1:35 Mk.5/1 Centurion

The Centurion Mk.5/1 as a plastic kit

The British Centurion main battle tank in its Mk.5/1 version in 1:35 scale from AFV Club. This is a classic rendering of one of the longest-serving postwar tanks and a standalone model of the vehicle, not an add-on set.

The real subject and its development

The Centurion was designed at the very end of the Second World War as a universal machine combining the armor of the infantry types with the mobility of the cruiser types. It was too late to see combat, yet it shaped the British armored forces for decades. The Mk.5/1 version brought a thicker hull front and revised equipment; it was powered by the Rolls-Royce Meteor gasoline V12 derived from the Merlin aero engine. Tanks of this generation served with the British Army and with a number of foreign users, among them Australia and countries of the Middle East.

Painting tips

British postwar vehicles wore a uniform dark green, so the result hinges on tonal modulation and on clean work over the large side surfaces. The area behind the side skirts is hard to reach, so spray it before you fit the skirts. Keep the rubber tires of the road wheels flatter than the hull, otherwise the whole model will visually merge into one.

An ideal choice for

• enthusiasts of British armor
• modelers of Cold War vehicles
• builders who want a basis for a later conversion
• collectors of long-serving postwar types

It is supplied as a set of parts for assembly, without paints and without glue.