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Challenger 1
Main Battle Tank

British Army
SFOR Waterloo Squadron
Queen's Royal Dragoon Guards
British Army
Bosnia 1997


Revell Germany

This model added to kgwings.com on November 5, 2009

The first production version of the British Challenger was delivered to the British Army in March 1983.  It was developed from the Shir 2 which was developed for Iran.
The Challenger I was the British army's main battle tank (MBT) from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s. It has been used successfully in conflicts from the Persian Gulf War to the Yugoslavian crisis areas.
The Challenger 1 is armed with one 120mm L11A5 cannon with rifled barrel. It fires two-part ammunition which reduces the likelihood of detonation from enemy fire and increases loading speed/rate of fire. Secondary armament consists of one co-axial mounted 7.62mm MG and one roof mounted 7.62mm MG.
Driven by a 1m200 bhp Condor V12 Diesel engine, the Challenger reaches a maximum road speed of 34 mph. (56km/hr) and 25mph. (40km/hr) off road. On the road it has a range of 280 miles (450km), or 150 miles (240km) off road. With additional fire-proofed 200 liter fuel tanks the range can be extended 85 miles (140km).
180 Challenger tanks were deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operation Granby, the UK operation in the Gulf War. The Challenger claimed 300 kills against armoured vehicles for no losses. It is an incredible record for sure. If a Houston criminal defense lawyer had 300 wins in court with no losses, he would definitely be considered a top lawyer. It also has the distinction of the longest range tank-to-tank kill in military history, destroying an Iraqi tank at a range of 3.16 miles (5.1 km).
This Revell Germany kit was easy to build, nicely detailed and reasonably accurate.
Why use a coin to show scale when your fingers are right there?

This shot emphasizes the power of good "forced perspective". The background consists of 1:1 scale trees about 40 feet away from the lens while the kit is only about 4 inches away from the lens.

I would really like to upgrade my digital camera for one with higher resolution but I can't find one with a depth of feel as wide as my old trusty Sony Mavica HD-7. Feel free to email if you know of a good replacement: keith@kgwings.com
Here are some indoor shots taken on a blue construction paper background.
Revell did a pretty nice job molding the barrel's thermal blanket.
I used a small piece of pearlized sequin to bring the driver's view block to life. You can experiment with different shades to see what looks best.
I added aluminum foil and strips of masking tape to create tarp covers for my bustle racks. With the proper shading they turned out pretty convincing.
I used a slightly lighter shade on the tarps to represent a different level of fading than the rest of the vehicle.
After an application of thin sand wash overall there wasn't much contrast left in the two-color camouflage, I'm not sure this is accurate but at least it looks cool.
I decided to leave the provided external fuel tanks off but created the harnesses with masking tape. This was easy to do and I like how it turned out.
I used small gage wire to create the many hand holds around the turret. It was tedious work but the end result is worth the effort.
On my workbench before painting. I used bits of Evergreen plastic to create a few of the missing hull details and replaced the kits poor smoke dischargers with parts from my spares box.
I used aluminum foil coated with spray mount adhesive to create tarp covers for my bustle racks. Tie-down ropes where created with thin strips of masking tape.
External fuel straps were also created with thin strips of masking tape.



Revell Germany British Main Battle Tank Challenger 1 - 03110
Revell Germany
Kit: Revell/Germany # 3110

Scale: 1/72
Value:

This kit was only $10.99 (US) when I purchased it in 2001 from Squadron Mail Order. I believe this particular boxing is currently out of production.

Assembly:

The kit consists of 129 parts molded in medium brown, one decal sheet and a multi page instruction sheet.

Assembly is straightforward with no major surprises. All parts were free of flash and crisply molded.

The tracks are molded in separate-links and a bit tricky to fit over the teeth of the drive wheel but the rest was easy although tedious.

The commander's hatch is positionable, and the main gun elevates.

Details overall are nicely done with the exception of some of the most pitiful smoke dischargers I've ever seen. Luckily I had some dischargers from an old 1/76 scale Matchbox Challenger kit (PK-178) in my parts box and swapped them out.

Other parts that could use improvement are the open bustle racks which are molded way too thick to represent the see-through wire "mesh" that they are meant to be. Eduard makes a nice photo etch set to solve this problem but I hid the thickness problem by creating "tarp" covers and I am fairly pleased with the result.

Decals:

Decals are provided for King's Royal Hussers, and Battle Group "KFOR" Kosovo 1999. My decal sheet was damaged in an unfortunate iced tea accident so I used the sheet from Revell kit number 03163 which contained markings for Queen's Guard Dragoons D-Company and Waterloo Squadron.
Customizations:

I used aluminum foil and spray mount adhesive to create the tarp covers on my bustle racks. Stretched sprue was used to create the aerials. Transparent pearlized sequins were used for the optics. I left the external fuel tanks off and created the binding straps out of strips of masking tape. Hand-holds were created with small gauge wire. Bits of styrene were used to fabricate various missing bolts and bumps mainly around the front of the hull. Smoke dischargers taken from Matchbox kit.
Recommendation:

This is a nice kit with a reasonable balance of detail, accuracy and price. There are small parts that could be a challenge for beginners, otherwise this is an easy build. I recommend highly.

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