AFV Club
Churchill British Infantry Tank
B.T.S 3 Heavy Track

AFV Club 1:35 Kit No. AF 35183
Kit review by Terry Ashley

The Set:
AFV Club have released the second set of individual link workable tracks for any of their Churchill Tank Kits; Mk.III (kit #AF 35153) Mk.III AVRE (kit #AF 35167) and Mk.IV (kit #AF 35154) with this set representing the early Heavy Cast Steel track as fitted to Churchills from Mk.I to Mk.IV.

The set consists of 5 sprues with 30 links and 30 connecting plates per sprue for a total of 150 links with the standard of moulding being very good with just the sprue attachments and two small pin marks on the inside of some link parts to deal with. These pin marks are easy to remove but if left they can prevent the two parts of the link from joining properely.

Sprue parts
Click for larger view
AFV Club
Close-up of track links, minimal clean-up.
Just the sprue burs and some raised ejector pins on inside of links to be removed.

AFV Club
AFV Club

Detail on the links is well done with well defined detail on both sides of the links and casting numbers on the link face. Each link is made up of the main link and the inner connecting plate which traps the next link as you go allowing the articulation but you have to be careful to align the connecting plate so it doesn't prevent the link movement.

You firstly lay one of the connecting plates over the first link (1) and then trap in place with the second connecting plate (2) which leaves the first connecting plate just hanging there for now. You then slip the next link under the attachment shaft (3) and secure with the next connecting plate (4). You must ensure that as you attach each connecting plate that it is flush and aligned with the link shoe which is why you must trim the raised pin marks from the insides of the link parts.

When applying the glue use sparingly so as not to get any on the attachment shaft, I used Tamiya Extra Thin Cement sparingly without any problems and after a short time you get into a rhythm and the links go together fairly quickly.

Track assembly and views of the assembled track
AFV Club
AFV Club

While the assembly is quite straightforward fitting the assembled track runs to the kit idler and drive sprockets is a little problematic. With the front idler wheels the fit is not perfect as the links don't sit flush with the sprocket rim and some trimming may be required. The rear drive sprockets are more of a problem as the links don't fit well at all but as most of the sprocket is hidden from view by the hull panels the easiest method is cutting the teeth from the sprocket where the tracks sit allowing them to fit around the sprockets.

AFV Club
Vinyl kit tracks
AFV Club

The views above show the improved track link detail and definition over the kit vinyl track which makes for a worthwhile update.

Conclusion:
Another nicely detailed individual link track set from AFV Club of the early Heavy Cast Steel track for the early Churchill's that is fairly easy to assembly and articulates well to offer a nice variation for the kit. This track was mostly used on early Churchills in the Western Desert, those use at Dieppe and Normandy and will be very welcomed for modellers of those periods, the fit issues are an unwanted problem and distracts from the usefulness of the tracks.

Rating 7.5/10

References:
book

Mr. Churchill's Tank
The British Infantry Tank Mk.IV

David Fletcher
Schiffer Military Publications
ISBN 0-7643-0679-0

See review for details.

book Churchill vol.1
GUNpower 26

By Leszek Moczulski
Published by AJ Press
ISBN 978-83-7237-194-9
book

Tamiya Photographic Album No.3
British Churchill Tank

Tamiya Plastic Model Co.

Has some excellent line drawings of the Mk.III/IV hull, turret and smaller details as well as full walkaround of the Mk.VII.

book

Churchill Infantry Tank 1941-51
New Vanguard No.4
Osprey Publishing
ISBN 1 85532 297 8

Good overall coverage of all variants of the Churchill.

book the Funnies
A History with scale plans of the 79th Armoured Division

Geoffrey W. Futter
ISBN 0 85242 405 1

Is out of print and may be hard to find but has a detailed coverage with 1/76th scale plans of all the specialised vehicles used by the 79th AD from D-Day onwards.

Thanks to my credit card and Lucky Models for the review kit.


Page created December 6, 2010


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