About half of the British Infantry Tank Mk III Valentine production was sent to the Soviet Union during WWII. The tank was liked by its Soviet crews for its reliability and good armor protection.
There were some issues with the tracks performing poorly in packed snow but this was eventually worked out. The main issue with the early Valentine tanks was the 2-pdr guns. The initial deliveries had ammo and spare barrel shortages so a project was initiated to swap out the 2-pdr with a 45mm gun. They also added appliqué armor to increase the frontal armor protection. It was eventually decided to leave the Valentine Tanks armed with the 2-pdr and keep the 45mm guns for domestic vehicles.
I was interested in this up-gunned Valentine and decided to create a what-if model if the Soviets decided to continue with the rearmament program.
I chose to base the conversion on the Tamiya Valentine kit because I wanted something easy to build. MiniArt and AFV Club both have excellent Valentine kits but are much more involved. The gun conversion is made with a self-designed 3D printed mantle and gun shield. The bolts are a combination of 3D printing and Master Club resin bolts. The barrel is a two piece brass barrel from Magic Models.
The model is mostly OOB except for a few things. I thinned the fenders to add some dents and dings. I also added the missing electrical conduit and wiring to the front lights and horn.
The model was painted with Tamiya Acrylics for the 4BO and AK Real Colors 6K for the Dark Brown. I used a mottled spray to add some variety to the base colors. The details were hand painted with Vallejo Acrylics. The markings are hand painted with Vallejo.
The model was weathered with oil paints for initial filters and washes. I used Ammo Splashes Dry Steppe as the basis for the dust and dirt weathering. This base was mixed with light and dark earth pigments for some variety. I made extensive use of the speckling technique to add micro chips, rust, oil, grease and dust effects.
