CHEAP VBCW TANKS (5) - SHODDY TURRETS

As noted in the 500th post, the most popular post of all time - on this Hereford1938 VBCW Blog at least - was the subject of the 2019 Modelling Challenge, the infamous and cheapy-cheep-cheep, roughly 1/55 scale,  "Shoddy Tank":

Cheep Chinese Plastic from Ebay - the "Shoddy Tank". 
Full background link HERE

The 2019 Modelling Challenge was to turn this plastic toy into a VBCW style tank, and different gamers had different solutions. The most powerful tank conversion, as it turned out, was LAF Bearwoodman's "Super Shoddy":

LAF Bearwoodman's "Super Shoddy" before painting
- a symphony of plastic bitz, tubes, card and varnish
together with totally unfeasible main armament.

All such clever conversions - which mostly centred on the removal or "disguising" of the "too thin original turret" - took time and imagination. The former quality, however, is always in short supply - particularly when "tank megalomania" is only too common within Hereford1938:

Tanks awaiting the conversion process at LAF Bearwoodman's "Shoddy Factory".
By no means the only sufferer from "tank megalomania" within Hereford1938,
but perhaps the only one brave enough to "come out". Medic !

With so many tanks awaiting treatment, the search was therefore "ON", not for a "conversion", but for a pre-fabricated turret - in any material, but probably best in plastic - that could be simply snapped on to the Shoddy Tank chassis in order to achieve the desired "1930s look". After a lengthy search (and many failures), finally the solution presented itself:

Airfix "Poly" plastic "Patton" tank - from the same venerable range of kits as the Airfix Poly SP Gun

Modelling tips - Remove turret from chassis (with fingers!)
Snip off the MG on the cupola, and halve the length of the main armament - there is even
a casing around the barrel at precisely the right point, creating an instant muzzle brake.
And that's all you need do before painting to taste.....

The taste on this occasion being Oxo Beef...an Airfix Poly Patton turret on the chassis
of a "Shoddy Tank", painted in Oxo Corporate Colours. The Lledo Oxo van gives a
good idea of scale compatibility.

Now you can churn out as many "Shoddy Tanks" as you want - here is the (Combined Corporate)
Guards Armoured Brigade. Three Shoddy Tanks with Patton turrets, each in their corporate
livery. The Lledo Silver Rolls Royce again gives a good idea of scale compatibility.

Now all we need to do is find a use for all those Airfix Poly Patton tracked chassis....but that's for another day.......