QRF 15mm Cruiser Mark III (A13 Mk I)

 I've always had a soft spot for the A13 (aka Cruisers Mark III & IV), I even had a go at scratch building a 1/35th scale one back when I was a proper modeller. It is actually quite straightforward due to the angular nature of the hull, but all those rivets.... 

Anyway, I digress. Next up in my old clunky cruiser collection is the mighty Cruiser Mark III, or A13.

This is a similar boxy shape as the A9, and equally full of shot traps, vertical plates and rivets. it was however the first cruiser tank to use the Christie suspension, so the running gear is very different to the Cruisers Mark I and II.

This is a very simple model as there aren't any separate MG turrets. Just the hull, turret and two track sections. It went together fine and didn't have much flash. The track sections are extremely thin however, and mine was actually missing a section under the left hand front bogie wheel. I could have made the missing bit up from card, but I just hid it with a big clump of grass!

You can really see the ridiculous drivers box bolted on the front of the flat plate under the turret in this photo. Honestly, these things seem to have been designed to blow up at the first hit.

A very different engine deck to the A9, large and flat. Mercifully the exhaust sections are cast on, unlike the QRF Crusader when you have to stick them on. Like the A9, you can see all the lovely rivets and raised edges, perfect for highlights.

This is an OK model. I like the overall look of it, but the running gear is quite crude. I prefer my Peter Pig A13s, but they are much more expensive. The dimensions seem spot on though, as you'd expect from QRF.

I did this one in another early Caunter variation. Light Mud with Purple Brown over Light Green. The usual Vallejo Desert Sand with an inkwash, then GW Bestial Brown for the Purple Brown and VJ Middlestone for the light green. As on the A9, I did a pinwash on the camouflaged bits and then an overall drybrush of VJ Pale Sand to bring out the highlights.