21st Century Desert Rat

Historical Background

The British FV4034 Challenger 2 was built and designed by the Vickers Defence Systems plc as a successor to the Challenger 1 MBT. The design was originally a Vickers private venture in 1986. Following the issue of a Staff Requirement for a next-generation MBT, Vickers submitted its Challenger 2 proposal to the British Ministry Of Defence (MoD), following the issue of a Staff Requirement for a next-generation tank. In January 1989, Vickers received a £90 million contract for a demonstrator vehicle. The demo phase ended in September 1990 with the tank meeting 11 key criteria for the design. This was followed by a competition from other designs, including General Dynamics' M1A2 Abrams and Leopard 2 (Improved) from Krauss-Maffei. Finally in June 1991, the Challenger 2 was declared the winner and orders for 127 MBTs and 13 driver training vehicles were placed. A further order for 259 MBTs and 9 driver training vehicles was placed in 1994. Production began in 1993 at Elswick, Tyne and Wear and Barnbow, Leeds with the first tanks delivered in July 1994.

The main armament of the Challenger 2 was the 120mm/L55 L30A1 rifled tank gun, the successor to the L11 gun arming the Challenger 1 and Chieftain. Unique among currently operating Western-designed tanks, the Challenger 2 retained the rifled barrel as the British Army continued to use the High Explosive Squash Head (HESH) rounds in addition to armour-piercing APFSDS rounds. The HESH rounds have a longer range than APFSDS and are more effective against buildings and soft-skinned vehicles. The Challenger 2 can carry up to 49 120mm rounds, usually a mix of L27A1/CHARM 3 APFSDS, L31 HESH and L34 white phosphorus rounds. The ammunition have separately bagged charge, ensuring a lower risk of ammunition explosion. The Challenger 2 was also armed with a co-axially mounted L94A1 (Hughes EX-34) 7.62mm chain gun, mounted to the left of the main armament, and a 7.62mm L37A2 GPMG mounted on a pintle on the loader's hatch ring. 4,200 rounds of 7.62 x 51mm NATO rounds were carried for the machine guns. Fire control unit was from Computing Devices Co. utilising two 32-bit processors with MIL STD1553B databus. The commander was provided with a panoramic SAGEM VS 580-10 panoramic sight allowing 360 vision in addition to the eight periscopes on the commander's station. The gunner's and commander's sight were also served by the Thales Thermal Observation and Gunnery Sight II (TOGS II), providing night vision.

For protection, Challenger 2 was clad in second generation Chobham armour known as 'Dorchester'. Details are classified but it was said that it was more than double the strength of steel. Additional explosive reactive armour blocks and bar armour can be fitted as necessary. The Challenger 2 is powered by a Perkins 26.6 liter CV12 diesel engine delivering 1,200 hp. Maximum speed was 60km/h (road) and 40km/h cross-country. Range was 450 km (road) and 250 km (cross-country). Crew was four as the British Army felt that usage of automatic loader reduces battlefield survivability (as the autoloader is actually slower than human reflexes). And unique to the British Army, the Challenger 2, like other  British Army tanks and AFVs since the Centurion, was equipped with a boiling vessel, allowing the crew to brew up tea or to re-heat their field rations within the safety of the vehicle. In 2014, some of the surviving 227 Challenger 2s are to be upgraded to Challenger Life Extension Programme (CLEP) standard. The Challenger 2 chassis was also used as the basis for other combat support vehicles such as the Titan armoured bridgelayer, Trojan Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE) combat engineering vehicle and Challenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle (CRARRV) armoured recovery vehicle. Although Vickers developed an export version designated Challenger 2E, it did not find overseas customers. The only export customer was Oman, which bought 38.

Challenger 2 entered service in 1998 with the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) in Germany. Besides the 2nd RTR, it serves with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, the Royal Dragoon Guards, the Queen's Royal Hussars, the King's Royal Hussars and a squadron of the 1st RTR. The tank was used during peacekeeping missions such as around the Balkans but its first combat use was in 2003 during Operation Telic in Iraq. 120 Challenger 2s of the 7th Armoured Brigade, 1st Armoured Division were in action around Basra, mainly fighting against old T-55s. No Challengers were lost to enemy fire although one Challenger 2 of the Queen's Royal Lancers was destroyed in a blue-on-blue incident, being mistaken for an Iraqi tank by another Challenger from the 2nd RTR. In another incident, a Challenger was attacked by insurgents armed with machine guns and RPGs. The driver's sight was damaged and while backing away, more sights were damaged and the tank threw its track in the ditch. Now a stationary target, it was hit by 14 RPG rounds and a MILAN missile. However the most serious damage was done to the sights and it was back in action just six hours after repairs have been completed. In another incident, a Challenger 2 survived being hit by 70 RPG projectiles.  A further 'Chally 2' was damaged by RPG-29 in August 2006 and another one by IEDs in April 2007.      

The Kit

Hot on the heels of their M1A2 Abrams, Tamiya released the other main combatant during the 2003 invasion of Iraq - the British FV4034 Challenger 2 tank. The 'Desertised' in the kit title reflects the application of the full-length skirting to combat the dust of the Iraqi desert. The kit consists of 345 parts moulded in light tan plastic and 17 in clear. The quality of the moulding and detail was as usually expected of Tamiya. Also included were a small clear sheet for the commander's cupola periscopes, a sheet of thin white plastic for the turret front CIP, a length of twine for the towing cable and copper wire for the cable reel. The kit is basically based on Tamiya's earlier Challenger 1 and Challenger 1 Mk.3 kits but with suitable changes to depict a Challenger 2; the Chally 2 kit also boasted a greater level of detail on parts supposedly similar on the real Challengers 1 and 2. While many parts are well-moulded and have excellent detail, Tamiya missed the non-slip coating texture on the relevant surfaces. Also engine grill cover was not included and have to be bought separately. Decals provide markings for three Challenger 2s serving in Iraq.

Construction

As usual with AFV model kits, construction started at the bottom of the vehicle. However, Tamiya's instructions is slightly unusual by having the modeller attach the skirt mountings first. The idler mounts were not cemented to the hull but secured using the provided 1.5mm screws which allow adjustments to be made during track fitting. All the wheels were the painted while still on the sprue trees and was then cut and the scar retouched. Also out of the ordinary is the way the road wheels are placed: usually the arms were cemented to the hull first and the followed by the wheels. The Chally kit have them the other way round. The instructions also specifically orders the modeller to place the wheels rear to front. As I was not going to tempt fate, I dutifully followed the instructions! The rear panel was next where all the fittings there were cemented to it. The exceptions at his time were the rear lights brush guards and the jerry can rack. The latter was assembled but would be separate from the rear panel for the time being. The same was done to the external fuel tanks and the cable reel.

I figured that the upper hull cannot be finished without being joined to the lower half. The hull area behind the wheels (and the wheels themselves of course) were painted and the track joined. Although plastic cement can be used, I stick to cyano glue to loop the tracks. After the tracks have been fitted, the upper hull shell was slotted into place - poly caps secured the forward part of the joint. The ROMOR applique armour panels were then assembled and cemented into place. Almost all other fittings on the hull, like stowage boxes, exhausts, gun travel lock, mudguards and headlight mountings were then cemented. As the side mirrors were moulded in the stowed position, they were also cemented at this time. The fire extinguishers were not cemented at this tome to facilitate painting. Also, there are no engine grille covers provided with the kit - they are only available separately.

Work on the turret started with the assembly of the gun mantlet / TOGS fairing. The cover for the sight and an opening on the right-hand side can be posed in the opened position but I chose to have it closed. The barrel halves were joined together and as usual care has to be taken to avoid visible seams. By the way, the barrel look a bit anaemic to my eyes. It was then joined to the mantlet and set aside for a while. The turret shell was then assembled with two of the antenna bases being cemented from below the roof. The poly cap to secure the Commander's panoramic sight was also inserted. But before the turret was assembled, holes were drilled into the relevant panels in order to accommodate the CIP panels later on. While most of the clear parts were made of clear styrene, the vision blocks need to be cut from the supplied sheet of clear acetate using the template provided..sheesh! The smaller bits on the turret like the commander's sight and the loader's machine gun were assembled but set aside at this time the others were cemented. The hatches were left off as I intended to use the figures.

And now, a lesson in planning your builds : plan beforehand and only make small adjustments as you go along, not major ones unless it was unforeseen. I was referring to my decision to add the anti-slip coating sported on Challengers which Tamiya did not provide. At the start of the build, I was trying to look for methods to re-create the coating, specifically using Rust-Oleum textured paint whuch have the best texture. Unfortunately none of the local hardware stores have them and I proceeded with the build. And then I remembered I have a bottle of Tamiya Grit Effect Diorama Texture Paint. After browsing the internet, looking for ways to apply it as anti-slip coating, I summoned my courage and dived in. The effect is rather coarse and may be more suitable for the Merkava. I tried 'watering' it down by diluting the thick paint with acrylic thinner and then applying it in thin layers. The coarser bits were sanded down. As this was my first attempt, results were mixed - the turret looked rather OK while the those on the hull were coarser, resembling the coating on the Merkava. And as many of the smaller (and uncoated) parts were already on the model, clean-up work need to be done. Thankfully they can be easily scraped off using a hobby knife and/or removed using thinner.

Painting and Decalling

The Tamiya instructions call for TS-46 Light Sand as the overall colour. I felt however that that particular colour is more suited towards American vehicles and that the British modern desert colour has a more yellowish tinge to it. As it was named Light Stone, I was thinking of using the mixture used for my Grant Mk. I. The problem is that photos show bewildering shades depending on the lighting conditions but most of the time showing a darker shade than the WW2-era Light Stone. After again searching the internet, modellers mention that a more suitable mixture, taken from Osprey's Modelling The Challenger 1 and 2 book, is 3 parts XF-59 Desert Yellow to 1 part XF-3 Flat Yellow. I duly used this mixture although I added a bit more XF-2 Flat White. Even so, it still show different hues under different lighting conditions (maybe the modeller got it right then). The dust skirting was painted XF-57 Buff as many photos show them having a different colour from the vehicle itself.

As for the markings, Tamiya provided decals for three vehicles, all from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys), 7th Armoured Brigade. I am a sucker for the more colourful markings so naturally I'm attracted to Option A (Tank No.1, 2nd Troop, B Company) with a small St. Andrew's flag on either side of the turret and a Union Jack atop the TOGS. However I was more interested in the plainer, but with a lion (or is it a griffin?) crouchant of the B option (HQ Squadron, Command Troop). The model was then given a red brown pin wash to highlight details. Although many real Chally 2s suffer from flaking paints (which some modellers replicate) I decided not to add any.

Finishing

To tell the truth there aren't many things to do by this time, and mainly it was concerned with further weathering. The loader's machine gun mount was assembled and finally put in place and followed by the towing cables. Things at the rear of the hull such as the external fuel tanks and the jerry can rack were then cemented onto the model. The crew figures were painted but I deviated a bit by painting the disruptive pattern in XF-49 Khaki instead of XF-52 Flat Earth. Also, while looking at photographs, the crew helmets are mostly in a lighter colour (some are even wearing the infantry Mark 6 / Mark 7 helmets). The loader's helmet was painted XF-57 with the earphones in X-18 while the commander's helmet remain in X-18. Photographs also show that Challys carry their camouflage / thermal blanket in a U-shaped roll along the sides and the front upper glacis plate. I'm interested in adding this feature although knowing the rate I work, the putty might harden before I can add the surface features. 

After examining more photos, some show the roll being placed on the glacis plate atop the ROMOR bricks. This would have a smaller footprint, easing handling. I kneaded some two-part putty and then adding strips of Tamiya tapes and lengths of sewing threads. The still-soft putty was then pressed on the model. This resulted in elongated 'dough', the excess of which was cut. The placement was not not centred but I guess tank crews don't bother much if the roll is straight or not under combat conditions! Surface features were then added using a toothpick, a hobby knife and a nail file. Not sure about the colour of the roll, I painted it a mixture of XF-57 Buff and XF-49 Khaki. A water carton was placed between the loader's and commander's hatches while a ration carton was placed on the glacis plate (it is of the 10-person pack for infantry squads and not really suitable for a 4-person tank but what the heck). Guitar strings were cut and were then superglued to simulate radio aerials. Sand-coloured pigment powder was then applied to the lower hull and tracks.

Conclusion

After rather disappointing releases of American vehicles in the post-Cold War era (the M1A2 using the 1980s-vintage M1 kit as base and the M113A2 using the ancient 1970s M113), Tamiya released a wonderful kit of the Challenger 2. Although the lower hull is still based on their earlier Challenger 1 kit, most of the parts are new and well-moulded (case in point are the applique side armours - on the real vehicles, they are similar for both Challengers but the one in the Chally 2 kit has more detail than the earlier release). The only shortcomings with this kit are concerned with the lack of anti-slip surface and the engine deck grilles. Yet they still do not detract from the fact that this Chally is a very good kit.