February 03, 2019, 10:40:09 AM »
Finally finished! If I was doing them again I would make them larger and irregular bases rather than rectangles.
I have found some small figures to go with them but that is a project for another day...




Now on to something else!

Offline Borderguy190

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Re: Quick dug in Churchill tanks 1/87
« Reply #12 on: February 04, 2019, 09:30:23 AM »
Those look great! I'm going to copy the dugout portion for some of my FoW models. Well done!

Offline vodkafan

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Re: Quick dug in Churchill tanks 1/87
« Reply #13 on: February 04, 2019, 09:51:53 AM »
Those look great! I'm going to copy the dugout portion for some of my FoW models. Well done!

Thanks for your feedback, they were fun to make, good luck with yours!