TAMIYA'S 1:35TH CROMWELL

The ideal combination is a quick & simple build that creates a convincing replica you can’t wait to paint. Tamiya’s Cromwell (Ref: 35221) in 1:35th Scale ticks all those boxes.

In fact, we think it’s the ideal starter kit. Any newcomer to AFV modelling should pick up this excellent rendition of the British Cromwell tank.

If you follow us on Twitter or our social media pages, you’ll already know that the Tamiya Cromwell graces our pages.

So we thought, we’d review the kit & post some more images of our “cover-girl” Cromwell.

When the kit arrived in our hobby stores in 1997, it was a welcome addition to the Tamiya 1:35th scale range. In fact, before its arrival, British tanks were pretty rare. Luckily, Tamiya did very well with their first British AFV kit for some time.

Inside the stunningly illustrated box, the modeller is greeted with 180 or so parts, the bulk of which are finely cast in a dark green plastic & set among a handful of sprues. The detail attained is certainly impressive. Everything is beautifully moulded, the armour has a great texture & the distinctive bolt detail is very well done. The wheels are also nicely manufactured.

In the box are a good selection of markings, some clear plastic accessories like bottles & goggles, as well as some nylon tow ropes.

We could write more about the build process but to keep short, this is a highly recommended kit you won’t regret buying & which flies together.

As well as those well-made parts, its strength is that speed of construction, which follows the standard, wheels, hull, turret formula we all know. Very soon you’ll have a fine replica of this speedy-looking tank sitting on your work bench.

So what did we do to improve it? Well you could build it straight out of the box, but we opted for some etched parts from Eduard. We only used a handful of etched pieces where the plastic was lacking detail. We also stuck with the kit’s vinyl tracks, which turned out to look fine under a coat of paint.

After a base coat mixed from Tamiya Acrylics, we coated in Klear & then the decals went on without problems.

The fun part was adding little details like the stowage – which was kept reasonable as the tank is depicted in Normandy. An assortment of resin ammo boxes, putty blankets & an oil can from Plus Model found their way onto the tank.

The final touch was the residue from the tank’s waterproofing – remember the tank named “Taureg” – is depicted after arriving in Normandy. This was added by using putty built up around a mask. This was done after the main base coat was painted on. It was simply painted black & weathered after the putty dried. Lastly, a replacement set of metal tow ropes was added along with Accurate Armour towing eyes.