Tamiya’s Churchill first came out in the 1980′s as the Churchill Crocodile ( which has recently been cleaned up and re-released by Tamiya ) and this kit uses that original tank. Tamiya cleaned up the moulds, removed the Crocodile parts, added a new sprue with extra figures and released it as this kit. So this review can also be used for the base tank in the Crocodile kit, just without the eatra figure sprue.
Despite it’s age this is still a very respectable kit and remains the only Mk.VII Churchill available for the time being. Though once AFV Club finishes with the earlier models and tackles the later model Churchill’s I suspect this one will start to look somewhat dated.
Coming in a large tray and lid style box this kit contains only five sprues as well as the upper hull and lower tub for the tank, and the tracks. Four of those sprues plus the hull parts are for the Churchill and are moulded in dark green plastic and have good clean moulds and sharp detail with minimal cleanup of mould seams required. The fifth sprue is moulded in a light grey plastic and contains the three new figures plus a farmers cart. The tracks are traditional Tamiya one piece vinyl “rubber band” style.
The tank itself is a little light on detail with most of it being moulded as part of the larger parts, for example the suspension is all moulded as part of the side sponsons. The turret also lacks the necessary casting texture but this can be easily addressed with Mr. Surfacer. One thing that shows the age of the kit is the moulded mountings to take a motor for a remote control version.
Assembly is simple, Tamiya’s instuction being the usual clear and easy to understand ones that we have come to know. Helped of course by the fact that there really aren’t a lot of parts to this kit.
Despite the boxtop proclaiming a total of four figures included you actually get five, the original two that came with the Crocodile kit plus three new ones - two more crew members and a farmer figure. This new sprue also includes a farmer’s cart with milk churns and a small clear sprue containing bottles which is a great little bonus on its own. The older two figures are a little small and stiff looking but they still make a good looking pair when painted well, the other three are moulded with more detail and look more relaxed and a little larger to boot. The farmer is a particularly nice touch.
Decals are provided for three vehicles : 6th Guards Tank Brigade, 3rd Tank Batallion Scots Guards ; 34th Tank Brigade 107th RAC and 31st Tank Brigade 9th RTR.
Despite it’s age this is still a good kit and will look the part once complete. If you treat it as the start point and add a good photo-etch detail set, individual link tracks, and a bit of time and skill it can turn out as a model anyone would be proud of, the hardest part to tackle being the suspension. The AFV Club Churchills are better kits without a doubt, but they are all earlier model Churchills, so if you must have a late model then this is it.
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