#tamiya #1/35 #valentine #tank
Welcome to a very different build video. Different choice of subject that's for sure.
Based on the A10 Cruiser tank, the Valentine was privately designed by Vickers-Armstrongs (hence its lack of a General Staff "A" designation) and was submitted to the War Office on 10 February 1938. The development team tried to combine the weight of a cruiser tank (so that suspension and transmission parts of the A10 could be used) with the greater armour of an infantry tank, which resulted in a very small vehicle with a cramped interior and two-man turret. Though it's armour was still weaker than the Infantry Tank II Matilda and, due to a weaker engine, it shared the same top speed, the new design was easier to produce and much less expensive.The War Office was initially deterred by the size of the turret and the crew compartment.
Concerned by the situation in Europe, however, it finally approved the design in April, 1939. The vehicle reached trials in May, 1940, which coincided with the loss of nearly all of Britain's equipment during the evacuation at Dunkirk. The trials were successful and the vehicle was rushed into production as Infantry Tank III Valentine.
The Valentine remained in production until April 1944, becoming Britain's most produced tank during the war with 6,855 units manufactured in the UK (by Vickers, Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage and Wagon and Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon), and a further 1,420 in Canada. They were the Commonwealth's main export to the Soviet Union under the Lend-lease Act, with 2,394 of the British models being sent and 1,388 of the Canadian Pacific built models, and the remaining 30 being kept for training.
The tank first saw combat during Operation Crusader in the North African desert, at which point it began to replace the Matilda. It was extensively used in the North African Campaign, earning a reputation as a reliable and well protected vehicle. The Valentine shared the common weakness of the British tanks of the period - its 2-pounder gun lacked high-explosive capability and soon became outdated as an anti-tank weapon too. The small size of the turret and of the turret ring made mounting larger guns a difficult task. Although versions with the 6-pounder and then with the Ordnance QF 75 mm gun were developed, by the time they were available in significant numbers better tanks had reached the battlefield. Another weakness was small crew compartment and two-man turret. A larger turret with a loader position added was used in some of the 2-pounder armed versions, but the position had to be removed again in variants with larger guns.
By 1944 the Valentine was almost completely replaced in front-line units of the European Theatre by the Infantry Tank IV Churchill and the US-made Sherman. In the Pacific the tank was employed in limited numbers at least until May 1945. It was used in New Zealand service, some with the main armament replaced by the 3 inch howitzer taken from Australian Matilda CS tanks, on the Solomons in 1943.
In Soviet service the Valentine was used from the Battle of Moscow until the end of the war. Although criticized for its speed and its weak gun, the Valentine was liked due to its small size, reliability, and generally good armour protection.
Ref: military.wikia.org/wiki/Valen...
Many thanks to ‪@ChampionScaleModelling‬ for the initial kick up the arse...
/ @championscalemodelling
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:28 Building the hull
04:52 Running gear
07:07 Side skirts
08:23 Tracks
12:24 Turret
15:06 Painting the tank
17:14 Painting the tracks
17:39 Final assembly
18:53 Painting the tools
19:39 Chipping
20:18 Pin wash
23:07 Filter
24:24 Dust
26:15 Money shot
Tim's Scale Modelling
/ joesdad1
I thoroughly enjoyed this project and they will be more armoured vehicles/tanks in my future, so keep an eye out or click the bell icon for updates.
Thanks for watching. If there are any questions, fire away..