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Historical Background

Early in World War 2, the British Army was keen to upgrade their anti-tank capabilities. This was realised by the introduction of the 6-pounder anti-tank gun. The authorities however realised that this weapon would soon be outclassed by better German panzers and as a result,  the even more powerful 17-pounder gun was put into service. Entering service as a towed artillery piece, it was a heavy and cumbersome weapon to be moved around quickly. Therefore, a decision was made in the middle of 1942 to mount the weapon on a tracked chassis. Initially, it was proposed that the Bishop self-propelled howitzer be used as a basis. It came to nothing as the Bishop used the Crusader cruiser tank chassis which lacked adequate armour. In the end, the Valentine tank was chosen as although it was an obsolescent design, it was still in production and also quite large to accommodate the large 17-pounder gun.

With the chassis chosen, work on the project can begin. By March 1943, two pilot vehicles were completed; and since the hull of the Valentine was not big enough to support the gun in a revolving turret, the gun was mounted on a simple, low and open-topped armoured box. One of the pilot vehicles however has its gun mounted facing to the rear. For the next two months the two prototypes were put through their paces and eventually the unorthodox rear-facing mount was chosen because it made the overall length of the vehicle shorter and apparently held a tactical advantage of firing at a pursuing enemy while the vehicle is being driven away. To speed up assembly, the new vehicle, dubbed the Archer (or formally as the SP 17-pounder, Valentine), used as much components as existing Valentine tanks.

In general the Archer resembled the German panzerjagers by having a fixed casemate. It was sloped, open-topped (exposing the crew to the elements and battlefields hazards such as exploding bombs and shells) and multi-faceted . The gun shield is separate and allowed a traverse of 11° and elevation between -7.5° to +15°. 39 rounds of 17-pounder ammo were carried. While the rear-facing armament also confer some balance, the breech recoiled quite close to the driver's head who either had to exit the vehicle immediately upon reaching firing position (to avoid risking decapitation) or remain in place so that the vehicle can be re-sited at a moment's notice. Crew consisted of four persons (driver, commander, gunner and loader).

Although the prototype was ready in April 1943 and trials began immediately, production was slow to start due to issues that needed to be addressed. A total of 800 vehicles was ordered but the in only entered service in October 1944. By that time other 17-pounder armed vehicles such as the Achilles, Sherman Firefly and the Challenger have entered service and the order was reduced to 655 vehicles. As the Archer was designated a self-propelled gun, it was operated by the Royal Artillery (along with the Achilles). As the Allies were on the offensive by that time in the war, the Archer was more used to provide fire support and secure the flanks against counterattacks. The Archer remained in use with the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) until mid-1950s. Some 200 were sold to Egypt post-war and saw action during the Suez Crisis in 1956.

The Kit

While the basic Valentine tank in 1/35 has been offered by various kit manufacturers over the years, its derivatives such as the Archer did not receive the same kind of attention. Accurate Armour of Scotland came up with a resin kit in 1996 and was followed by an unlicensed plastic copy by Maquette of Russia in 2002. Bronco came up with their kit in 2011. While welcome, this is one of those high-hundreds parts kits with tiny PE parts galore which are not to everyone's taste. Last year, Tamiya came up with their version of the Archer. Expected to be based on Tamiya's own Valentine kit, the Archer only shares the link-and-length track with the Valentine while the rest of the parts are entirely new. Unusually for Tamiya, all the wheels are to be cemented in place instead of the use of poly caps. The small decal shet provide markings for two Archers : a Canadian from the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, North-West Europe and a Polish gun from the 2nd Polish Corps in Italy.

Construction

While construction for most AFV kits were started at the suspension or driving parts, the Archer kit starts with the lower hull. This was however of the separate panels variety and not Tamiya's usual 'tub' style. The driver's compartment was built up and painted although I didn't add any weathering for the more obscured areas. The separate hull panels were matched up and there was no risk of an asymmetrical hull as the parts fit snugly.  Some basic parts for the fighting compartment were next - they mainly consists of ammo racks, panelling and the engine firewall. The suspension was next. They are pretty straightforward (after all, it's simpler in construction). However, do take note the orientation of the bogies on the hull as you might mix them up. The link-and-length tracks is easy to install but you have to take not the placement of the single-piece upper run. Also, the I found that the track run is one link less than required in the diagram.

Construction then moved back to the fighting compartment. The upper hull was first affixed to the lower hull and then the gun carriage was assembled. The carriage was designed so that it is glued to the floor of the compartment while the upper part is clicked into place so that it can swivel like the real thing. Other stuff in the lower half of the fighting compartment was assembled and was the entire lower  half was painted. The splinter shields were then cleaned up, painted first and the stuff set on tthem were cemented afterwards. Some weathering on the interior was also done at this time. A decision also has to be made here as marking option A has a tube affixed on the front (or was it rear?) splinter shield. To avoid mishandlings, the aerial base (Part D38) was left off at this time.

Finally, construction moved back to the exterior. However there aren't much to do at this juncture - just the gun barrel, some storage boxes and the exhaust. The last-mentioned was assembled but not fixed to the hull at this time. The gun is a one-pieve affair with two-piece muzzle break. The joint between the muzzle half definitely needed clean-up while the barrel needed a light sanding to remove the quite visible mould seams. The gun shield/mantlet is a two-piece assembly and to ease matching it to the gun carriage, the top half (Part B3) was left off. Once the glue has cured, Part B3 can be added.

Painting and Decalling

Tamiya have you paint the model XF-61 Dark Green but I believe the actual colour is SCC 15 Olive Drab. I used Mark Starmer's formula for it. However, due to lack od a certain paint in my stock, I have to revert to his older mix of  5 parts XF-61, 2 parts XF-62 and 2 parts XF-3. And, as mentioned before, the interior parts were painted while still on the sprue and were then touched-up after assembly. The tracks were painted a base of Ak Interactive Track Base and were then washed with an application of AK Interactive track wash. The exhaust were given a base of Mr. Color Burnt Iron, a random application of XF-64 Red Brown and and a final layer of Tamiya Weathering master Rust. As for markings, I chose the Canadian option. The decals went on without any problems. Afterwards, the model received a basic wash.

Finishing

Post-painting, the weren't much to do at this point as most of the parts were already affixed in place. The exhaust were assembled and added to the model - the portions have quite a tight fit and a bit fiddly during assembly. The towing cables and the v-shaped thingie were put in place and that's about it. I however decided not to add the figures (just their helmets though) but instead I added flimsies from the Bronco British Field Accessories Set and a couple of ammunition boxes from Bronco 17-Pounder Ammunition Set. Further weathering work was done on the lower hull - mainly adding mud from Vallejo and Wilder and adding Fresh Mud Wash from AK Interactive. Weathering Pencils, also from AK Interactive were also used to add dirt and rain streaks on the model. A length of guitar string was used to replicate the radio aerial. There should be two of them but I just made one. A final coat of Flat Clear finishes the build.

Conclusion

There aren't many model kit manufacturers offering the Archer and I am grateful that Tamiya was one of those who did. Although there are omissions and some parts were simplified, what was there in the box is perfectly adequate, especially for casual or new modellers. Now, on the heels of their M10 and Achilles kits, I hope Tamiya will come up with a model of the M36 tank destroyer.