- 03191
- Price around 9.99 GBP (Dec 2012)
Review by Geoff Coughlin
Thanks to Revell for supplying our review sample. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit www.revell.eu or email ukbranch@revell.de
A bit of background…
Both the Cromwell Mk. IV and the Mk. V were equipped with the 75 mm QF Mk V/VA cannon and two machine guns. The cannon was based on the 6-pounder gun and was modified to fire American ammunition. The Meteor engine developed 600 hp and enabled the Cromwell to reach a maximum road speed of 65 km/h.
Initial assessment…
Some initial features of the kit are:
- Authentic reproduction of finest surface details
- Rotating turret
- Injection moulded tracks with individual links and segments
- Optional hedgerow cutter.
There are several other reviews of 1:72 Revell armour subjects in Here Now like the Panzer IV, Challenger and M 2 A2 Bradley? These are all really impressive little kits in this scale and this Cromwell Mk.IV cruiser tank is no different.
Moulding quality is to a high standard with very fine levels of detail across the board. The attached images should speak for themselves and you can decide what you think, especially as armour is probably your area. So I offer a basic insight into this Revell kit that’s widely available and this will be good news to all of you that are interested in armour modelling in this scale.
The package…
Five sprues moulded in dark green plastic form the basis of the model, a set of instructions, and small decal sheet make up the package.
Sprue trees…
You can see that the hull top is very clean and crisp, as is just about everything else. The detail is cleanly and accurately moulded onto the textured surface and will look excellent when spray painted and given a subtle wash and maybe filters (see your Techniques Bank for how to apply these weathering techniques) in keeping with the small scale. The moulded detail throughout is good and although I can’t give an opinion on accuracy, what you get certainly looks consistent with some of the images I have seen.
The fact that the few vehicle tools are provided moulded into the chassis might not please everyone, but remember that this is 1:72 scale and a subtle wash should create a sufficient demarcation between the two to look convincing.
Other highlights include…
The detail on the hull top, track links and one-piece gun barrel – the latter being easy to drill out with a pin vice hand held drill and bit.
The tracks are broken down into small sections that should allow you to pose them fairly naturally. This will be important as there are no side skirts like modern tanks, so what’s provided looks to be just fine in 1:72 scale. The tracks have quite a number of separate track links to allow you to make the curved sections around the return rollers.
There’s no flash or excess plastic on any of the parts, so this will help build time greatly.
Decals…
There’s a small sheet with the respective number plates and unit badges for the options contained in the kit. The quality looks good overall, although there is carrier film visible around most of the items, but applying them to a glossy finish should ensure that doesn’t show. I might be tempted to trip the excess away.
Versions are:
- 2nd Sq., 2nd Battalion, Reconnaissance Regiment of the Welsh Guards Armoured Division, Normandy, France, summer 1944
- Div. HQ of 11th Armoured Division, Normandy, France, June 1944
Instructions…
These follow the usual Revell format with Revel colour references, parts and sprue layout diagrams followed by a 24-Stage build and finishing sequence. The Cromwell is a simply designed AFV to look at and will not present any problems to the builder. The sequence looks to be logical to me.
To sum up…
This is really a very impressive little kit and I reckon that you’ll be made up if 1:72 armour modelling is your area of interest given all the impressive kits being released in this scale. Levels of detail are fine this time for the scale and fit looks to be clean and pretty trouble-free. At the small price of the kit, you can’t go wrong really now can you?