1:35 British Tank Destroyer FV4005 Stage II

The British FV4005 tank destroyer in the Stage II form

A model in 1:35 from the stable of AFV Club covers one of the most striking British projects of the early Cold War: the self-propelled FV4005 tank destroyer in the form designated Stage II.

A giant on the Centurion chassis

After the Second World War the British looked for a weapon able to knock out Soviet heavy tanks at long range. The answer was a gun of 183 mm caliber, the largest ever mounted in a rotating turret. It was carried by a reworked Centurion chassis, and the turret was only a lightly armored box with a counterweight at the rear, because the weight of the weapon could not be balanced otherwise. The Stage II stage meant precisely this enclosed turret, while the older design assumed an open mounting. The machine never reached series production and it stayed at prototypes.

Notes on the build

The barrel is the most striking element of the whole thing, so seat it carefully and remove the parting seam along its whole length. The turret is thin-walled and takes internal stiffening, so that it does not twist during handling. The prototypes were not worn by combat, so keep the weathering low: fine dust, a slightly weathered finish and traces of test running.

It will interest above all

• collectors of prototypes and of dead-end development branches
• modelers who want an unmissable piece in a display case
• followers of British postwar equipment
• builders who are drawn to unusual barrels

The set is intended to be built, and there are no paints or glue in it.