Bishop - Ordnance QF 25-pdr on carrier Valentine 25 pdr Mk I - case report

 Atteeeeeention!

    Today we are going to meet another member of the so-called "British Ecclesiastical Self-Propelled Artillery"... With no regrets or sins, let's meet this girl who was almost like a temporary solution for the Battlefield, but fulfilled her role in a heroic and competent way. Today is the day to learn a little more about Bishop, the 25-pound self-propelled artillery used by the British in the early periods of WWII. So, pay attention to the marking of the target and pass the ammunition, my old boy!!!!

Bishop 25-pdr SPG on your debut on the Western Desert
25 September1942
No doubt that this photo inspired the box art above.
font: Imperial War Museum

History:

    The Bishop was a British self-propelled artillery vehicle based on the Valentine tank and armed with the Ordnance QF 25-pdr gun-howitzer, which could fire an 87.6 mm (3.45 in) 11.5 kg (25 lb) HE shell or an armour-piercing shell.

Valentine VI (III/IV built in Canada)
Base Borden Military Museum

Ordnance Q.F. 25 pounder gun
Littlehampton in Sussex.
408 Battery -146 Field Regiment. 1941

  A result of a rushed attempt to create a self-propelled gun, the vehicle had numerous problems, was produced in limited numbers and was soon replaced by better and improved designs.

A (retouched) pic from "Maintainance Manual for the Ordnance, Q.F. 25 pdr,

Marks II and III on Carriage, 25 pdr, Mark I and Mounting, S.P. 25 pdr,

C, Mark I and Mounting, Valentine 25 pdr Gun, Mark I" ( a very big name).

published by 'The War Office' on 23rd September 1944.

The name Bishop was not mentioned...

pic and informations from Mihai Crisan (thanks a lot, man!)

Design and development:

    The rapid manoeuvre warfare practiced in the North African Campaign led to a requirement for a self-propelled artillery vehicle armed with the 25-pounder gun-howitzer for fire support for infantry. In June 1941, the development was entrusted to the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company, using the robust and reliable chassis of the Valentine Infantry tank. A prototype was ready for trials by August and 100 units were ordered by November 1941. The result was a vehicle with the formal title: "Ordnance QF 25-pdr on Carrier Valentine 25-pdr Mk I".

T17474 prototype of Bishop 25 pdr. SPG  under trials,
still with "T" identification number of tank. 
Notice the casemate roof, with indefinite hatch and
normal periscope in the right rear roof.
England, August - 1941
pic from Mihai Crisan

T17474 prototype of Bishop 25 pdr. SPG
3/4 left front - England, August - 1941
pic from Mihai Crisan

T17474 prototype of Bishop 25 pdr. SPG
3/4 right rear view - England, August - 1941
pic from Mihai Crisan

T17474 prototype of Bishop 25 pdr. SPG
left side - England, August - 1941
pic from Mihai Crisan

    The vehicle was based on the Valentine II hull, with the turret replaced by a fixed boxy superstructure with large rear doors. It was nicknamed the "Bishop" for its high mitre-like superstructure.

The best known photo of Bishop 25-pdr SPG,
on your debut on the Western Desert
25 September1942
font: Imperial War Museum

Bishop 25-pdr SPG in the Western Desert (rear view of pic above)
25 September1942
font: Imperial War Museum

   Into this superstructure the Ordnance QF 25-pdr gun-howitzer was fitted. As a consequence of the gun mounting, the resulting vehicle had very high silhouette, which is a disadvantage in desert warfare.

A typical towed artillery set:
Q.F. Ordnance 25 pdr. gun, ammo trailer and Quad gun tractor.
North Africa, December 1941

Rear view of the same Bishop S32944 above
Notice as the fighting compartment was tight...

25 September1942
font: Imperial War Museum

Bishop 25-pdr SPG showing the crew inside and
outside of the fighting compartment.
7th Armored Division and 46th Division
Near Cava, Italy - 28 September 1943.
font: Imperial War Museum

Stowage of the casemate's interior - left view

Stowage sketche of the casemate's interior - right view

Stowage sketch of Bishop 25pdr. SPG
exterior view
pic from Mihai Crisan

Rear view of Ordnance QF 25 pdr. gun
in the Bishop's casemate
pic from Mihai Crisan

Bishop 25pdr. SPG - S 32967
England - 1941
pic from Mihai Crisan

Bishop 25pdr. SPG - S 32967 - front view
England - 1941
pic from Mihai Crisan

Rear view of Ordnance QF 25 pdr. gun
in the Bishop's S 32967casemate
pic from Mihai Crisan

Bishop 25pdr. SPG firing in Italy - 1943
 46th Division - 142nd Field Regiment
23rd Armored Brigade

Bishop 25 pdr. SPG.

1st Army - 1st Parachute Btn. at Le Krib

6 March 1943 - Tunisia

Bishop 25 pdr. SPG. - same vehicle above

1st Army - 1st Parachute Btn. at Le Krib

6 March 1943 - Tunisia

pic from Mihai Crisan

Rear view of Bishop 25pdr. SPG casemate
F Troop, 473 Battery - Royal Artillery - 102nd Regts.
 23 March 1943 - Tunisia
font: Imperial War Museum

Same dirty vehicle above, but in another angle of view.

The unit is belong to the 1st Army and carries the shield

of the 1st Army on the rear of the auxiliary fuel tank.
Markings on the rear include the letter "F" on the left and 201 on the right

F Troop, 473 Battery - Royal Artillery - 102nd Regts.
 23 March 1943 - Tunisia
font: Imperial War Museum

Three Bishops 25-pdr SPG in action near Grenadier Hill
The vehicle in the foreground is the same (dirty) Bishop in the two photos above
F Troop, 473 Battery - Royal Artillery - 102nd Regts.
 23 March 1943 - Tunisia
font: Imperial War Museum - NA 1449

   The maximum elevation for the gun was limited to 15 degrees, reducing the range to 5,900 m, about half that of the same gun on a wheeled carriage. The maximum depression was 5 degrees, traverse was 8 degrees (4 degrees to each side), and the vehicle could also carry a Bren light machine gun, for close defense.

Bishop 25-pdr SPG near Cava, Italy - 28 September 1943.
The vehicle is perched on a ramp to raise the angle of fire and
thereby increase the weapon's range...
font: Imperial War Museum

    By July 1942, 80 Bishops had been built; as the last 20 were being built, an order for a further 50 was placed, with an option for a further 200 but the tender was abandoned in favour of the American M7 105 mm SP howitzer, named "Priest" in British service. Turkey received 48 Bishops in 1943.

In action:

    The Bishop first saw action during the Second Battle of El Alamein in North Africa and remained in service during the early part of the Italian Campaign.

Bishop 25-pdr SPG of 8th Armoured Division being pulled out
 a 'Z' craft. When the tanks reach the quay they are
driven off under their own power.
Port Tewfik, Egypt, 10 July 1942.
font: Imperial War Museum

Bishop 25-pdr SPG of 8th Armoured Division
When the tanks reach the quay they are driven off the port under their own power.
Port Tewfik, Egypt - 10 July 1942.
Notice the Leyland Retriever Gantry 6x4 truck in background...
font: Imperial War Museum

Bishops 25-pdr SPGs of 8th Armoured Division

After disembarking from the ship, the curiosity for the new weapon.

Repair the salt spray protections still on the gun.

pic from Mihai Crisan

Bishop 25-pdr SPG in the desert...
121st Field Regiment - A Battery- Royal Artillery
Suporting 23rd Armored Brigade
13 November 1942.North Africa - Libya.
font: Imperial War Museum

Bishop 25-pdr SPG of 142nd Field Regiment - 231st Brigade
firing against the Germans, between Raddusa and Agira
27 July 1943. Sicily.
font: Imperial War Museum

Bishop 25-pdr SPG "EDNA II" of 142nd Field Regiment
After the fire barrage, the crew providing maintenance on the vehicle...
27 July 1943. Near Raddusa and Agira - Sicily.
font: Imperial War Museum

Bishop 25-pdr SPG of 142nd Field Regiment - 23rd Armored Brigade
Royal Artillery, being transported by a Diamond T980 tank transporter
of 610 Heavy Recovery Section - 10th Corps -  REME.
Sector of the 5th Army Front -23 December 1943 - Italy
font: Imperial War Museum

Bishop 25-pdr SPG
506th Battery, 142nd Field Regiment
14 September 1943 - Italy.
font: Imperial War Museum

    Due to its limitations and the Valentine's characteristic slow speed, the Bishop was poorly received. To increase range, crews would build large earthen ramps and run the Bishop onto them, tilting the vehicle back to increase the elevation.

 Bishop 25-pdr SPG of 142nd Field Regiment - Royal Artillery operating
at a captured airfield among the wreckage of German Gotha Go 242
 Grazzanise - Sicily, 12 October 1943.
Notice the ramp, dug in the ground, made to increase elevation...

font: Imperial War Museum

 

Bishop 25-pdr SPG of 142nd Field Regiment - Royal Artillery
During the night of 12th October, a heavy artillery barrage was laid on
enemy positions north of  the River Volturno in preparation for the
crossing of the river by British assault troops.
The Bishops operating from an aerodrome south of Grazzanise
(same aerodrome in the pic above).
The wreckage of many Italian and German planes wich were on
the airfield can be seen in the light of the gun flashes.
To obtain more elevation the Bishops were run on to the wreckage
of some of these planes, as seen in this picture. 
12 October 1943.
font: Imperial War Museum

  The Bishop was replaced by the M7 Priest (105 mm) and Sexton (25 pounder) when those became available in sufficient numbers and surviving Bishops were diverted for training in self-propelled gun tactics. Unfortunately, all the Bishops were disbanded at the end of the war, none of which survives to this day.

M7 Priest 105mm SPG comes ashore from a LST
22 January 1944 - Anzio, Italy.
font: Imperial War Museum

Sexton Mk.II (early) SPG drives through the shattered village

of  Putanges-le-Lac, Normandy - France

20 August 1944

font: Imperial War Museum

Fun fact - British self-propelled guns with ecclesiastical names:

• A British self-propelled gun armed with the Ordnance QF 25-pounder in design from 1941 was given the service name Bishop as its appearance was said to resemble a bishop's mitre. A replacement, the US 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 was called Priest by the British, as part of its superstructure (.50 MG station) was said to resemble a priest's pulpit. Following this line of names, a 1942 self-propelled QF 6 pounder on truck chassis was named Deacon, and a 1943 tracked QF 25-pounder was called Sexton. This practice was continued after the war with FV433 Abbot and ended in 1993 with the introduction of the AS-90.
• In 29 April, 1943, the Canadians officially named the 25pdr.,tracked of Deacon, , until it was realized that had already been assigned in the past for the armoured lorry with 6pdr. gun. When they realized the error, they adopted the name SEXTON. Deacon was born in December 1942.

Specs:

Bishop - Ordnance QF 25-pdr on Carrier Valentine 25-pdr Mk 1
Type	Self-propelled artillery
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1942
Used by	British Commonwealth Turkey
Wars	WWII
Production history
Designed	1941
Manufacturer	Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company
Produced	1942–1943
No. built	149
Specifications
Mass	17.5 t
Length	5.64 m
Width	2.77 m
Height	3.0 m
Crew	4 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Elevation	-5° to +15°
Traverse	8° (4° left - 4° right)
Armour	hull: 7mm - 60 mm casemate: 10mm - 30mm
Main armament	QF 25 pounder gun-howitzer with 32 rounds
Sec. .armament	0.45 Thompson MG - 16x20 320 rds.
Engine	AEC A190 diesel -131 hp at 1.800 rpm
Power/weight	7.7 hp/tonne
Suspension	Two Vickers slow motion suspension bogies each side
Operational range	177 km +145 km (int. + ext.)
Maximum speed Fuel - internal tank Fuel - jettisionable	24 km/h 164 liters (internal) 136 liters (external)

The kit:

    For this commission project, I'll use an old classic, a kit that for many years was the only possibility to build a Bishop, in 1/35 scale. With you, coming out of the dusty Bunker shelves, the kit "Bishop" (#504) made by VM Company, of Saint-Petersburg, Russia, in 1996.

Bishop - VM Company box art (#504)

    This kit reigned in the model world for years, being relaunched and reboxed by many, many brands, until Bronco Models, in 2010, released its version, totally new tool.

Bishop 25 pdr. from Bronco Models (#35077) - 2010

    But as the Bunker is almost a true Museum of Modeling, let's make these kits modern and perfect for weekend military modelers, smelling like mommy milk... A true radical scale modeler like Kojak loves challenges: Transform a VM kit, a Maquette or a Toga one in a piece worthy of a collection... This is what I call "root modeling"!!!!

     So, it's time to separate the true military modelers from the "plastic piece gluers"...

Kojak is a tough guy!!

    Well...first of all, the instructions booklet is awful. I strongly recommend downloading Dragon's Valentine Infantry Tank instruction manual for chassis and suspension construction. Although the kit is the same, the Dragon's manual is much better designed and detailed, what prevents buildings errors. You can download Dragon's Valentine Infantry Tank booklet from excellent Scalemates' website!

Examples of instruction booklets

    But let's start the construction... and the first round of the fight: Here's a small detail of the plastic contraction...typical of last century kits....

Plastic contraction in the surface of the bogies suspension units...
Man, this is intense...
Only Crom, the God of Steel can help the bald... 

...but it looks like Crom doesn't really care!!

  The first thought that comes to mind is: PUTTY!! No... no way... The best option here is to fill the "holes" with the same material, the styrene. Time to make some stretched sprues, with remnants of "sprue trees" of pieces...

Cake recipe: Lighter, lamp, cutter,  lighter, sprue tree, defective parts
and a ton and a half of patience and good intentions...

After stretching the sprues, we will cut and discard the thin
portions  (red crosses) and use the "conical" portions (green circles),
which will fill in the defects (red arrows)...
The fire photography was, let's say, aesthetically pleasing....

Preparing the plastic "grafts"...

The "grafts" installed and glued...
Now, wait for the glue to dry to cut off the excess...

Meanwhile, a small contraction defect in the casemate armor
can and should be filled with putty...

Done...Now... wait for drying, for later sanding...

The grafts in the bogies suspension units, after being cut...
the appearance was very strange, but this will all be
corrected with a thin layer of putty diluted with acetone
(and applied with a brush...)

    While we wait for the bogies suspension units (and their grafts) to dry, a great tip: In the construction of the suspension arms, we must first glue the pieces 47, as they will define the position of the pieces 46 (bogies suspension units) in their correct places. Pieces 46 "slide" through grooves on the walls of the lower hull, without a defined position...but pieces 47 do this delimitation, when they fit into the pins of pieces 46...

Step 01:Parts 46 (red arrows) placed in the lower hull...
The bogies are waiting...

Step 02: installing parts 50 and 51 (idler wheel tensioners)
on the front portion of the hull...

The bogie (part 46) limited (red arrow) by part 47.
Note that the bogie could slide up and down (green arrows).

The pin of 46 part in the 47 part...
everything perpendicular.

Alignment of wheels and suspensions...

Alignment of wheels ( in dry-run) and suspensions...
everything perpendicular.

Chuck is very pleased...

Closing the chassis...
Notice the bogies with putty in the scars...
The dilution is applied with a brush...easy and fast...

The hull. almost ready...

    Building the exhaust , we note that exhaust terminal is solid... Here's a defect of the kit's age, but easily fixed: let's open the exhaust end... first, make markings for the 0.2mm diameter drill...

Using the fine point of the scalpel to make the marks for the
perforations with a 0.2mm diameter drill...

After drilling, mend the holes with a 0.3mm diameter
dental cutter drill, installed in the Dremel.

The end of exhaust, open to exhaust gases...
But the thing is not over yet...

The tow hook in the kit is too rough. I decided to substitute
it for one of Tamiya's Chevy LRDG scrap... Much better!!

Adding little scratches to the old girl, she gets more and more decent...
In addition to improving the kit, we had a lot of fun!!!
This is old school modeling!!

The hull  is growing...

Let's replace those horrible plastic handles with something more correct...

Eliminating pin marks with putty...

Bishop's casemate...right side

Bishop's casemate...left side

Puty: the invention of the Gods!!!

Details...Notice the water can racks, repositioned in the rear left fender.

The exhaust outlet diffusers were missing...
I said I hadn't finished this subject...

Bishop's front hull...

Dry-run with casemate...

Rear view...

Details and litle parts under construction.
Notice the Ordnance QF 25 pdr. gun...

    As I said before, this girl it's from another century, but very, very  pretty...

A classical beauty: Lily Elsie

    And it can be even prettier...with little big details: For example, the ventilator fan in the casemate's roof, which in the kit (part no.35) is just rotten. But with a plastic rod from sprue, small strips of thin plasticard and a little whimsy we can make this girl a good upgrade, because she deserves it...

Making the ventilator fan... lots of fun!!

The ventilator in position...
The schematic drawing of Bishop's turret was invaluable...
Chuck is pleased!!

And speaking in upgrades, based on photos and schematic drawings,
the head and back cushion pads and the rear door lock
(fixed in the locked position).
Again, Chuck is happy!!

Yet another sign of the kit's age: the ammo has a lot of burrs...
but it's easily rectified with a Dremel.

After and Before... I love (and Chuck, too...) my Dremel!!

And now, time for the painting. White primer, for the casemate and hull interiors...
As you can see, I work with a lot of products... Here, Tamiya...

Now, it's Mig Primer.. in dark yellow...

    Well, it's time for one of the facets of modeling that I like a lot: the markings. Normally, I like to have a historical basis to make the markings.... Either reproducing a specific vehicle or reproducing a vehicle that could have existed (based on an original photo, citing location, date and units involved...). Well... My choice is for this last type of markings. So let's do the research...

    The kit comes with a decal sheet with almost all markings printed incorrectly:

VM Models decal sheet

    The decal sheet of VM models presents the option of two vehicles: the S32941 and the S32944. Both vehicles feature real photos:

Bishops 25pdr. SPG  S 32941 & S 32944, from
121st Field Regiment - Royal Artillery
A & C turret markings, from
1st and 3rd Batteries, A & C troops
North Africa - 1942.

    As you can see in the two real photos above, the markings are clear and sharp, but the work of the people in the research department at VM Models really went wrong. Even the serial numbers in the VM decal are wrong, with that little "S"...

    I decided to make my girl from the same unit, taking advantage of the only "correct" decal on the decal sheet, that of the turret marking (A in blue field). I loved the desert's two-tone camouflage... And since I'm going to have to print my decals, I'm going to make a hypothetical S 32943 vehicle, which would have fought in the desert battles of North Africa in 1942. Something like this:

My S 32943 Bishop girl, with corrections
(cammo in the front hull) based in the real pics...

    In the meantime, my good friend Peter Jason Lai from Malaysia asked me if the name of my kit would be "Lily Elsie" (which I used as an example of classic beauty..) and it gave me a snap: Why not officially baptize my Bishop with the photo of this pretty girl from the Edwardian era ??

     I didn't just want to put the girl's name on my Bishop, but to do something more "individual", like an airplane nose art... We know that WWII airplanes had amazing nose art, some of them very well detailed:

A beautiful and very well executed nose art on the bow of a B-24 Liberator

Here's the best example of detailing in a nose art:
Major Richard I. Bong and his P-38 Lightning, named after his wife, Marge.

Example of an artist-mechanic starting his work...

    Ok...ok...we all know that nose arts on airplanes are pretty common, but what about tanks??? And before someone yells "that doesn't exist!", let's do some research!!

US Army Corporal Paul F. Janesk posing in his jeep "Shortstop"
in Sicily, Italy - 3 September 1943.
At that time, Benito Mussolini had been deposed
(thus marked with an "X")

    But a Jeep is not a tank, scream the most fanatical and radical "Rivet Counters", their mouths foaming in frenzy! 

      Oh, Immortal Gods...how long will I be among you??

M4A3E8 Sherman "PaperDoll"

M4A3 "Classi Peg"
Philippines, 1945.

        But these tank designs are about cartoon characters and not real people!!!!!!

Sherman M4A2 "The Black Orchid" - USMC

 Pacific Theater

      But the British didn't do that!!!

from Bison Decals

        Well...after this intense, heated debate and based on the evidence above, meet my new girl, the Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE", belonged to 121st Field Regiment - Royal Artillery. She heroically served with the A troop, 1st Battery, suporting the 23rd Armoured Brigade, in the battles in the Libyan Desert, North Africa, in november 1942.

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE" markings.

     But let's go to the painting and other details...I was forgetting to do the horizontal racks to disguise screens and for rollbags in the sandshields...

Racks in the sandshields for 
rollbags and disguise screens

    Painting time: first of all, apply with an airbrush a layer of slate color over the yellow primer, in the regions that will be camouflaged.

Slate over yellow primer.
Notice the mask in the water-can rack position, like the
real vehicles... Water can rack in top of the rear left fender.

After masking with paper tape, let's paint with
light stone color - left view

Masking with paper tape
right view

The vehicle painted with light stone and with the masks removed.
Notice the small tonal variations...
The rear "ladder" (water-can rack impression) in the rear left door
was achieved with a discreet cloud of light stone over the paper masking tape.

Front view. The turret is in dry-fit

Right view of the Bishop.

Internal hull in white...

The girl putting on your shoes...
left view

The new shoes: right view...

Painting and interior details of the turret...
right side

Painting and interior details of the turret...
left side

Painting and interior details of the turret
with the 25pdr gun - left side

Painting and interior details of the turret
with the 25pdr gun - right side

The painting and weathering of the turret roof...

Turret roof glued in position... left view
Notice the aerials (made with acupuncture needles...)
and the Commander's hatch.

Turret roof glued in position... right view
Notice the aerials (made with acupuncture needles...)
and the Commander's hatch.

Turret - rear view

Interior hull with weathering...

Interior hull with weathering...
front left view

    Now that the paint is done, while it dries completely, let's make the art of the decals in Corel Draw software. "Lily Elsie" vectorized and miniaturized to the desired size. I print the design on an A4 paper sheet...I cut out a strip of transparent decal and tape it over the printed design and return the sheet to my laser printer. When printing, the print is located exactly on the fragment of the transparent decal. I printed two "nose arts" in case of damage the decal. The objective is to use only one complete nose art (on the left side, like in airplanes...) and, on the other side, apply only the name. The painter-mechanic (Kojak is a perfect artist...) was afraid that he would not be able to reproduce the girl's face perfectly twice. A wise and logical decision...

decals made by Panzerserra

     After 2 or thin layers of Pledge (Future) applied with an airbrush in the markings positions, I wait the Pledge to dry completely and start applying the decals in their positions...

Markings: left side.
The nose art and serial numbers were made by me...
The AoS of 121st Field Regiment are from Archer.
The "A" in the blue field is VM Models decal 

Kojak's nose art!!  Perfect!!
Soooo pretty!!

Front hull decals from Archer

The right side, same recipe...
Kojak is wise and prudent. He didn't dare make another Lily as
it's hard to achieve perfection twice in a row...

Rear markings from my spare parts decal box...

Now, another another layer of Pledge to completely seal the decals,
wait for drying and apply a layer of matte varnish,
so we can start the final weathering.

    And, unfortunately, the worst part is approaching: the link-by-link tracks... which I hate with passion!!!

    But the way is to face the misery... Let's install the links in their positions... 

Cutting the links with the cutter...
The mountain of links represents half of the
one provided by the kit...
Let the terror begin!!!

    And to my surprise, the thing was not as bad as it seemed... An hour after using tools developed by NASA:

High-tech tools for build thid...
Popsicle sticks are the icing on the cake...

Now the girl is wearing her shoes, properly...
Right side....

One hour later, the left side...

After the shoes, time to wear the skirts...
 Our girl with the much needed (for the desert...) sand skirts...
Also note the commander's periscope and the driver's rearview mirror.
Left side view

Sand skirts - right side...The turret was also glued in place.

Some details that were being forgotten:
the fire extinguisher and the gun barrel cleaner "swab" (red arrows)

With the matte varnish applied, the decals disappear,
leaving only the Kojak artwork.

       But continuing the project; how about putting some accessories on Lily Elsie??

Roll bags, crates and other things from Value Gear Details...
always a good choice!!!

Accessories - left view

Value Gear stuff, in the rear deck...
Notice the leather straps of the water cans, made with painted paper-tape...
I was forgetting...

Accessories in white primer...

And after painted...

Ugly thing are "magnetic" accessories. Straps to keep everything in place!!!

Lily loves accessories...

front view

Belts to hold things in their places...

Paper-tape and stretched sprue(buckle) ...easy...

Cammo net made with surgical gauze, in the Bishop's rear...
I applied a layer of PVA glue diluted with water and
dyed with Khaky acrylic paint, to darken a little...

Glued with pure PVA glue and after discreet application of a dry-brush.
Man... I loved this detail...

"Lily Elsie" almost ready for battle.
left view

Upper view

Right view

Believe me...I'm a russky VM Models model kit...with pride!!!

    And finally our girl was ready. With you LILY ELSIE, a Bishop 25pdr. SPG providing duties in the 121st Field Regiment - Royal Artillery. She fearlessly struggled with the A troop, 1st Battery, suporting the 23rd Armoured Brigade, in the bloody battles in the Libyan Desert, North Africa, in November 1942.

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"

121st Field Regiment - Royal Artillery - A troop - 1st Battery

 Libyan Desert - North Africa - November, 1942.

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"
left view

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"
Notice the crew stuff, tied on the fender

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"
Casemate interior - right view

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"
rear left view

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"
rear view

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"
right rear view

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"
Casemate interior-left view

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"
right view

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"
right upper view

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"
front view

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"
front details

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"
with Kojak and Rover, the dog.

Two desert girls:

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE" and

 Crusader Mark I - A15 cruiser tank Mk VI

Indeed, two sunny girls...

 Crusader Mark I - A15 cruiser tank Mk VI and

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"

Bishop 25pdr. SPG "LILY ELSIE"

121st Field Regiment - Royal Artillery - A troop - 1st Battery

 Libyan Desert - North Africa - November, 1942.

          Thanks for stay with us, Lads!!