Keeping with my inveterate custom of starting too many kits and finishing almost none -happy accident do happen from time to time- hereby I present you with a selection of photos of my latest armour project, a build of a Mk.IV from the Emhar kit. I followed the general directions on correcting the tank that I've found elsewhere in this forum, and made some progress designing my own parts on Adobe Illustrator based on the work made by Pierantonio, and taking into consideration some assorted advice by TeeEll on his epic Mk.I builds. I tried that the photos were self-explanatory (or rather self-apologetic?) where modifications or replacements were made. One recent conundrum has surfaced when the scale Lewis gun muzzles proved to be wider than the original barbette vertical openings. On examination, I figured out that the kit parts are a bit narrow and might benefit of a slight widening of the vertical opening. Now I have to figure a safe method to attach each gun muzzle in the curved shield face (which is more complex than anticipated but it's also very small and hard to see in detail). Each barbette (4 of them) were discovered to leave slight gaps around them when mounted on the sponson. I added a thin styrene skin to one and it had a better fit, besides improving some molding flaws (slight distortions) on the cylindrical surfaces of each.
I hope you like the images! Building this model has been very fun so far. D.
Thanks PDA! Yes, I made them on my hand-held power tool, files and sandpaper. It was easy -if somewhat tedious- and I only ruined two pipes, only because I got cocky and wanted to speed up the process.
This build progresses slowly after I finished another one "OOB". I still have to fit the Lewis gun in the sponsons and the sponsons in the hull! And 2014 has ended already!
Here I applied the sponson with the new guns.... but I feel the Lewis gun jackets are too long. Any opinions? Which is the measurement of the visible portions of these jackets on Female tanks?
Yes, that would be very nice. Even better would be a resin replacement for the whole barbette, as the original parts have slight sink marks and once mounted, it leaves "gaps" above and below. The vertical gun opening is a bit narrow (as it was designed to hold the Hotchkiss barrel). To the molded barbette, then, a separate Lewis barrel could be fitted. I'd leave to the modeller the choice of drilling a location hole, so to choose the angle of each gun.
BTW do you think that the barrels protrude too much out of their sponsons? Should I have to cut them shorter?
A minor point, the sketch of the rear hull shows a Mark IV with a twin tubular radiator. This type has a filler cap in front of the roof stowage box, offset to one side. Currently your model has the rear of a Mark IV with a twin tubular but the roof of one with an envelope radiator. See pictures of the tank at APG on Landships. Be careful with any serial number shown when you paint our model. A serial starting 4 or 6 will be OK, but not necessarily one starting with 2 and definitely not one starting with 8. Happy modelling.
Thanks Gwyn! Please explain me what's the difference between twin tubular and envelope radiators in this kit molding (maybe on the next Mk.IV I can modify it!) I didn't decided yet the markings of this tank, but I was tempted to add a fascine to this, and leave it unmarked or just "striped" as an easy solution. In the other hand, painting it like B38 "Bear" is a possibility... yet.
Thanks Gwyn! Please explain me what's the difference between twin tubular and envelope radiators in this kit molding (maybe on the next Mk.IV I can modify it!) I didn't decided yet the markings of this tank, but I was tempted to add a fascine to this, and leave it unmarked or just "striped" as an easy solution. In the other hand, painting it like B38 "Bear" is a possibility... yet.
It's not a case of amending the kit moulding. The Mark IV as originally designed had an envelope radiator like Marks I, II and III but this was superseded by an improved twin tubular type. These differences are internal. However the filler cap was in a different place. For an envelope radiator it was at the rear, but for a twin tubular it was on the roof.
I would advise against painting your model to represent Bear without modifying the rear hull armour arrangement. It had an envelope radiator.
This morning I modify my Supply MKIV with the filler cap on the roof (WD# will be 4XXX) and my B28 Black Arrow III because in her rear picture published on the nice book Beute-Panzer by Reiner Strasheim I can't see any square plate and the rear radiator cap. So I believe B28 had an envelope radiator even having a WD# starting with 2. Now I am building a Female as the Beute Panzer MARIECHEN of the post war German Freikorp but she will have the envelope radiator and the some change made by Thorsten
Many thanks to Gwyn for his help.
Pierantonio
-- Edited by Pierantonio on Friday 9th of January 2015 04:04:54 PM
Ah! Now I see more clearly where's the filler cap... Where should be the filler cap in the roof? The Emhar kit has it molded and I've missed it? Thanks for the input!
Great one Thorst! I in fact bought a new tinlet of Humbrol 26 "khaki" as I felt that my previous build with Humbrol 29 "dark earth" ended a bit darker to my taste. However with the mud and calky weathering that I shall cake over the basic colour that is of little consequence!
Ah! Now I see more clearly where's the filler cap... Where should be the filler cap in the roof? The Emhar kit has it molded and I've missed it? Thanks for the input!
This morning I modify my Supply MKIV with the filler cap on the roof (WD# will be 4XXX) and my B28 Black Arrow III because in her rear picture published on the nice book Beute-Panzer by Reiner Strasheim I can't see any square plate and the rear radiator cap. So I believe B28 had an envelope radiator even having a WD# starting with 2. Now I am building a Female as the Beute Panzer MARIECHEN of the post war German Freikorp but she will have the envelope radiator and the some change made by Thorsten
Many thanks to Gwyn for his help.
Pierantonio
-- Edited by Pierantonio on Friday 9th of January 2015 04:04:54 PM
B28 Black Arrow II (I don't know of a Black Arrow III) was 2080 and had a twin tubular radiator, so you want the filler cap on the roof.
Just a quick plug here, but I have a series of articles being published in "Tankette", the journal of the MAFVA (www.mafva.net) called "Decoding Mark IV Serial Numbers". Part 1 was published in Volume 49/6. The next two parts will deal with the sequence of Mark IV production and differences between Mark IVs with different serial numbers. A friend is preparing an article that will draw on mine to cover modelling the Mark IV. Membership of MAFVA is open to all, for a small fee of course, and well worthwhile. This research is cutting edge and you will find it nowhere else, so please join MAFVA today!
Gwyn
P.S. Volume 49/6 available as a back number.
-- Edited by Gwyn Evans on Friday 9th of January 2015 09:53:46 PM