20mm Painting Tray Distraction

Remember that 20mm Cromwell I recently made from HaT's ArmourFast? Well the nice thing about ArmourFast models is that they always come as part of a double act, two to a pack. The other Cromwell was just staring at me from the yonder side of the painting tray and I fancied a twenty minute fast assembly as a break from the small scale painting (see below, back rank, leftmost two for the HaT models). So I had what you wold call a bit of a WWII 20mm 'distraction break' from the WII 1/300 and 1/285.

 
The above and below comprises my 20mm Command Decision Order of Battle 1944 "Cromwell" British Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) ensemble. In total seven Cromwell's so far and a strange looking thing called a Challenger (an extended Cromwell that housed a 17pdr in its 'high' turret). I need a further four Cromwells (probably sourced as another two from HaT ArmourFast and the other two from the new Airfix kit), an ARV tank(?) and a Crusader AA tank. Note: I already have three Sherman Firefly's to add in as the company "Tiger Killers" for the RTR, the Challenger only being used in the Armoured Reece Regiment of a 1944 British Armoured Division (so I can technically field a full company tank force from that formation).

I may also need a Centaur 95mm Howitzer variant too to plug into RTR, unless they were still specialised Royal Marine (RM) formations as per D-Day(?). Still plenty of "make" to do with the above. A friend from the Hartlepool Club asked me when I last played Command Decision (in anger) as he had only seen me play with 1/300 or 1/200 kit using BGC and to be fair (and to my shame) it must be over ten years ago now. That is something I shall have to try and rectify this year.

20mm WWII Cromwell (ArmourFast)

This was a nice little kit (or should I say kits as they come two to a box which helps in the wallet department) that fits together like a dream, detailed enough to stand out of the box plus has plenty of customization potential :)

Literally made in minutes (although I spread it over two consecutive nights) and fits together very well, HaT/ArmourFast have learned their trade well. Once upon a time the only way you could get a Cromwell was either use a Matchbox Comet and pretend, convert said Matchbox Comet or buy a expensive Skytrex metal one or Cromwell Models resin one (that would get knocked out quickly on tabletop). Now you cannot help see them in plastic: Airfix(0), ArmourFast Hat(2), Revell(3) all do nice plastic kits, Frontline(1) do a cheap resin one and I even have another "unknown" resin manufacturer (1) with lovely clean lines (Note: My current totals are in brackets). I do plan to get at least one Airfix one on my way to a Command Decision 1944 British Armoured Regiment Order of Battle.

Pity I didn't have this Cromwell at Hoggerton Moor, it would have seen the Royalist Cavalry off. It was an impulse build, so painting may wait for an "inspirational moment". Like perhaps seeing a Cromwell in an episode of Band of Brothers or the like.