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Fall Maneuvers - medium tank Charioteer, 1956 - 1965 |
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Diorama (1:35) built by Thomas Hufnagel |
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After 1945, Great Britain began to modernize the tanks that had been leftover
from war production. The "Cromwell" was still available in large numbers,
was maneuverable but under armed (75 mm cannon L /39,5). It was now turned
into the Charioteer. Unto the relatively new undercarriage an angular turret
was placed. New armament was added, the 83,4 mm (L/70) cannon that was also
used in the Centurion.
The thickness of the armor in the turret was 30 mm in front and 20 mm on
the sides and in the back. In order to carry more ammunition the crew was
reduced from 5 men to 3 or 4 men. With a crew of 3, 50 rounds of ammunition
could be carried. The 12 cylinder Rolls-Royce engine (water- cooled) with
27 liter cylinder capacity could deliver 650 PS. With an operational weight
of 30 tons it reached a top speed of 56 km/h. For 100 km travel it required
200 liters of petrol and had a range of 250 km. The British army used only
a few of these vehicles after 1954 in the anti tank role. After a few years
they were replaced by the Centurion.
The Austrian Army received 56 medium Charioteers from the British during
1956. The vehicles were used by Panzer battalion 4 in Graz and were replaced
in 1965 by American M 47's. The diorama shows a Charioteer of PzB. 4 (2.Company,
1.Platoon, tank # 4) returning to the barracks after fall maneuvers from
the training area. In the diorama set on a regular road we can only see
one tank guided by three MP soldiers. The jeep was used by all branches
of the Army as a command and communication vehicle. In this case the soldiers
use it to oversee the tank column's movements. The driver of a VW bug that
just happened to drive on the road has to wait until the superior monsters
have passed. |
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 The
vehicles
The Charioteer conversion set from Accurate Armour (C050) was the basis
of the conversion. The Tamiya Cromwell Mk. IV or the Centaur C.S. Mk. IV
can be used as a basis for this conversion. For the Austrian version I had
to add a few parts such as the rear view mirror for the driver. The markings
for the Austrian tank had to be put together from a view different decal
sheets. The tie downs and tool straps in the conversion kit were replaced
by Aber. The two tow cables were home made from wire stock. The Tamiya Jeep
was built from the box and only a few photo etch parts were added.
After painting, I added the typical MP signs used during this period. The
VW by CMK had little changed except for the wheels and their position. Since
the kit wheels were a little primitive I made my own street tires by making
an original and casting the other three. The attachment to the chassis was
also changed. The chassis sat a little too high off the ground and I simply
shortened it.
Figures
Individual figures were converted from various manufacturers' stock figures.
They were fitted for the vehicles and the scene. Hands and heads are from
Hornet and Verlinden. The driver of the VW was put together from many figures.
The female passenger is from "Plus Model" (Civilian figures #157) and was
converted from a standing figure to a sitting figure.
Painting
Both military vehicles were painted with acrylics after they had a primer
coat applied. Vehicles of the Austrian Army are painted RAL 7013 (Tamiya
XF 62 and XF 51 mixed in a ratio of 4:1 or Revell 46). The tactical markings
I took from a sheet called Heeres Spezial Vacu: D-01, the national markings
came from a IPMS Austria decal sheet: "Austrian Air Force" 1:72 and the
turret number "214" was done with black rub on decals and then hand painted
white.
The model was then washed with thinned oil colors and after a modest weathering
process the dirt and mud was added. A mixture of color pigments, enamel
paint, static grass, small roots and dirt was applied with a brush, a tooth
pick and a tooth brush to the tank. The boot imprints on the turret and
the surface of the tank were made with foot stamps from Calibre. The jeep
was weathered with the same methods as the tank. The muddy pap on the tires
was spread with a cotton swab. The tires were then given a treatment with
"Mig black smoke".
The VW bug received a civilian paint job and was not dirtied up. Choosing
a color for the civilian was the same as for the tank, as at no point in
time all colors were used. I decided on a blue gray scheme (Gunze H 56 semi-gloss).
The figures were painted with enamels and oil paint. |
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The
diorama
I started with 50 x 45 cm wooden base and built up the basic ground formations
with different sized pieces of Styrofoam. After I contoured the landscape
with a sharp hobby knife, I then made a frame that bordered the road. I
then filled any gaps on the frame with filler and poured thin plaster over
it to finish it up. The rest of the landscaping was worked towards the road.
Into the still wet and soft groundwork I pushed little rocks and dirt and
a few small roots. The brush and grass on the embankment I made myself.
I used foam foliage, various powders as well as kitchen herbs.
The tree with the autumn foliage is a tiny, young tree covered with lichen,
and birch pollen. In order to make the tree a bit less sparse I added more
lichen branches. I then added leaves individually with superglue. Since
the leaves appeared to light I toned them down a bit with reddish brown
paint applied with the airbrush. The meadow was made from grass-Vlies into
which I worked strands of hemp rope. I added another wooden base which was
added to bottom of the diorama and painted it with satin varnish. |
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meet the modeler |
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Thomas Hufnagel |
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My name is Thomas Hufnagel
and I was born in Vienna in 1968. I am a tool and die maker
and currently work as a foreman in tool making company. At this
time my model building centers on the vehicles and equipment
of the Austrian army (Bundesheer). I contracted the modeling
virus at an early age. I bought my first Airfix kit in a small
toy and paper goods store.
I built what I could afford and what interested me. Slowly I
drifted over to 1/35 scale. During 1989, while going through
training as a driver for the army my interest in the vehicles
of the Austrian army was aroused. Since there weren't any injection
molded kits of these vehicles available, I gained experience
with vacu-form and resin kits. Then I produced my own conversions
and scratch builds.
I always incorporated them into a diorama, choosing themes that
reflected actual service related occurrences ... |
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Email:  hufnagel.thomas@chello.at |
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This page: GALLERY: Fall Maneuvers - medium tank
Charioteer, 1956-1965 (1:35) - built by Thomas Hufnagel
was last modified on: Aug 15, 2006
The URL of the page is: http://www.rlm.at/cont/gal20_e.htm
Translation into English by Werner
Stocker (Ft. Myers, FL USA).
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