September 2024
CRARRV
Stug III Ausf G
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Challenger Armoured Repair & Recovery Vehicle
Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers (REME)
2024
Cromwell 1/72
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Based on a Challenger 1 tank chassis upgraded to use the more reliable and powerful Challenger II power plant, the Challenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle (CRARRV) is one of the largest and most impressive armoured vehicles around. Normally manned by 3 Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) specialists, its cabin can carry 5 persons in NBC and armour protected safety.
A vital component of the UK's armoured forces, it can tow and recover all current British Army tracked vehicles and is very heavily armoured allowing it to proceed into combat zones to undertake recover under fire. A 50 ton winch and lifting beam is supplemented by a 6.5 tonne Atlas crane capable of lifting a Challenger 2 power pack, it carries a variety of specialist tools including cutting and welding equipment. A large dozer blade enables it to dig itself into cover or remove obstacles.
Also in service with The Royal Army of Oman, it is designed to operate alongside
the Challenger tank, a total of 84 were built between 1988 and 1993. CRARRVs have
seen active service in Bosnia, Kosovo, The Gulf and Afghanistan. Two ex-
Link to many more British Cold War vehicles on my Dark Side pages
Building the Cromwell CRARRV:
AFVs are really a bit of a modelling side interest for me, although I have built quite a few over the years. One of the best sources I have found are Cromwell Models 1/72 resin kits. They are not easy to find, with variable availability, so if you do see one and fancy it, snap it up because you may not see it again!
This was quite an expensive kit (£32 from Matador Models) that was inspired by a visit to Tank Fest at the Bovington Tank Museum in 2022. During the event, one of the Centurion tanks broke down at the front of the arena, and after some discussion, a Challenger Armoured Recovery vehicle rolled on and towed the broken tank off for repairs. I was smitten and when I saw this kit at Scale Model World in Telford later that year, I had to get one.
Most Cromwell kits are relatively straightforward, but this one includes the full
current set of Theatre Entry Standard (TES) modifications and applique armour that
need to be applied before the vehicle can deploy to a combat zone. These come (like
on the real thing) as a set of individual stick-
The road wheels area required quite a lot of flash removing carefully with a scalpel before attaching the individual road wheels. Since the resin seemed a little greasy to the touch, a good dip in warm soapy water preceded any assembly. The applique armour needed sanding back to remove rough edges and pouring stubs, a task that always needs to be undertaken carefully with resin kits since the resin dust can be decidedly hazardous to health. As always, the smaller parts on this Cromwell kit feature some incredible moulding, for example the smoke grenade cannisters are tiny, but crisply moulded and easy to attach.
The extra TES parts are well formed too, and seem to represent the reference TES model held at the trials unit in Bovington in its 2022 form (this year it was back at Tank Fest in a slightly different fit). Working out what is needed (not all of the supplied parts are), what fits where and how is not a small task, but once you have identified the relevant part it fits with commendable accuracy; other than the lack of instructions, this was one of the easiest and most enjoyable AFV kits I have ever built (and given how much I hate building with CA glue that is saying something).
Below: The ADTU CRARRV at Bovington Tank Fest.
The Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III) was a WW2 assault gun used by the Wehrmacht on all fronts. Based on the Panzer III chassis it was the most produced German tracked vehicle of WW2 with over 11,000 built (including variants).
Armed with a 75mm gun and with minimal armour protection, it was intended to provide
direct fire support for advancing infantry when faced with pillboxes and minor fortifications,
but evolved to be an anti-
After WW2, large numbers of StuG IIs were used by eastern European countries and bySyria, seeing combat against Israel as late as the 1973 Yom Kippur War, as well as being used as static pill boxes on the Golan Heights.
Building the Airfix Stug III:
This is clearly a nostalgia build for me; I first built one of these in the early 1970s, and it has fond memories for me. The initial issue was way back in 1962, which makes these moulds 62 years old (the same age as me!).
Airfix re-
The kit is a little fiddly to assemble, with some flash, but remains a nice moulding
with some delicate surface detail. I understand that it is acceptably accurate,
although clearly it does not match up to modern kit moulding standards. The gun
is definitely difficult to assemble and has a habit of popping off its inner mounting
if you leave it movable -
As with many early Airfix AFV kits, I believe this one is based on the example held at the Tank Museum in Bovington, which is not currently on display, but can be seen in the restoration hall if you look hard enough.
Anyway, a fun build, that took me less than an hour to assemble (just like I did in the 1970s), leaving plenty of time to add some scratch details.
Below -
Below: A Stug III at the Tank Museum, Bovington. This one has a slightly different decking arrangement from the kit.
Below: A Stug III at Tank Fest. This is an earlier type, with a smaller gun and different decking.
Below: Sadly, the Stug III suffered a breakdown and is no longer at the museum as it has been removed by its owner for repairs.
Below: Image IWM (NA 15430). Fusilier F Jefferson of C Company, 2 Bn Lancs Fusiliers, standing in front of a Stug II that he disabled with a PIAT anti tank weapon in Italy.
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Link to many more Axis WW2 vehicles on my Dark Side pages