I have completed the beta-build of the Crompton ED3 cardmodel in 1/72 scale.
This version has open front doors, so the interior is modeled, too. There is an inner part and an outer shell, that wraps around the inner part.
The first photo (#761) shows the interior with engines and driver's position on the left of the photo, and the inside of the outer "shell" on the right. Photo #762 shows the outer shell attached to the inner part.
Photo #768 shows the assembled body with tracks and open doors. The 4.5 inch howitzer will be a separate model, which can be made with wheels as shown, or without wheels, so it will fit inside the ED3.
Photo #772 shows a wheel-less 4.5 inch (white model) roughly in position.
I will see if I can add text/parts numbers to the photos instead of making B/W instructions like I have done previously.
I will eventually make the ED3 with doors closed - no interior and only the parts of the howitzer that would protrude through the doors. This should be considerably easier to assemble than the open-door version.
I e-mailed the Crompton Emplacement Destroyer 3 (ED3) to Charlie. This is a "gray" model, to represent the concept as drawn by Dick Harley for an series of articles in MAFVA's Tankette back in 1981. The 4.5-inch howitzer is a separate model, also attached in basic brown drab and as a whitemodel. Scale is 1/72 as usual.
I will modify the model to represent one with the doosr closed. This will be much simpler to build than one with the open doors and interior.
The concept lacks a number of features I consider necessary for a functional fighting vehicle: fuel tank(s), access and agress hatches/doors, wheel storage, ammunition storage, vision blocks for the driver (he can't see anything where the seat is located) or cupolas for the driver and commander, exhaust and silencer (muffler). Tools, towing hooks, etc would have been added, too. Comments?
I need feedback on the use of photos taken during beta-build instead of B/W instructions developed from he 3D CAD model. Comments?