PSC Churchill AVsRE

Mk. III AVsRE (Armoured Vehicles, Royal Engineers) Churchills. Models by the Plastic Soldier Company, from the new-ish Churchill box; the commander is a spare BF plastic from the Open Fire Sherman kit.

Lovely kits, great options to build different variants, etc. I don't think I will be buying any other Churchills again: save for the Mk VII/Crocodiles and the Mk I & I CS, PSC has the main variants covered exceedingly well in just a single box. Hopefully they do a Mk VIII & Crocodile box in the future, I'd buy 'em in a second.

The level of detail and crispness on these modles is superb, and without the massive weight that comes with metal and/or resin miniatures, and without the casting issues as well. I am a huge fan. Being plastic, a bit of cutting serves to remove unwanted sections of the mudguards and track guards, and there are several pieces of extra track available for use in the North-West European campaign.

Magnetised turrets FTW

I cut down the turret stubs and used a pair of rare earth magnets on each for the turrets; I just prefer magnetised turrets these days. One magnet was glued to the cut-down turret stub, the other was built into the hull with two pieces of plastic card. A bit of work, but a much better option than the normal build in my opinion. I'll detail the process later when I do the rest of the models.

The decals are markings for 9th RTR on the hull, not one of the Assault Brigades/79th Armoured Div. By using the Mk III turrets for the AVsRE, I can model a 6-pounder, 75mm or 95mm on the other turret supplied (the rounded cast-turret for the MK IV). Since the AVsRE won't be used too often, I can simply pop off the Petard turrets and replace them with another type, thus saving the need for another model.

A few quick comparison shots with a BF Churchill below.

I have eight more vehicles to do, probably in the famous "tiger stripe" camo on Mk III Churchills used by the 145th Royal Armoured Corp in Tunisia. A quite attractive scheme and one I've always wanted to paint. The more standard overall SCC2 Brown used by other units is also a contender.

Then there is also King Force at El Alamein; more Churchills with a unique scheme. And then there's the Canadians at Dieppe. And more Churchills in Italy. And Normandy/North-West Europe. So many options, I may need several more boxes...

CdlT