Along with the second hand Stuart, I picked up a couple of second hand Zvezda Matildas at Partisan. Regular readers will recall my travails as they fell to bits in my hands as I attempted to add stowage etc.
Anyway, here they are after being finally repainted and based.
No more using BEF Matildas in Russia, this is a proper Lend Lease Matilda! Now, I've never seen an actual photo of a Matilda with red stars on the turret (as opposed to modellers fantasy paint schemes), but I've seen stars on plenty of other LL tanks, so this one got a pair, nicely edged in white to stand out. They are from the Zvezda SB2 kit I think.
The other delightful modelling rabbit hole I went down was 'what colour were LL tanks sent to Russa in 1941'. By 1942 they were rocking up in SCC2 brown, but the consensus seems to be that in 41 they were turning up in plain KG3 Khaki Green, as the prevalent 41 camo schemes were usually applied after leaving the factory. Vehicles sent after a refurb may have been sent in disruptive camo.
As I often use camo'd BEF Matildas for Russian tanks, I did this one in plain KG3 - a colour which apparently no-one can agree on and no manufacturer makes, although the MAFVA website helpfully includes mixing guides using several different colours of Revell, Tamiya etc. As it was a brownish mid green (a 'useful colour' according to the War Department paint guide), I just used VJ Russian uniform with a very light wash of dark green and a light highlight of tan.
The Matilda I'd hacked a round a bit was much easier, overall Light Stone. It got one coat of VJ Dark Sand, and overall inkwash with W&N Peat Brown, then a heavy drybrush of VJ Dark Sand again and a light drybrush of VJ Pale Sand.
I hand painted the national recognition stripes and had a disastrous attempt to do squadron markings on the turret which came out so bad I painted them out (although they are still dimly visible and need another coat of paint over the top).
Rather less mud around the running gear than on the Russian one, but I put dirt coming down the mud chutes, which for some odd reason seems to stand out more on the sandy one than on the green Matilda.
The numerous angles come out well with a drybrush, although I thickened up the ink wash in places. The tarpaulin roll was khaki with an ink wash, and it took me a while to figure out that the shapeless blobs moulded on the front track guards were actually spare track links! I did those black with gunmetal highlights.
As the detail on the Zvezda models is so fine to start with, sadly the extra five coats of paint obscured some of it, but they still look OK. The coax MGs I'd replaced with brass also survived all the drybrushing, unlike their plastic equivalents.
And here is the sandy one with its two QRF pals in Caunter. A pretty good match although the QRF ones are slightly longer, but not noticeably so. That is great, it means I can do Operation Battleaxe properly now and not have to use a Valentine as a stand-in. I've now realised that I need an extra Valentine, as 32nd Armoured Brigade at Gazala had three battalions of Valentines. Mores tanks to paint, what a chore.
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