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Tamiya
Cromwell Mk.IV
British Cruiser Tank Mk.VIII, A27M
1:48 Scale - Kit No.32528
Review by Terry Ashley

Tamiya
Tamiya continue to release a good mix of Axis and Allied subjects on the 1:48 range with this kit of the Cromwell Mk.IV following the earlier British Universal Carrier (kit #32516).

The 1:35 scale Tamiya Cromwell Mk.IV was one of the better releases in that scale and this kit is basically a shrunken version of that kit with many of the assembly sequences the same with a few simplifications due to the smaller size but there are some major fit issues we don’t normally associate with Tamiya kits which we will get too shortly.

The kit represents the Type C hulled Cromwell with the left side opening hull hatch and is armed with the QQF 75mm main gun and consist of 158 parts in olive drab plastic moulded to the usual high standard with crisp clean detail and no flash with a bare minimum of pin marks. The only cleanup being the sprue attachment scars and the very thin mould seam lines on the parts. There is also the usual metal lower hull tub, a few poly caps and a length of twine for the tow cable plus the decal and instruction sheets.

Lower Hull:
The is as mentioned the usual cast metal tub again devoid of any real detail with the separate outer hull panels and axles all cast with the hull tub leaving only the axle stubs and three panels lines on the hull sides as the only detail with none of the many flush bolt heads of the real plates.

Added to this is the front hull panel with tow shackle attachment points and at the back is the rear hull panel with additional parts for the side brackets and upper rear panel plus the early central tow pintle and the two smoke discharger units. 

Both the front and rear plates fit nicely to the metal tub but ensure the rear plate (part B29) is located absolutely centrally as this will effect the fit of the hull top later.

Running Gear:
TamiyaThe two drive sprockets have excellent detail with open lightening holes on the outer disk and the two inner “rims” with a poly caps trapped between the two halves and these assemble into excellent sprockets. The idler wheels also have nice details on the outer wheel which is simply glued to the inner wheel and attached to the axle with cyanoacrylate (super Glue).

The road wheels are the solid rubber tyre type with excellent hub and rim details for the scale considering the hub cap is included with the wheel moulding. The inner and outer wheel halves are again glued together and attached to the axles with cyanoacrylate.

Tracks:
These are in the now usual injected moulded segments with two long runs for the top and bottom and smaller sections for the curves and around the idler wheel and drive sprockets. Detail on the track links is quite good and captures the features of the Cromwell track well but there is a problem with the assembled track.

TamiyaThe two short segments (parts A19) above the first and fifth road wheel are slightly curved upward with the upper track run (part A16) moulded straight, this results in the top track run touching all five road wheels with part A19 bending up to meet the next segments going to the Idler and drive sprockets.

On a Cromwell with properly tensioned track the top run will only rest on the middle road wheel, lightly resting on the second and forth but not touching the first and fifth wheels at all.

This means that the top track run (part A16) should have a slight upward curve and the two parts A19 should be straight to get the desired continuous curve effect and altering the kit track parts A19 and A16 will be needed to get the correct sit of the track.

Upper Hull:
The design of the Cromwell upper hull thankfully leaves no open sponsons and attaching the upper and lower hull reflects this for a fully enclosed hull.

The upper hull includes the side fenders with separate driver’s, co-driver’s hatches, front driver’s plate, rear air inlet cover and rear air intake mesh screen as separate parts with the detail on the hull has very good detail definition.

The upper hull is held to the lower hull tub by two small screws through the Driver’s hatch and the central engine deck hatch openings with these hatches included as separate parts to add after assembly.

Unfortunately there were un-characteristically some major fit problems with the upper and lower hull and I have actually assembled two kit parts to make sure it wasn’t me getting it all wrong but both kits had the same issues.

TamiyaThere is firstly a small gap between the glacis and front hull plate which can be filled by adding a small plastic strip but at the back were major problems.

The upper hull was about 1mm too short to mate to the rear hull part (B29) and attaching the two rear fender sections (B8/B13 and B9/B13) in their correct positions also left a 1mm gap between them and hull mounted fenders. The upper air intake cover (part B21) fits okay but this leaves the large gaps on both sides to deal with.

I added plastic card shims to part the rear hull plate (B29) and fenders (B8-B9) using cyanoacrylate so trimming can be done almost immediately and after some test fitting the hull was attached leaving only very small seams which would have been the case if the kit parts fitted properly.

There were also fit issues with the rear side fender parts (B27, B28) but this very much depends on the positioning of the rear hull plate (B29) and some trimming may be needed when fitting the side fenders.

The full length fenders have nice details with the crowbar and mattock head moulded with the fenders but the shovel and fire extinguishers are separate parts as are the three fender mounted storage boxes made up of two parts with a separate end section on the single left side box. You should watch the assembly of the boxes as box parts (parts A3, A22) are used on both sides but the end section (part A8) is only attached to the left hand box.

At the front is the separate driver’s plate that has the round driver’s hatch moulded in the closed position but the Besa machine gun is separate and held in place with the nicely detailed retaining ring allowing the gun to move. The MG barrel can be drilled out to add a bit more detail here.

The upper pericope covers are separate parts for good definition as are the two headlights and light guards although these are a little thick for the scale but unless you want to replace these with thinner wire should be okay.

The side opening crew hatch is in two parts and can be positioned open or closed as you wish while the driver’s hatch is moulded as a single part but you can cut these in half to add a driver figure.

The rear engine deck side intake panels are also separate parts and the left side panel includes the crowbar moulded on with the fit of these parts being good but are the same 1mm short as with the main hull with this being dealt with along with the hull alterations mentioned above.

Turret:
TamiyaThis has the turret shell with all the side and rear bolted panels as separate parts just like the bigger 1:35 kit and these have nice details included for this scale with the fit to the shell being very good.

There are the four large lifting hooks on each corner of the turret which are separate parts but these are quite thick and you could thin these for a better scale appearance and also the hole should be round and not the odd shape in the parts. The only way to fix this would be to replace the hooks with thin card with the round hole drilled.

If you use the left side mounted search light the locating hole has to be opened up before attaching the side panel and there is no light wiring which you should add from thin wire as well as the wire attachment bracket on the hull roof just in front of the Cupola.

On the top is the Commander’s cupola with fairly basic details with separate two part hatches that have internal details but also a couple of hefty pin marks to be removed, the two part Loader’s hatch also has internal details and more of the pin marks to be removed.

The gun mantlet has a separate Besa MG which again should be drilled out for a better appearance and this is attached to the rear of the front turret plate with two poly caps allowing the gun mantlet to elevate.

The 75mm gun is moulded in one single piece for the barrel with just one half of the muzzle brake as a separate part and the only cleanup is the small moulding seam down the barrel which is easily sanded off.

Other turret details are the upper ventilator cover as a separate part along with the two vane sights which are quite heavy and can be thinned down for a better look and these will no doubt be included with the inevitable etched sets for this kit.

Also included is an optional Normandy cowl for the rear air intake cover and if you use this two locating holes have to be opened up inside the air intake cover (part B21) before fitting and the twine provided is attached to the plastic cable ends and added along the right side of the hull as required.

Crew figures:
No figures are included in the kit but the instructions point you to the Tamiya British figure set No.32526 which includes a couple of Tank Commander and Loader figures that could be used with this kit.

Decals:
The decals are typical Tamiya with nice colour register but thickish carrier film and have markings for three Cromwells.

Decal sheet
Tamiya
The Sprues
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Conclusion:
This is another nicely detailed and easy to assemble kit from Tamiya but the major fit problems with the hull parts is very un-characteristic and will require a bit of work to rectify and there are some areas where additional details can be added for a better look. The incorrect sit of the upper track runs will also need attention but otherwise is a nice model of the Cromwell.

Hopefully Tamiya will address the hull fit and track issues before the follow up Centaur kit is released?

Recommended.

References:
book Ground Power Magazine
#109 - 6/2003

Published by GALILEO Publishing Co.,Ltd. 2-2-13 Misaki-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
book

Cromwell Cruiser Tank 1942-50 Osprey New Vanguard 104
By David Fletcher & Richard C Harley
Published by Osprey Publishing.

Soft cover, 48 pages
ISBN 1-84176-814-6

book Cromwell
Wydawnictwo Militaria No.14
Janusz Ledwoch.
book Cromwell Tank Vehicle History and Specifications
Her Majesty’s Stationery Office

Kit courtesy of my Credit Card and the excellent service from Rainbow Ten.



Page created June 17, 2006

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