How have you guys been? Here's an oldie but goody I have some weathering that still needs to be done i.e. tracks etc... This will be the center piece for a new diorama I'm working on. I didn't realize how big these were and always thought of them as a smaller tank but you can see the comparison next to a Dragon Tiger I that I'm working on. They didn't weigh as much ( approx 28 tons) compared to the massive Tigers thick armor of around 120,000 lbs but still big in size.
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Regards
B.H.

Hey looks very good.

I have one of those on my list for one of these days, is that one of the Emhar kits? How well did it go together, any issues?


Martyn

Very nice so far! Another one of us that is drawn to WW1. Great!
capnjock

Yea its the Emhar kit. It needed some tweaking to get it to go together and It needed a few gaps filled. For the price $30+ I would expect a little better. The tracks are a little hokey and the space between the foward sprockets and the rear ideler wheels is wider than were the track rides in the middle of the tank so shimming is needed to get it right. You can live with these things and it'll go together but if your a perfectionist you'll have some work ahead of you.

Brian

Great job on that tank

I know,but did Giant Robot help at all? :-) :-)

just Started the Other day on the Tadpole Version of the Male from Emhar. Gosh Nice paint job wish mine would look just half that good how did you go bout painting my last build i airbrushed for some reason Im weary bout doing weathering.
Looks Good Keep it up man.

Brian

Interesting WWI subject.

Once this one is done, please consider sending me an email regarding putting multiple pics of this one in a Models On Display Feature for the Armorama Home Page. Congrats on your build here.

Steve
Armorama Content Scout

Hi. Dont be scared of weathering. Paticularly this type. it's just a wash and dry brushing of flat white and you can keep layering till you get what pleases you. Theres many aproaches and this is a simple one to get your feet wet. I'll post pics of dusting and weathering like rust ,chips etc later. Here's the recipe so far as you see it:

1. Brush with Tamiya acrylic khaki brown XF-49. Don't spray! Use a fine
brush. This helps it look more real and rough when finished.
2. Let dry but not completely. Just dry to the touch after a short time. The
reason is because the wash will look better and make it look more like aged
worn paint when done.
3. Wash over entire surface of model liberally with a wash mixture of 70%
Rubbing alcohol and a little flat acrylic like Tamiya XF-1 or similar. Just
mix enough to turn the Alcohol dark a charcoal like.
4. Take a small clean cotton cloth like an old T shirt an wipe down the
entire model. You'll notice you wont be able to get it all and that's what
makes the paint look like its aged.

Remember to move from the wash to the wipe down quickly. You can do the wash
and wipe as many times as you want till you get the desired effect.

P.S. On the color choice. I read that khaki brown is correct too according
to historians. You see a lot of olive drab sceams but it's unlikely that
they were that color but you won't be criticized for going the olive drab
wrought. Good luck.


Regards
B.H.

Thank you. Yes I will. I guess I beter get busy

B.H.

I have the 'female' version yet to build. Looks like a pretty easy kit. You oughta stand right next to one of these giants! They're taller than I thought! Then stand next to an FT-17 and wonder how they were in the same war! :-)


Jeff

Well I decided to go with German isignia. I made a stencil for the white lines and air brushed those then hand painted the black cross. Then weathered them with a alcohol wash. It ended up dulling the area to much where the crosses are so I shot flat clear over everything to even it out and it seemed to work.

P.S. Again I didn't let the paint dry more than to the touch so when I wiped the area lightly it made the paint of the crosses look dull, chiped and worn.

Hi Jeff. Where did you go to see one of these tanks?

B.H.

Great job Brian,
those crosses look fantastic

Very nice job. Emhar did an ok job except for the tracks.
I would try to CA the tracks down to the body in the back.

What is the story of the diorama? I'm intrigued.....

I agree. Those tracks need work. I'm not sure on the dio theam. I'm leaning towards a relaxed between battle theam with a tarp draped off one side of the tank as a sun screen with guys playin cards and drinking coffee etc. I want to find a little dog with a soldier feeding him. Stuff like that.

There is a Mk IV at Aperdeen (rusting away to nothing, BTW). There are also several different WW I rhomboids at Bovington in the UK.

And yes, they are big. Not so much taller than a Tiger or M60 as they are really bulky. They really give the impression of mass.

Paul

Without dumping on Brian's nice model, I must say that Emhar did a crappy job on the Mk IV (and Mk V as well) if shape accuracy is anything to judge by. Comparing the Emhar kit to any of the drawings available in the literature shows that the spoonsons only vaguely resemple the real thing and that the hull has shape problems as well. Making a really accurate Mk IV from the kit means a lot of cutting and scratchbuilding.

Also without disparaging the nice finish Brian has achieved, recent research seem to indicate that all the Mk IVs were brown with any camouflage added on top of the brown base coat. (this month's AFV News has a good article on this). Would the Germans have overpainted? Possibly, so this still might be accurate. The information is mostly for those looking to build a Brit or American Mk IV.

HTH

Paul

This is my list of surviving WW1 tanks, I did it a few years ago and a few more have turned up since.

http://www.landships.freeservers.com/survivors.htm

As for the colour, the Germans repainted their Mark IVs after reworking them, this included changing the gun on the Male for the same one as the A7V and sometimes fitting an anti-tank rifle in the hull front. Usually they used a Field Grey base over which was painted patches or strips of pale green, yellow and brown.

Hey Brian!

BTW, I did forget to mention what a nice job you have done on the tank ... especially the insignia's!

I saw one of these tanks at the Patton Museum in Kentucky. They were in the middle of making a large scale diorama back in August of 2004. Should be done by now!


Jeff

Some pics here
http://www.msnusers.com/RecoveryandEngineerVehicles/recoveryvehiclesoftheworld.msnw?albumlist=2
Have others of internals if needed
aye
BARV
(GOSMG)

Like the weathering and shading you did on the vehicle. Good job.

[quote]


This is my list of surviving WW1 tanks, I did it a few years ago and a few more have turned up since.

http://www.landships.freeservers.com/survivors.htm

That's a great website David.

BH

Lo Bwana,

Can you, in your expertise, tell me what colour the one in Bovington is? As far as I can tell from the pics it could be either green or brown.

Got the diorama started and a couple trees.