Assault on Fort Montbarey, 14-16 Sep 1944 (Churchill Mk. VII Crocodile & Jeep)

[RichB]

This turned into my summer works project, squeezing build time in when I could over the last 4-5 months. Things started out with the Crocodile kit with a view to a quick build (Yeah right, what was I thinking?).

While doing some pre-build research, I stumbled upon the story and pictures of Crocodiles being seconded to support the US VII Corps assault on Brest.

The plan was to be loosely based on the photo below.

That started the wheels turning and the acquisition of this kit (it also includes a light vehicle, aka Jeep) as the project grew.

The back story. Following Operation Cobra and the Normandy breakout, US forces turned west into the Brittany Peninsula with the objective of capturing the fortified ports of St. Malo, St, Nazaire, Lorient and Brest. The US 6th Armoured Division was ordered to make a lightning strike towards Brest in a bid to capture an operational port. Arriving outside Fortress Brest on 07 Aug, Gen Ramcke's defenses forced the US forces to begin a 5 week siege of shelling, air strikes and infantry assaults. On 26 Aug US VII Corps launched an assault on Brest. The brutal fighting forced the US commanders to change tactics, creeping forward to reduce one strongpoint at a time. Rain and fog neutralized Allied air power and artillery units began running out of ammunition. A coordinated assault saw US forces enter Brest on 08 Sep and desperate house-to-house fighting as they advanced towards the inner defenses.

A key position was Fort Montbarey to the west of Brest. Built by Louis XVI between 1777 and 1784 it had walls 30 feet high and 40 feet thick protected by a dry moat 15 feet deep. The capture of this position was one of the objectives of the US 29th Infantry Division (The Blue and Grey). Gen Bradley requested support from the UK 79th Armoured Division (Hobart's Funnies) Crocodiles for the assault. Assigned the task was B Squadron, 141st Regiment Royal Armored Corps (The Buffs). Their 2 x Churchill command tanks, 2 x Churchill 95mm support tanks and 15 x Churchill Crocodiles were moved by US Army transports from the British sector to Brest. Following two days of familiarization training, B/116th Infantry Regiment and The Buffs moved into position to launch their first assault on 14 Sep. After two unsuccessful attempts, the north wall was finally breached on 16 Sep forcing the remaining 60 men of the garrison to surrender. Brest surrendered 18 Sep, but not before it had been rendered useless. By this time, Paris (25 Aug) and Antwerp (04 Sep) had been liberated and Operation Market Garden was underway (17 Sep).

Now a "man with a plan", it was time to build.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[RichB]

The first victim was the Jeep and it's crew. Unfortunately, because I worked on this in fits and starts, the build was documented like I usually would. I'll try to describe what I did as best as I can.

Starting from the front, I added the cable cutter from Evergreen angle and round stock and wrapped an embroidery thread tow rope around the front bumper. The front wheels were separated from the axle and reattached with a slight turn. On the hood, I added a Milliput canvas windshield cover and draped a gauze bandage camouflage net with tape scrim strips over it. A binocular case was made for the officer's binoculars. On the drivers side, I added a scabbard for the driver's M1 Carbine. Various kits bags and equipment were added and an air recognition panel draped over the rear of the Jeep. It was painted US Army OD and weathered with washes and dry brushing.

The figures underwent some surgery. The driver's head was turned to the right so he was looking to ward the Crocodile. The officer also had his head turned toward the tank. The third soldier had a head transplant from a figure that had a field cap on and his helmet was left in the back seat of the Jeep. Candy wrapper foil straps were added to the weapons, binoculars and helmets.

On to the Croc.

Cheers,

Rich

 

[RichB]

Now it was time for the Crocodile, starting with the fuel trailer. The brackets on the upper side have nitrogen cylinders molded in place. They are often seen without them in photos so I cut them off and drilled the brackets out and they became handy places to run the tie down rope thru. The handles on the rear doors are molded solid, so they were cut off and replaced with bent wire. The stowage on the trailer is a mix of US and German jerry cans, boxes, tarps and Milliput air recognition panel held down with embroidery thread rope.

Next up was the hull of the Churchill. At this scale, the little road wheels are molded as part of the side panels making life much easier. As a Crocodile or a gun tank can be built from this kit, we have to make sure the right parts are used. The rear panel is modified for the trailer hitch, there is an armoured channel that runs down and under the hull to feed the fuel forward and the hull Besa machine gun is replaced with the flame thrower nozzle. The track is link and length type but doesn't complete the full loop. On Churchill's, the fenders that covered the tracks were sheet metal. With mud and debris brought up by the tracks they could be bent. For that reason, crews often removed the section of fender below the turret so a bent fender couldn't jam the turret as it was rotated. Because I had a derelict Churchill kit, I was able to do that mod by cutting the fender out, filling the gap with sheet stock and putting a length of track in place. The front mud guards were also often removed due to damage so I left them off. On the hull sides there were small lengths of spare track mounted. On the left side I left the track off with just the support remaining. A small tarp was added to the right rear mud guard and POL flimsies to the left side. Hedgerows were not as dense as those in Normandy but were still an obstacle. Upon their arrival, the Crocodile's received some more teeth. Hedgerow row cutters were installed by US Army engineers. It isn't known if it was at the request of the British or the Americans. They remained on as there are pictures of Crocodiles in Holland with hedgerow cutters still in place. The command and support tanks didn't have them installed. There was many different styles of cutters. I scratch built a style that looks close to those installed on the Crocodiles.

Last but not least is the turret. It only has open hatches for the commander figure. A camouflage net and scrim was added to the turret and gun barrel and the short range antenna mount was repositioned to the aft right of the turret. The antennas are stretched sprue. Stretched sprue also made the house shaped sight the commander could use to assist the gunner acquire the target. The commander had the wiring added for his headset and microphone.

Both Crocodile and trailer were painted in overall British OD SCC 15 which is close to but different to US Army OD. They carried limited markings. Many vehicles didn't carry the divisional insignia or Arm of Service, only the Tactical Marking on the turret (the coloured diamond, triangle, square or circle). As with the Jeep, it received washes and dry brushing for weathering. Once I could keep the trailer and tank together, a piece of wire was added along the top of the hitch to represent the jettison cable that allowed the trailer to be released.

To be continued.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[moon puppy]

Been trying to take time to read all this but stinkin' work keeps getting in the way. Excellent work Rich! Glad you're getting bench time.

 

[RichB]

Yeah, you have hate how work keeps getting in the way of important things like modelling.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[moon puppy]

Excellent post Rich. Really nice build!

 

[RichB]

When we left our intrepid warriors they were ready for a new home. Taking inspiration from the earlier photo of the Crocodiles moving up to the front lines, planning began. I had just read a book with a line that the Allies had faced three enemies in France, the Germans, hedgerows and stone walls. I could show two of those enemies in a diorama.

The stone wall was easily done with a sheet styrene core and thin cork sheet cut to rock shapes and glued on. Spackle was applied and wiped off like grouting tiles to fill the mortar lines. The individual stones were painted using four shades of greys and browns. It was then washed and dry brushed. I added the gate in the wall to give the Jeep a place to park and its crew to watch the Crocodiles pass. The gate was built from styrene stock and painted to look like weathered wood.

Next was to figure out how to make a hedgerow. I found a cross section drawing of a hedgerow that outlined the average size and shape. The earth berm was easy to shape from rigid foam insulation board. Making a realistic hedge wasn't so easy. The first attempt was using some model rail road foliage that had fine foam applied to sea foam armatures. These didn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling and just didn't look right for 1/48th scale.

Internet to the rescue. I found some videos on YouTube on making trees made by wargamers and large scale railroad modellers. By taking wire, the diameter and number suitable for the size of tree required, they are twisted together to make the root, trunk and main branch structure. Pieces of sea foam are then glued to the wire branches to make the structure the leaves will be applied to. I then applied Elmer's ProBond Max Wood Filler. It thins with water so it can be brushed on, applying as many coats as desired to build up the tree size. It can be textured with a stiff brush while it is still damp. It was them painted a grey-brown and and dry brushed with light greys and tans. The YouTubers used some different leaf products, but the one I could get my hands on was Super Leaf Scale Leaves. Artist Matte Medium was applied by brush where I wanted leaves and the leaf material sprinkled on and excess shaken off. It may take a couple of rounds to get the desired coverage. After letting it dry overnight, a matte coat was sprayed on and then some highlights applied using Yellow Ochre and Gold Yellow. The hedge and less healthy tree were also made using wire armatures. The shrubby looking one was made from sea foam branches.

The saga continues.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[moon puppy]

Excellent work Rich and great write up! Inspiring!

 

[RichB]

Moving into the home stretch and time for landscaping. Once again I raided the model railroad section of a hobby shop and came away with Woodland Scenics Grass Mat. It's static grass attached to a thin flexible vinyl sheet. I cut it to the shapes needed and used PVC glue to attach it to the base. The grass is a fairly uniform 6mm tall so I went at it with a small pair of scissors to make it look like a field and not a golf course. I scraped some of the grass of the backing along the road edges so it wasn't to straight. The grass a little bit bright, so it was out with the paints. First black-green was scrubbed into the mat followed with dry brushing with light olive, tan and yellow ochre until it looked more like late summer grass.

At last it was on to the roads. The base is artists acrylic coarse pumice gel. I mixed an earthy brown into it, thinned it a bit and applied it with a brush. Once it had dried, I applied some medium rail road ballast along the road edges and centre and secured it with diluted with glue. It then got a top coat of the earth brown used earlier followed by dark brown and red brown washes and finally tan and linen dry brushing. After leaving it to dry, the base got a spray coat of clear mat. The vehicles and figures were glued in place and a final mat coat sprayed on and it can be called done.

The piece in the foreground was the starting "Summer" green of the grass mat. It also comes in a brighter "Spring" green and darker "Forest" green.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[RichB]

And now for the final scene.

Thanks for looking in and working thru my long winded posts.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[Cheyenne]

Nicely done !!!

 

[moon puppy]

I for one enjoy the walk through, inspiring.

 

[centaur567]

Well done!! Gary S.

 

[Rhino]

I too, enjoy following the Process. You never know what will inspire another model maker! Thanks for including us all!
General George S. standing by the Jeep as the Crocodile behemoth augers past! Very cool!

 

[Greg Kimsey]

Dang Rich, this entire thread is awesome; your history lesson and the description of the build are so interesting! Excellent work all around. Be as long winded as you like. I read every word and study every photo.