Valentine Tanks Disguised as Chocolates

Just like a box of chocolates?

Talk about camouflage, 

but perhaps not ideal for desert conditions.

I bought a box of five Valentine tanks by Plastic Soldier Company, only to find there were so many spare parts I could create an extra five tanks, to make ten in total.  These are for a Rommel scenario take takes my fancy and I've decided to do a better job of matching kit to game.  I had hoped to have them finished for Valentine's Day, but this is as far as I got.

 The main part that needed fabrication was the lower hull.  

I settled on creating them out of balsa

 and was presently surprised how well they turned out 

(both in terms of ease of construction and final look and feel).

 The shield over the exhaust I could have left off,

 but I crafted them out of sheet aluminum.

 The two tool boxes are from plastic, 

except the top for the front one wass cast using modelling plaster.

 And now they are all base coated ready for their final paint job.