Build Review of Italeri 1/35th Scale
British Crusader III AA Mk. III Tank
Kit no. 6444
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2005
Out of production
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2005
Out of production
HISTORY:
Crusader III, AA Mk II / Mk III
Crusader AA Mk II
A Crusader armed with twin Oerlikon 20 mm guns for anti-aircraft use and a single .303 (7.7 mm) Vickers GO machine gun. The turret was a small polygonal turret with heavy armour, but poor situational visibility for spotting approaching aircraft. The Mk III only differed from the Mk II by the position of the radio, which was moved to the hull in order to free some space inside the turret.
A variation with triple Oerlikons was produced in very limited quantities but seem to have been used only for training.Due to Allied air superiority over the battlefields of north-west Europe, none of the AA versions saw much action against aircraft but a few - especially with the 1st Polish Armoured Division - were used against ground targets.
The AA troops - attached to HQ squadrons - were disbanded after the Normandy landings.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Cruiser tank
Place of origin: United Kingdom
In service: 1941-1949
Wars: World War II
Designer: Nuffield
Designed: 1939/1940
Manufacturer: Nuffield Mechanizations and Aero Ltd
Produced: 1940–1943
No. built: 5,300
Mass: 18.8 to 19.7 long tons (19.1 to 20.0 t)
Length: 20 ft 8.5 in[1] (5.97 m)
Width: 9 ft 1 in (2.77 m)[b]
Height: 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m)
Crew: Mk III: 3 (Commander, gunner, driver), Mk I, II: 4 or 5 (+ Loader, hull gunner)
Armour: Mk I: 40 mm, Mk II: 49 mm, Mk III: 51 mm
Main armament:Mk I, II: QF 2 pdr (40 mm) with 110 rounds, Mk III: QF 6 pdr (57 mm) with 65 rounds
Secondary armament: 1 or 2 × Besa machine gun with 4,950 rounds
Engine: Nuffield Liberty Mark II, III, or IV 27-litre V-12 petrol engine of 340 bhp (250 kW) at 1,500 rpm
Power/weight: 17 hp (13 kW) / tonne
Transmission: Nuffield constant mesh 4-speed-and-reverse
Suspension: Christie helical spring
Ground clearance: 1 ft 4 in (0.41 m)
Fuel capacity: 110 Imperial gallons in 3 fuel tanks (+30 auxiliary)
Operational range: 141 mi (227 km) on roads with auxiliary tanks, 65 mi (105 km) cross country
Maximum speed: 26 mph (42 km/h) (road), 15 mph (24 km/h) (off-road)
Steering system: Wilson epicyclic steering
Crusader III, AA Mk II / Mk III
Crusader AA Mk II
A Crusader armed with twin Oerlikon 20 mm guns for anti-aircraft use and a single .303 (7.7 mm) Vickers GO machine gun. The turret was a small polygonal turret with heavy armour, but poor situational visibility for spotting approaching aircraft. The Mk III only differed from the Mk II by the position of the radio, which was moved to the hull in order to free some space inside the turret.
A variation with triple Oerlikons was produced in very limited quantities but seem to have been used only for training.Due to Allied air superiority over the battlefields of north-west Europe, none of the AA versions saw much action against aircraft but a few - especially with the 1st Polish Armoured Division - were used against ground targets.
The AA troops - attached to HQ squadrons - were disbanded after the Normandy landings.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Cruiser tank
Place of origin: United Kingdom
In service: 1941-1949
Wars: World War II
Designer: Nuffield
Designed: 1939/1940
Manufacturer: Nuffield Mechanizations and Aero Ltd
Produced: 1940–1943
No. built: 5,300
Mass: 18.8 to 19.7 long tons (19.1 to 20.0 t)
Length: 20 ft 8.5 in[1] (5.97 m)
Width: 9 ft 1 in (2.77 m)[b]
Height: 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m)
Crew: Mk III: 3 (Commander, gunner, driver), Mk I, II: 4 or 5 (+ Loader, hull gunner)
Armour: Mk I: 40 mm, Mk II: 49 mm, Mk III: 51 mm
Main armament:Mk I, II: QF 2 pdr (40 mm) with 110 rounds, Mk III: QF 6 pdr (57 mm) with 65 rounds
Secondary armament: 1 or 2 × Besa machine gun with 4,950 rounds
Engine: Nuffield Liberty Mark II, III, or IV 27-litre V-12 petrol engine of 340 bhp (250 kW) at 1,500 rpm
Power/weight: 17 hp (13 kW) / tonne
Transmission: Nuffield constant mesh 4-speed-and-reverse
Suspension: Christie helical spring
Ground clearance: 1 ft 4 in (0.41 m)
Fuel capacity: 110 Imperial gallons in 3 fuel tanks (+30 auxiliary)
Operational range: 141 mi (227 km) on roads with auxiliary tanks, 65 mi (105 km) cross country
Maximum speed: 26 mph (42 km/h) (road), 15 mph (24 km/h) (off-road)
Steering system: Wilson epicyclic steering
THE KIT:
Italeri is an old prolific model company based in Italy. They manufacture all manner of model subjects in the popular scales.
This kit came in a tray and lid type box held shut with round pieces of scotch tape. It is not shrink-wrapped.
The box art shows a color illustration of a Crusader III AA Mk. III moving across a grassy field with 2 U.S. Sherman tanks behind it.
The Crusader is overall olive-drab. On its nose it has white 50516 over 5752 over LST next to a yellow circle with black 18 on it.
On the front of the equipment box on the right fender it says in white “The Princess”. On the side of the turret it says in white “Skyraker”.
The 2 Sherman tanks are also overall olive drab with just U.S. white stars on the side of their hulls.
One side panel of the box begins with 2 web addresses for Italeri over their street address in Italy.
This is followed with one-paragraph histories of the Crusader in English, Italian, German, French, Spanish and Polish.
Italeri is an old prolific model company based in Italy. They manufacture all manner of model subjects in the popular scales.
This kit came in a tray and lid type box held shut with round pieces of scotch tape. It is not shrink-wrapped.
The box art shows a color illustration of a Crusader III AA Mk. III moving across a grassy field with 2 U.S. Sherman tanks behind it.
The Crusader is overall olive-drab. On its nose it has white 50516 over 5752 over LST next to a yellow circle with black 18 on it.
On the front of the equipment box on the right fender it says in white “The Princess”. On the side of the turret it says in white “Skyraker”.
The 2 Sherman tanks are also overall olive drab with just U.S. white stars on the side of their hulls.
One side panel of the box begins with 2 web addresses for Italeri over their street address in Italy.
This is followed with one-paragraph histories of the Crusader in English, Italian, German, French, Spanish and Polish.
The other side panel of the box begins by repeating the web and street addresses. Copyright for the kit is 2005. A suggested listing of Model Master brand paints is given.
It says: This box contains an unassembled plastic model kit. Paint and cement needed to assemble the model as shown are not included. Muti-lingual instruction sheet with drawings and a decal sheet is included. Suitable for children 10 and over.
Followed by 2 color photos of the model made up with just a white circled star atop the turret.
It says: This box contains an unassembled plastic model kit. Paint and cement needed to assemble the model as shown are not included. Muti-lingual instruction sheet with drawings and a decal sheet is included. Suitable for children 10 and over.
Followed by 2 color photos of the model made up with just a white circled star atop the turret.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
The kit contains 3 dark-green parts trees and a tree of Black vinyl tracks and the decal sheet in a sealed clear cello-bag,.
The instructions consist of a single-sheet that accordion-folds out into 10 pages in 7 ¾” x 13” page-format.
Page one gives one paragraph histories of the Crusader III Anti-aircraft Tank in 6 languages, including English, over ATTENTIONS about the kit in 11 languages, including English.
Page 2 holds the parts-trees illustrations. A few parts are shown shaded-out. Meaning they are excess and not needed to complete the model.
The bottom of the page shows the Model Master brand paint listing again,.
Page 3 through to page 7 gives a grand total of 12 assembly steps.
Pages 8 & 9 are painting and marking guides.
Page 8 shows two 4-view profiles.
The 1st one is the box art one. (described above). It further shows a white star in a broken circle atop the turret and one on the side of the turret that has a solid circle.
It was with the 7th Armoured Division, Normandy, June 1944.
The second one is overall olive-drab, with a white star in a broken circle atop the turret and one with a solid circle on the sides of the turret with white serial no. T 125614. On the left side of its nose it has a blue square with a gold winged-griffon on it and on the right side there is a square divided diagonally with red at the top and blue at the bottom with white no. 162 on it,
It was with the 43rd Wessex Division, Normandy, June 1944 also.
Page 9 shows another 4-view profile. It is also overall olive-drab like the other 2 shown. It too has a white star in a broken circle atop its turret. On the sides of the turret is white serial no. T 125550 followed by an un-circled white star. On the left side of its nose there is a white oval outlined in black with a black PL on it. On the right side is a square divided diagonally with red at the top and blue at the bottom with white 77 on it.
It was with the 1st Polish Armoured Division, 1st Anti-tank Artillery Regiment RGT, Breda, Holland, October 1944.
The bottom of the page gives decal application instructions in 9 languages, including English.
Page 10 gives IMPORTANT INFORMATION about the kit in 20 languages, including English, over a customer service coupon in 5 languages.
Trees are alphabetized.
Dark-green letter A tree holds: drive sprockets, road wheels, idler wheels, bogies, tow cables etc. (146 parts) 24 parts are shaded out and excess.
The kit contains 3 dark-green parts trees and a tree of Black vinyl tracks and the decal sheet in a sealed clear cello-bag,.
The instructions consist of a single-sheet that accordion-folds out into 10 pages in 7 ¾” x 13” page-format.
Page one gives one paragraph histories of the Crusader III Anti-aircraft Tank in 6 languages, including English, over ATTENTIONS about the kit in 11 languages, including English.
Page 2 holds the parts-trees illustrations. A few parts are shown shaded-out. Meaning they are excess and not needed to complete the model.
The bottom of the page shows the Model Master brand paint listing again,.
Page 3 through to page 7 gives a grand total of 12 assembly steps.
Pages 8 & 9 are painting and marking guides.
Page 8 shows two 4-view profiles.
The 1st one is the box art one. (described above). It further shows a white star in a broken circle atop the turret and one on the side of the turret that has a solid circle.
It was with the 7th Armoured Division, Normandy, June 1944.
The second one is overall olive-drab, with a white star in a broken circle atop the turret and one with a solid circle on the sides of the turret with white serial no. T 125614. On the left side of its nose it has a blue square with a gold winged-griffon on it and on the right side there is a square divided diagonally with red at the top and blue at the bottom with white no. 162 on it,
It was with the 43rd Wessex Division, Normandy, June 1944 also.
Page 9 shows another 4-view profile. It is also overall olive-drab like the other 2 shown. It too has a white star in a broken circle atop its turret. On the sides of the turret is white serial no. T 125550 followed by an un-circled white star. On the left side of its nose there is a white oval outlined in black with a black PL on it. On the right side is a square divided diagonally with red at the top and blue at the bottom with white 77 on it.
It was with the 1st Polish Armoured Division, 1st Anti-tank Artillery Regiment RGT, Breda, Holland, October 1944.
The bottom of the page gives decal application instructions in 9 languages, including English.
Page 10 gives IMPORTANT INFORMATION about the kit in 20 languages, including English, over a customer service coupon in 5 languages.
Trees are alphabetized.
Dark-green letter A tree holds: drive sprockets, road wheels, idler wheels, bogies, tow cables etc. (146 parts) 24 parts are shaded out and excess.
Dark-green letter B tree holds: the hull tub and roof, rear wall and turret parts etc. (22 parts) 7 parts are excess.
Dark-green letter C tree holds: hull sides, gun barrels, exhaust etc. (70 parts) 1 part is excess.
Black vinyl letter D tree is the rubber-band type treads. There are 2 long runs and 5 short runs. Two parts are excess. Molding is excellent on both sides.
The decal sheet completes the kits contents. There are no clear parts included or any crew figures.
I have started assembly of the kit. I put the turret and its interior detail together The chassis is assembled as far as the top, hull tub, armoured side walls, exhausts, headlights and their guards, the circular antenna base and equipment lockers on the fenders and the bogies.
Detail is great.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.