Watch out... ditch ahead!!!
The tank in this report is one of Hobart's famous Funnies! Its main feature is to use a device almost as old as the History of Wars, to pave the way for his companions... I proudly present to you the Churchill AVRE fascine carrier.
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier towing a fascine sledge (notice the steel rope in the AVRE's rear hook) Reichswald Forest , Germany - Operation 'Veritable'. 8 February, 1945. |
History:
After the bloody landing attempt at Dieppe (Operation Jubilee) in August 1942, the Allies tried to absorb the lessons of the failed landing that were exposed that day. The fact that the many tanks and other military vehicles simply could not leave the sands of the landing beach were the determining factor in the failure of the Operation.
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| We can say that many lessons on how to invade France were learned during Operation Jubilee, but at a terrible cost to Canadian and British soldiers. Dieppe, France - August - 1942. |
Interestingly, even in this frustrated landing, some special vehicles were used, such as Churchills bobbins and flamethrowers, but still very primitive and fragile versions, which contributed very little to the success of the mission.
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| Churchill Oke in development and operational versions. See more details here, on Bunker. |
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T68173 COUGAR, a Churchill Mk III Bobbin of No. 13 Troop, “C” Squadron, The Calgary Regiment, one of the five tanks fitted with the “Beach Track Laying Device,” for the landings at Dieppe 19 August 1942. |
With that in mind, the British Ministry of Defense developed work teams to try to solve the issue and, like everything in wartime, the solution would have to be cheap and accessible... and many strange things were born from this premise.
One of the best examples was the development of the Churchill AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers) tank, armed with a powerful barrier-destroyer mortar and which could be equipped with various equipment, from bridge launchers to fascination carriers, the latter being the objective of this article. A good historical review of Churchill AVRE tanks can be found here, on Bunker.
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| Churchill Mk IV AVRE roaring in a dirty village in Belgium - 18 September 1944. |
These tanks were assigned to the 79th Armored Division, under the command of General Percy Hobart and which became known as Hobart's Funnies, because of the strange appearance of these vehicles.
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and the badge of the 79th Armoured Division |
Churchill AVRE fascine carrier:
Fascine is a rough bundle of brushwood or other material used for strengthening an earthen structure, or making a path across uneven or wet terrain. Typical uses are protecting the banks of streams from erosion, covering marshy ground and so on.
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| Fascines near the tip of Percho ( Côte Sauvage de Saint-Pierre-Quiberon ) used to protect the dunes from erosion. |
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| Riverbank was strengthened with fascines. Templin Channel in Templin, Germany. |
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| The use of fascines to protect the riverbanks Boulages, France |
In war they have often been used to help armies – in modern times, especially tanks and other vehicles – cross trenches, valleys, marshes, walls, muddy or uneven terrain, etc.
Early military uses:
Fascine bundles were used defensively for revetting (shoring up) trenches or ramparts, especially around artillery batteries, or offensively to fill in ditches and cross obstacles on a battlefield, since the times of the Roman Legions.
The use of fascines by military engineers continued almost wherever armies were deployed and could be an incredibly cheap and effective 'weapon' during a siege, for both attacker and defender.
The Battle of Narva in 1700 was a pivotal early battle in the Great Northern War between Charles XII of Sweden and Peter the Great, near what is today the border between Estonia and Russia.
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| The Battle of Narva - November 1700 Alexander Kotzebue painting |
Protected by the Narva River to their east, around the town the Russian Army had dug a trench 2 meters wide in front of an earth wall 3 meters. The defenders had 140 cannon mounted around the walls, they outnumbered the exhausted Swedish army four to one and a blizzard had just broken out. Nonetheless, Charles advanced: "Throwing their fascines into the ditch, the Swedes swarmed across on top of them. Waving swords and bayonets, they climbed over the earthworks and threw themselves on the foe. Within fifteen minutes, a fierce hand-to-hand battle was taking place inside the works."
A hundred years later, during the Napoleonic Wars, fascines were still in regular use – billhooks, used for cutting branches and saplings, were standard issue for riflemen. In 1806-7 the French General Vandamme besieged Breslau with the assistance of his engineer Colonel Blein. When crossing enemy trenches, Blein used boats, trestles and ladders covered with boards to cross enemy entrenchments – when his account mentions fascines it is along with gabions as a defensive element.
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| "Part of trench (c), with fascines (a), and gabions (b): in fortification, a large basket of wickerwork constructed with stakes and osiers, or green twigs, in a cylindrical form, but without a bottom.” -Whitney, 1911 |
Fascines in WWI and WWII:
Tanks in World War I, namely the British Mark IV, started the practice of carrying fascines on the front roof, to be deployed to fill trenches and tank traps that would otherwise be an obstacle to the advance of the tank in battle field.
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| British Mark IV Female heavy tank with fascine aboard flat-bed railway trucks at Plateau Station. Notice the canvas, protecting the tank from rain moisture. Preparations for the Battle of Cambrai. November - 1917. |
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| An unfortunate British Mk.IV Female heavy tank which fell into a prepared pit during the Battle of Cambrai. Bourlon, February 1918 |
These were constructed from the traditional bundles of brushwood used to make fascines since Roman times. Although these were cumbersome to deploy they proved an effective gap-crossing device and were used widely by the tanks of the day that weighed up to about 30 tons. It began to be used extensively at the Battle of Cambrai.
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| British Mark IV Female heavy tanks with fascines being loaded aboard flat-bed railway trucks at Plateau Station, in preparation for transportation to the forward area prior to the opening of the Battle of Cambrai. November - 1917. |
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| British Mark IV Female and Male heavy tanks with fascines from "C" Battalion, including "Crusty" and "Centaur II", loaded aboard a train at Plateau Station - France Preparations to Battle of Cambrai - November - 1917 |
Variations of the fascines, called "cribs", were also employed. They were structures built with wooden and steel beams, which had the same purpose as the fascines, but less subject to fire and allowed the drainage of water.
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| British Mark V heavy tanks with the "cribs" carried to cross the Hindenburg Line - Bellicourt - Battle of St Quentin Canal France - 29th September 1918 |
In World War II, the use of fascines continued as a gap-crossing device and in the British Army, the concept of fascine carrier was tested in the Churchill heavy infantry tanks. These tanks carried a beam of fascine on the front portion of the hull, to be ejected into a trench, crater or even a ditch, to fill the obstacle and allow the vehicle to pass.
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| A Churchill Mk.IV 6 pdr. tank of 163rd Brigade, 54th Division, pouring a fascine, during ditch crossing exercises near Dunwich, England. 14 April 1943 |
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| Fascines unloaded into the ditch now make it possible for the tank to cross the gap. Churchill Mk.III 6 pdr. tank "SATAN" seen crossing a ditch. Trials near Dunwich, England. 14 April 1943 |
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| The same Churchill Mk.III 6 pdr. tank "SATAN" seen above. Trials near Dunwich, England. 14 April 1943 |
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| A Churchill Mk.IV 6 pdr. tank climbing over several fascines, gaining height to overcome a vertical obstacle. Testing an old and innovative concept at the same time. Dunwich, England - 14 April 1943 |
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| Testing the concept of Churchill fascine carrier on England trials - 9 December 1943 The tank is a Churchill Mk.IV with an unarmed turret. |
The transport of the fascines in the back of the tank was also tested, but the heat of the exhausts proved that this place was not the most appropriate...
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| Here's an example of a bad idea!!! |
With the Churchill tanks being approved in this work, a special version was developed, called Churchill AVRE - Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers.
The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) pre-positioned fascines made of metal pipes across the Khalkha River (between Japanese held Manchuria and Mongolia, the USSR's protectorate,) in advance of the IJA's 1939 foray into Mongolia. The use of hollow pipes had been predicated on their ability to allow water flow; the pipes were secured such that they were awash, and the river's unimpeded flow initially hid the fascines from Soviet reconnaissance aircraft. While these fascines were designed for stealth rather than combat deployment and were not deployed via armoured vehicles, the use of hollow pipes as fascines was a significant step forward.
Churchill AVRE fascine carrier:
Fascines were a group of sticks (bush), tied together, forming bundles and sub-bundles, tied together in a large roll.
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| Fascine bundle in tests. Notice the canvas "strap" of the initial models, later simplified to simple ropes. Development Unit - 79th Armoured Division Suffolk - September, 1943. |
With approximately 2 to 2.5 meters in diameter and approximately 3.5 meters in width, they could be entirely formed by sticks or have prefabricated metal tubes (generally 3) installed in the center of the roll, to act as a culvert, for water drainage.
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| Churchill AVRE fascine carrier moving up to the battle. Notice the prefabricated metal tubes in the fascine's core. 53rd Division's attack - west of Oss - Holland 23 October 1944 |
A special cradle, made with wood, was designed and installed on the forward deck of the tank, in front of the turret, which was deviated 90° to the right or to the left. This cradle did not interfere with the movement of the hull's machine gun, but restricted the scope of the firing field, as well as the driver's field of observation was also impaired.
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| Wood cradle in tests. Notice the fascines in the background. Development Unit - 79th Armoured Division Suffolk - September, 1943. |
The fascine was placed in the cradle and fixed by moorings, with a tensioning cable going to the rear of the vehicle. The fascine was released could be released by a mechanical quick-release trigger (with its activation being done inside the turret) or a explosive quick release system: a detonator was inserted into the plastic explosive and an electrical trigger cable led to the interior of the turret, too. The explosion released the mooring lines and the fascine rolled forward into the crib.
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier - rear view Notice the fascine explosive release device: two steel plates bolted together, with plastic explosive inserted between the plates. |
Additional fascines could be towed by the AVRE on a stel sledge.
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE towing a steel sledge full of fascines. Netherlands - October, 1944. |
Unfortunately, the presence of the fascines on the bow of the tank made it difficult the driver's view, (which was already quite restricted in the normal Churchills) and obliterating the forward view of the tank commander, either through the periscopes or through the direct view through the turret hatch. For this reason, it was very common for the tank commander to stay outside the AVRE (with great danger to him...), perched on the fascine, to assist in the visual field of the driver and the tactical situation of the tank in the field.
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| Churchill AVRE fascine carrier SABRE with the Commander perched on top of the fascine (with metal tubes core), guiding the tan by radio Notice the "Bull Head" badge of 79th Armoured Division in the left rear plate - Holland, 23 October 1944 |
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| Churchill AVREs fascine carriers and Churchill ARKs passing through Forli, Italy Notice the Churchill AVRE's comanders in the top of fascines. 9 November 1944 |
Another problem was that while the tank was carrying the fascine, the mortar could only be fired from a perpendicular derivation of the turret.
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| Churchill Mk.IV with fascine. Notice the unarmed turret pointing to front position. |
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| Another Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier, but with unarmed turret rotate in 90°, to right position. |
But despite all these problems, the AVRE fascine carrier was quite successful in filling walls, trenches, tank traps, and other voids, allowing it and the remaining allied vehicles to cross and advance.
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| Churchill AVRE fascine carrier approaching its primary objective: a ditch to be filled. |
One of the unforeseen uses of the fascine carrier in the Normandy Landings was to fill in the large craters created by the guns of Allied battleships and heavy bombers, during the bombardment of the rear areas of the landing beaches. Some of these projectiles and bombs each weighed 500 kilograms of high explosives, which created immense craters that could swallow up to two or three tanks. Once freed from the fascine and rack, the AVRE could continue as a conventional armored vehicle.
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| Churchill AVRE, ready for battle, towing a sled with fascines and Churchill AVRE fascine carrier. Notice the Churchill AVRE fascine carrier Commander in the top of fascine, to be able to "see" the battlefield. West of Oss - Netherlands - October, 1944. |
The Churchills AVRE fascine carriers although they were designed to perform on D-Day in Normandy (24 were used on the day of the Landing), they were so successful that they were used in the most varied Theaters of Operations in WWII, including Netherlands, Italy and the final advance on Germany.
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| Churchill AVRE fascine carrier passing by infantry during the attack towards Hertogenbosch in Netherlands. 23 October 1944 |
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| Canadian Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier still with his cargo, passing through the streets of newly liberated Apeldoorn, Netherlands. 17 April, 1945. |
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| "Rearming" a Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier with a new fascine beam. Notice the steel cable being used to bring the fascine of the truck to the cradle. The turret is drifting 270° to the left, with the spigot flexed upwards. Granarolo - Italy - April, 45. |
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier towing a fascine sledge (notice the wire rope in the AVRE's rear hook). 34th Independent Tank Brigade Reichswald Forest , Germany - Operation 'Veritable'. 8 February, 1945. |
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The same road above, but from a different angle of view and moment. A steel sled being towed by Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier, with remnants of branches and fascine logs. Bridging tanks for 34th Independent Tank Brigade Infantry belongs to 6th Bn.Royal Welsh Fus. - 160th Bde - 53th RD. Div. 8 February, 1945. Thanks to Michael Hazell and Duncan Gunn, in Facebook!! |
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| Third photo of the sequence above. Notice the Churchill AVRE fascine carrier, on the left, ( tank for the the first photo, with the lorry Bedford next to it) towing the sled with logs of the second photo. The clergymen chat with the crew of a Churchill bridgelayer of 34th Independent Tank Brigade start of Operation 'Veritable' - 8 February 1945. |
Not only did the Churchills AVRE have the unique ability to transport fascines to the battlefield: the British liked the idea so much that they used Churchills ARK and Shermans for this purpose. The Shermans were specially modified for this purpose, with their turrets were removed and a huge metallic cradle was installed over the hull of the tanks, allowing the transport of 2 to 3 beams of fascines. We can say that the Fascine Shermans were "closer" to the Sherman Twaby ARK than to their armed brothers.
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| Churchill ARK fascine carrier. Trials in United Kingdom - late march, 1944. |
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| Front view of the same Churchill ARK fascine carrier, above. Notice that the wood cradle is much higher than in the AVRE version. This generated a pendulum-like instability in the vehicle, in very difficult terrain. Trials in United Kingdom - late march, 1944. |
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| Sherman fascine carrier - rear view Notice the first bundle of fascine being loaded onto the vehicle, by means of a cable being pulled from the rear of the vehicle. 2nd Armoured Brigade REME Ronco, near Forli - Italy - early April 1945. |
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| Sherman fascine carrier - front view of the same vehicle above Notice the first bundle of fascine being loaded onto the vehicle, by means of a cable being pulled from the rear of the vehicle. 2nd Armoured Brigade REME Ronco, near Forli - Italy - early April 1945. |
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| The same Sherman fascine carrier of pic above - front view The second bundle of fascine being loaded onto the vehicle. 2nd Armoured Brigade REME Ronco, near Forli - Italy - early April 1945. |
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| Sherman V Twaby Ark with their ramps folded 2nd Armoured Brigade REME Notice the extra-large grousers in the tracks. Ronco, near Forli - Italy - early April 1945. |
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| Same Sherman V Twaby Ark seen above. 2nd Armoured Brigade REME Notice the extra-large grousers in the tracks. Ronco, near Forli - Italy - early April 1945. |
Fascines after WWII:
Fascines continued to be employed by the British Army after WWII as it is a simple and effective means of solving the problem of tank obstacles. From the old recipe with bundles of branches to more modern solutions with polyethylene tubes and composite materials, to better support the weight and size of new and modern vehicles, this equipment has proved to be extremely useful in battle situations, being positively tested. in every conflict since WWII.
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| Churchill Mk.VII AVRE (L9 - 165mm bore demolition gun) with "old-school" bundle of wood fascine United Kingdon -1955 |
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| Centurion AVRE with L9 - 165mm bore demolition gun passing over a beam of fascines in tubes. United Kingdon -1964 |
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| Chieftain AVRE ‘CHAVRE’ with tube fascines. KFOR - Kosovo - 2000 |
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| Chieftain Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE) carrying two bundles of tube fascines 2005 |
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| Challenger II Trojan AVRE mine clearing with tube fascines Afganistan - 2009 |
Specs:
Churchill Mk IV AVRE fascine carrier | |
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Type | Infantry - sapper tank |
Place of origin | United Kingdom |
Service history | |
In service | 1941–52 |
Used by |
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Production history | |
Designer | |
Manufacturer | |
Produced | 1941 to 1945 |
Number built | 754 AVRES |
Variants | Mk.III & Mk.IV |
Specifications | |
Weight | 40.1 tons |
Length | 7.44 m |
Width | 3.25 m |
Height | 2.49 m |
Crew | 6 |
Armour |
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Main armament | Spigot mortar 290mm firing "Flying Dustbin" 18 kg petard (26 rds) |
Sec. armament |
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Engine | Bedford 12-cyl., 4 stroke, water-cooled, horizontally opposed, L-head petrol engine 350 hp @ 2,200 rpm |
Power/weight | 9.1 hp / tonne |
Transmission | Merritt-Brown 4-speed constant-mesh epicyclic gearbox |
Suspension | Coiled spring |
Op. range | 90 km |
Speed | 24 km/h |
Steering system | Triple differential steering in gearbox |
The kits:
This time, the characters of our novel are the kits Churchill Mk.IV AVRE w/ Fascine Carrier FrameAFV Club (# AF35288)...
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Churchill Mk.IV AVRE w/ Fascine Carrier Frame AFV Club (# AF35288) kit box art |
...and the amazing fascine resin kit from Hobby Fan Lumber Bundles (# HF079):
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| Hobby Fan Lumber Bundles (# HF079) kit box art |
...and the kits in my workbench, under the supervision of the inexhaustible Kojak. These Churchill kits from AFV are simply fantastic...
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| My workbench with the bald one, ready for action!!! |
The Hobby Fan resin kit of the fascine bundles is very interesting: four segments of wooden fascines, finely molded, without any bubbles or defects...fantastic pieces!!!
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| Amazing resin kit !!! Very well done, Hobby Fan!!! |
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| Impressive details... |
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| I couldn't resist doing a dry-run... The fitting of the pieces is a bit random... you have to choose the best position of the pieces, especially the external ones... |
But enough drooling over the (future) details of the model and let's get to the task of building the kit. I didn't bother to photograph all the stages, because what is not lacking in our Bunker are photos of the construction of the Churchills of the AFV... there are more than 20, if I'm not mistaken... and there are still more Churchills to come... oops..spoiler alert!!!
I built this Churchill AVRE fascine carrier in parallel with the Churchill AVRE SBG assault bridge...so don't be surprised at photos with duplicate kits...
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| Building the suspensions of the tank... |
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| Churchill AVRE fascine carrier in parallel with the Churchill AVRE SBG assault bridge |
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| Suspensions almost ready... |
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| I love these AFV Churchills... |
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| Churchill AVRE fascine carrier and Churchill AVRE SBG assault bridge hulls... |
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| "Crushing" the front suspensions to simulate the weight of the future big bundle of fascine. I glued the suspension components in that position... |
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| And in addition to tilting the suspensions, I'm also going to install a counterweight on the (internal) tail of the kit, for better balance... In the pic above, the two Funnies under construction. The higher weight is for the AVRE SBG (140 grams) and the lower weight (110 grams) is for the Fascine Carrier |
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| Gluing the ballasts with quick two-component epoxy adhesive... |
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| Epoxy adhesive gluing the ballasts. Super strong, by Crom!!! |
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| I also reinforced it with sprue and acrylic (see details, here). Hull front view |
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| Rear view |
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| Cleaning the 3 burrs of the engine safe locks is so annoying (the parts are very fragile) that it is better to replace the whole thing with metal: copper wires in the correct diameter and lengths... |
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| Lads celebrate!!! |
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| Now, it´s turret time: the Mk.IV rounded one... |
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| Turret done - left view |
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| Turret done - right view |
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| And the turret in place... Indeed, the girl is awesome!!! |
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| Right view |
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| Rear view |
Well... now, let's take care of the wood cradle... The frame has to be perfectly squared, because the weight of the fascine is considerable...
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| Building the crib respecting the squaring |
A small big detail: I had installed the flaps on the driver and machine gun periscopes, but when testing the adaptation of the cradle on the front deck, I noticed that these protections interfered with the cradle. so let's remove those periscope flaps...
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| The Churchill with and without flaps in his periscopes... The young Liz was happy with the repair!!! |
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| The crib in an adaptation test |
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| Notice that the periscopes without the flaps fit perfectly now... |
Now, a somewhat "sickening" step to do: the two lashing loops of the fascine steel cable. I will use the AFV "U" hooks (E4 parts) along with the F11 parts. It's just that it's impossible for one to get into the other, unless you have minor surgery. see the pictures below...
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| After cutting (with a knife) a part of the E4 part, you fit the F11 and re-glue the cut part, securing the F11 inside the E4. |
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| And then, repeating the process with the other handle. |
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| And the E4+F11 couples installed in Churchill's rear. |
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| Making the wire rope according to the kit instructions... |
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| And building the fascine quick release trigger. The red dots are drops of dental acrylic, to give finish and resistance to F12 plastic parts... |
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| Testing...testing... Notice the towing steel cable in the hull side left view |
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| Testing...testing... Notice the towing steel cable in the hull side right view |
And now, a real challenge: to paint the wooden stakes of fascination, in a convincing way and in a way that I can keep my sanity...
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| Airbrush painting random narrow vertical stripes with light wood color, light and dark grey |
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| Testing the fittings...and the random position of the colors.... |
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| But now comes the nightmare: painting (many) stakes individually, with different colors, with brush... |
While the fascine colors dry, let's apply a green primer on our girl...
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| Churchill Mk IV AVRE with primer... left view |
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| Churchill Mk IV AVRE with primer... right view |
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| Starting the painting of the crib... left view |
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| Starting the painting of the crib... right view |
And the fascine was ready... This Hobby Fan kit is simply fantastic in its details... I joined the 4 segments together using self-curing dental acrylic, carefully applied to the fittings. Once solidified, the fascine became a single piece, indivisible and with a much stronger and more economical glued than with epoxy or cyanoacrylate...
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| Fascine parts bonding with self-curing dental acrylic font: modified from Armorama |
After the painting and matt varnish...
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| Fascine, ready for the ditches and craters!!! |
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| 3/4 view of fascine |
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| Man, this Hobby Fan resin kit (#HF079) fascine (lumber bundles) is awesome and heavy: the fascine+crib set weighs exactly 284 grams. |
Letting the fascine rest, let's return to the tank, or rather, to the girl's markings. She will be a little sister to our Churchill Mk.III AVRE SBG, from the same Division, from the same Regiment. I will use the markings provided by the AFV Club, but with considerable historical complementation. With you, Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier "LOCH NESS" (T 172540), from 82nd Assault Squadron, 6th Assault Regiment, 79th Armored Division, commanded by Lnc Cpl. Phillips, who landed from LCT 2027 on D-Day, Normandy, June 6, 1944.
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Color profile of Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier The crib and moorings have been omitted for ease of viewing. |
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| LOCH NESS, a proud girl with a misterious name... left view |
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier "LOCH NESS" front view |
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier "LOCH NESS" Notice the LCT number written with chalk on the front fender right view |
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier "LOCH NESS" Notice the shape of the steel cable in the tank rear... rear view |
Note, in the photo above and below, the fascine's steel cable at the rear of the vehicle. This arc shape, given by the "inertia" of the thickness of the thread itself, gets in the way of adjusting the correct position of the fascine... My solution was to lift the rear of the kit a little (do you remember that there is a ballast inside the hull? There's nothing like using gravity to help us...), by means of an elastic rubber band attached to a hook made with wire copper wire, which pulls the fascine thread into the desired position. With the thread taut, assuming the form of traction by weight, I applied a thin layer of PVA glue on the thread, using a brush, and let everything dry for an hour... It is very important to keep the tension in the thread (by the weight of the kit) while the PVA glue hardens, otherwise the steel rope will be "frozen" with an unnatural appearance.
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| Panzerserra Gravitational Traction Device (*patent required) in action. Notice the shape of the rear mooring cable (green arrows) |
With the cable issue resolved, let's take care of installing the fascine in its position on the front hull of the AVRE. As the piece is very heavy, I thought of dividing this step into subsets, to facilitate gluing and adjustment. My idea is to glue the fascine to the cradle, forming a sub-assembly that will later be installed in the vehicle, being held in place by its own weight and the traction cables.
First step: "Testing the crib"!! I've noticed a certain instability of the crib, when its hind legs rest on the AVRE's upper deck. The crib has 3 hind legs: one left, one median and one right. All are the same size and length, but the right leg should be 1mm longer, as it does not rest on the driver's hatch, but on the upper deck of the hull. See pic below:
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| Crib, shifted to the left, showing the 1mm addition at the base of the right rear leg. |
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| The crib, in its resting position. Note that the right hind leg rests on the upper hull and not on the hatches (see arrows). With this little 1mm "insole", our crib is no longer "lame". Then just paint the insole with the same color as the crib... |
Second step: "Capture the crib"!! I placed the cradle on the AVRE's nose, now fully stable, thanks to the previous step, in a dry-run test. On the inclined plane of the crib, the fascine will be installed.
Previously, I chose which fascine position is more stable on the crib, rotating the fascine beam until finding a more "stable" position.
Upon finding this position, I positioned the fascination next to the tank, taking care not to change this "spatial" position obtained and applied drops of superglue to the upper portions of the crib (but I didn't glue the crib to the hull!!), where the fascine will rest.
Carefully, I placed the fascine in the chosen position (worrying about the alignment of the heavy piece over the crib) and waited a few seconds for the superglue dry. I removed the fascine and the crib came together: this is the capture of the crib!!!
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| The crib glued (precariously) to the fascine bundle, in the correct and desired position. |
Now, it's time to reinforce this fascine-crib junction. The use of superglue is not correct, due to the high fluidity of the glue. There are big gaps between the fascine and the crib and superglue is not ideal for this... Another option would be epoxy glue, but even the ultrafast version is complicated to handle, as its fluidity is also great...
Dental acrylic, once again, is the solution, being applied by the drip technique, previously described. To get a more neutral color, I mixed some graphite powder into the acrylic powder. This makes the acrylic dark gray...
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| Reinforcing the fascine-crib junction. Acrylic adheres to the plastic of the crib, but does not adhere to the resin of fascine. It penetrates in the irregularities of the fascine details, allowing a perfect mechanical lock. Notice the dark-grey aspect of the acrylic... |
While the acrylic on the junction dries, I'm going to make a locking hook between the rear hull cable quick release system (the "gravitational" pull one, remember??) and the fascine cables. I chose to make a hook to allow installation and uninstallation of the fascine in the kit. I made the hook with steel wire and round-nose pliers, used in jewelry crafts. Here's the scratch result:
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| Coupling hook, made with steel wire. It will later be painted in the vehicle's color. The fascine thread is provisionally tied to the piece, to allow this photo... |
With the steel hook ready, I will now install the fascine thread... I glued the thick thread to the top of the fascine with a micro-drop of superglue. I passed the thread through the steel hook (with the fascine+crib installed on the AVRE's nose) and extended the thread to the other side of the fascine, pulling the thread until it was taut. I deposited a micro-drop of superglue and, with that, I "captured" the position of the fascine thread in its correct and tense position. Then, I applied a thin layer of PVA glue over the thread, to "freeze" the thread in that ideal and tense position, like the rear thread. After the PVA glue dried (the thread has to be kept under tension...the weight of the fascine takes care of that...), I was able to remove the fascine+crib from the AVRE's nose, just by unhooking the steel hook from the "frozen" cable. Simple!!
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| The fascine thread, "frozen" in tense position, after the PVA glue dries. The thread maintains the appearance of a cable under tension. |
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| Fascine+crib, presenting its moorings. The small "shiny" portions of superglue will be eliminated with a small brush of matte varnish. This set weighs exactly 284 grams. |
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| Notice the junction between fascine+crib (green) and the tense aspect of the mooring thread (red) |
I'm going to install some Value Gear roll-bags on the tank, for better detailing...
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| Value Gear Details in position (red arrows) Notice the rear thread frozen in tense position (green) |
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| The fascine+crib set in position (dry-run). Look at the Value Gear Details and the fascine mooring thread frozen with PVA glue. left view |
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier LOCH NESS right view |
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| Notice the tension aspect of the two sets of mooring wires, frozen with PVA glue. Rear right view |
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier LOCH NESS Rear left view |
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier LOCH NESS The fascine+crib set is in position by weight effect. Notice the alignment of the set... front view |
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| Notice how the traction thread of the fascine was "frozen" in the correct position, thanks to the PVA glue. |
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| And the crib+fascine+pull wire set waiting to be installed in the kit. This entire system was detachable, so that the kit could be transported without risk of fractures. |
And with a final touch of weathering, I call this project finished: This is the Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier "LOCH NESS" (T 172540), from 82nd Assault Squadron, 6th Assault Regiment, 79th Armored Division, commanded by Lnc Cpl. Phillips, who landed from LCT 2027 on D-Day, Normandy, June 6, 1944.
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier "LOCH NESS" 82nd Assault Squadron, 6th Assault Regiment, 79th Armored Division, D-Day - Normandy, France - June 6, 1944. |
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier "LOCH NESS" |
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier "LOCH NESS" left side view |
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier "LOCH NESS" |
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier "LOCH NESS" right side view |
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier "LOCH NESS" |
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier "LOCH NESS" |
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier "LOCH NESS" front view |
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier "LOCH NESS" |
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier "LOCH NESS" with Kojak, for size comparison... Really, the bald one trusts his own service... |
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| Churchill Mk.IV AVRE fascine carrier "LOCH NESS" 82nd Assault Squadron, 6th Assault Regiment, 79th Armored Division, D-Day - Normandy, France - June 6, 1944. |
Thanks for following along...
I just loved this project!!!
