556 - Gorgeous Commission-Painted Churchill I

Hullo, All!

A strange set of circumstances has led to two things: 

1. I won a lovely Churchill I, at the tournament, back in February, and 
2. I've just had it painted by commission - something I've never even vaguely considered doing.

The very talented (and extremely speedy!) Mike Carless - based in the UK as War Paint Workshop; [link] details below - was touting for business to kickstart his commissioning, and after a brief bit of pondering, I decided to take advantage of his absolutely knock-down introductory price...and here is the fantastic result - a battered and bruised Churchill I from 51st RTR - one of a handful that saw stalwart service in both North Africa and up through the Italian campaign:

The model is from Mad Bob's Miniatures: [link here] and is absolutely gorgeous.

It's hard to overstate how impressed I am with Mike's painting service [again, see below for details] - the tank, which was sent as bare and untreated resin, was completed within five days of Mike receiving it, and he even added some excellent stowage. I gave him only a vague steer for unit markings etc. and what he delivered was absolutely spot-on for my needs.  

It looks suitably knackered and beaten up, and well dusted by light Mediterranean dust and muck. In fact, it's made me start to reconsider whether I ought really to weather my NW Europe vehicles a little more convincingly...but that can wait for now!

Armed with a useful combination of (in game terms) a 2pdr light AT turret and a 3" light howitzer in the hull, this thing can bimble along at the back of my lines and lay down some characterfully light 'hurt' whilst hopefully taking a few punches too. 

In this last shot you can also see the alternative hull plate to replace the 3" howitzer. The substitution of the hull MG makes it into a Churchill Mk II.

Having ended up with a surprise Churchill I/II - and being a little baffled by just where it might fit into my long-term plans, it brought me joy to discover that the Mark Is actually kept lumbering on into the Gothic Line in '44 - a tribute to their close support firepower and legendary (if slow) manoeuvrability across rugged terrain. This meant it was in fact perfect to go with the North Africa-cum-Italy force I plan to develop in the future. 

My vague plan now is considering the Perry Desert Rats box with the Perry Sikh heads. I reckon that'd be more fun, and a wee tribute to all the Sikh lads I grew up with and their grandfathers' sacrifices on behalf of ol' Blighty.

Mike Carless - War Paint Workshop

If you are interested in making use of Mike's excellent services, you can find him on 

• facebook on this link [here], 
• twitter as MikeyCarless 
• or by email: mcarless [at] rocketmail dot com.

He communicates extremely well and he really is bafflingly swift!

Spread the word...

Cheers, All,

- Drax.