I noticed in my Mark V Emhar kit the machine guns have no shields like the older versions. Is that a British revision or Russian only (e. g. Russian machine guns)? I haven't found any pictures of British Mark V tanks with machine guns installed so far.

Hi Tom

The Mark V went back to the Hotchkiss automatics used on the Marks I and II and also the Whippet. Only the Mark IV (and some IIIs but they never saw action) used the Lewis Gun with its cooling shroud, and it wasn't very popular with the crews due to things like dust ingress, hence the change back.

As you have noticed, tanks only shipped their MGs when ready to go into action, otherwise they were dismounted and stowed.

David

Wow, didn't expect such a quick reply!

Also I take it the British service tanks were still brown, though all the color pictures I've seen show them in green.

Late war colours for British tanks are just as difficult to find as early war ones Emhar don't seem to have looked very hard when producing their paint schemes for any of the WW1 tanks so they're best ignored.

Personally, I'd go for brown, but I don't have any definite references either way (still waiting for Osprey). Bovington's Mark V is currently painted a very pale brown which looks quite odd, while the Mark V in the IWM at Lambeth is painted the usual bronze green that used to obsess museums, and which is almost certainly not its original colour.

David

Hi Tom,

This is the Bovington Mk V. Sorry I don't have many pics:













Just in case you want some internals!!





















I love the lettering on the pedels - press button B lol, lol.

Al

Thanks Al - Bovington aren't quite right about the folding Female sponsons, they also appeared on Mark IIIs

David

Thanks everyone. I'll take it that mud brown is the correct color for the Mark V models as well, certainly the earlier ones. The Russians might have painted theirs green when they received them.

A related question-on the Mark IV, I assumed that on the females, when the machine guns were removed, the shields stayed in place?

Hi Tom

Mk IV

























Hope that helps.

Al

It's possible that the Mark Vs used by the interventionist forces were painted a khaki green colour, the artist for the New Vanguard on White armoured forces seemed to think so, but without actually saying why in the text (as far as I remember). Red Army Rikardos sported a very striking scheme of dark green with pale green patches which is much more impressive than anything we managed.

The shields on the Mark IV remained in placed and were traversed to hide the port for the Lewis Gun barrel. Later ball mounts could be turned and locked in place to cover the slot for the Hotchkiss. AlanL's photo show the mounts very well.

David

I don't think so. If you look at Alan's photos of the Mk IV you can see a Lewis in the front plate. The shroud around the barrel is separate from the rotor ball and the other photos show it removed. I don't think it was bulletproof and I think it was the same shroud as around normal Lewises (it certain is on the museum example). In either case, it wouldn't be good practice to leave it in place as the outsidcdes of these things took a real pounding in transit and damaging your weapons is not a good idea. At least according to most RSMs.

Paul

Hi Alan,

Thank you for posting all of those great pictures. I've wanted to build a British WWI tank since I returned to modeling.

-Doug