Gaso.Line Master Fighter MF48606
Harland and Wolff Churchill AVRE Carpet Layer Display Model
British Army, 79th Armoured Div, Normandy, France, D-Day, June 6th 1944 | |
| 1:48 Scale | | Length | | Width |
|---|
| Harland and Wolff Churchill AVRE Carpet Layer | | 6.5" | | 2.25" |
As the British planned for the amphibious invasion of Normandy, particular interest was taken regarding the special problems involved with beach landings. It was feared that the tracked vehicles would not be able travel across the soft clay once on the beaches of Normandy, thereby impeding the advance of the Allied troops. The problem was assigned to the 79th Armoured Division, commanded by General Percy Hobart, which designed equipment and vehicles for special battle situations. They were able to quickly solve the problem with the mat-layer and bobbin (also called carpet-layer) which became known as one of Hobart's Funnies.
The bobbin attachment consisted of a steel frame with two arms, which carried a canvas mat wound on a large bobbin. Attached to the front of a Churchill AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers), it was able to lay a roadway over otherwise non-traversible soils or barbed wire, by spooling out a 10 foot mat. The process was set in motion using a light charge which caused the mat to drop in front of the tank and unroll while the AVRE proceeded over it. The AVRE bobbin proved successful, with the main difficulty being durability of the mat they laid, which could only be used a temporary roadway. Reinforced or steel versions of matting were eventually used.
Designed as a heavy infantry tank to replace the Matilda II, the Churchill prototype was completed in June 1940 and the type entered production in June 1941. The design was largely influenced by the British Army's experiences with trench warfare during WWI. As a result, the Churchill was a large, heavy (38 tons), and relatively slow machine, built to traverse heavily cratered landscapes to take on lightly armored infantry. The small turret significantly restricted the size of armament that could be fitted to the Churchill but it's heavy armor made it much more resilient than contemporary allied tanks. © Copyright 2003-2024 The Flying Mule, Inc.
The Gaso.Line "Master Fighter" model range presents ready made resin models of military vehicles.
Master Fighter display model vehicles feature:
- Molded resin construction with no assembly required.
- Metal barrels, photo-etched metal grills and surface details.
- Rotating turret and accurate hull.
- Painted, fitted, non-moving tracks and detailed non-rotating wheels.
- Pad printed markings and placards that won't fade or peel like decals.
- Clear acrylic display case to protect model.
Why Resin?
It's very expensive to produce die-casting molds, and manufacturers must sell a large number of models from each mold in order to recoup development costs. Some subjects are so obscure that it's difficult to sell large quantities of them. Resin-casting is a much simpler and less expensive process, and manufacturers can use it to make limited runs of models that can't be cost effectively manufactured in diecast metal. With resin-cast models, collectors can add fascinating and unusual subjects to their collections without the time and difficulty of assembling and painting a model kit.
© Copyright 2003-2024 The Flying Mule, Inc.
