Model Military International – September 2019

18 Model Military International - September 2019

FEATURE ARTICLE Takom 1:35 Mk. IV Male/Female 2 in 1 • Kit No. 2076

needed to attach the beam to the

rails, but an extra bit of fine chain

was needed to fasten the beam at

each side so that it wouldn’t slip

down the rails while the tank was

travelling.

The fascene was secured in place

with a chain arrangement shown

in a couple of references, and this

was replicated as best I could with

the kit supplied chain, also small

40 link-per-inch chain along with

some turnbuckles fashioned from

copper wire and 0.5mm brass

tubing. To help secure the fascene

to the model, I used a couple of

brass wires inserted into holes in

the plank at the base of the bundle,

and glued into the top of the rails

by the driver’s cabin.

FIGURES

To compliment this vehicle in a

display, I chose to add a couple

of figures that were new to me

from a range by D Day Miniatures.

Their set of WW 1 British Tank

Corps consists of a corporal tank

crew member in coveralls and a

staff officer in a traditional looking

trench coat. Nicely sculpted

with crisp detail, I painted them

entirely with Vallejo acrylics after

priming them with Tamiya’s grey

surface primer, and base coating

everything except the heads with

XF1 Flat Black. I did add a small

amount of epoxy putty to the

face of the corporal since his eye

sockets were too deep, as were

the sides of his mouth. I also added

a lanyard for his pistol using very

thin 0.1mm lead wire (used for

tying fishing lures).

DISPLAY BASE

Before going into battle,

Deborah along with other tanks

in the vicinity were hidden in

Haverincourt Wood, Southwest

of Flesquières. To display the

model with the figures, I chose an

appropriately sized plywood base

and marked out positions for the

model, figures, and some trees

After cutting some pieces of

Styrofoam and gluing them to

the base with white glue, I spread

a thin layer of Celuclay over

everything like icing a cake. The

Celuclay was mixed with Elmer’s

white glue, and acrylic colours of

raw sienna and burnt umber from

Liquitex, and had a nice muddy

look to it. Into the wet groundwork

I placed a small amount of sand,

static grass and some tall grass

from Hudson and Allen. The

trees I used were a dried flower

decoration called “Peppergrass”,

but it was bought years ago, has

become unavailable since and I’m

using what little I have left. These

twigs of peppergrass were spray

painted darkish brown, and I tried

to add some orange and yellow

colours to the foliage to suggest a

late autumn look.

Birch seeds have a husk that

looks like miniature leaves, and

these were collected from the

garden and spread also into the

wet groundwork to add to the

atmosphere.

Because the weight of the

fascene tended to make the model

tip forward from its normal sitting

position, I drilled a hole through the

base and put a wood screw behind

the centre of the tank’s underside,

securing it in the proper posture.

SUMMARY

After visiting D51 “Deborah” in the

museum that was built to house

her in the village of Flesquières

last year, I felt a real interest in

this tank’s story and wanted to

build a model to picture how she

would have looked over 100 years

ago. I’ve discovered that these

models of Great War tanks are

also an exciting way to experiment

with weathering techniques. The

Takom kit builds into a nice replica,

and I immediately bought a second

kit to of course make a male

version, with the subject yet to be

determined. ■

Takom 1:35 Mk. IV Male/Female 2 in 1 Kit No. 2076

D Day Miniatures WWI British Tank Corps Kit No. 35024

Tools and Materials Used:

• Tamiya B asic Putty


• Aves Apoxy S culpt


• Tamiya Grey S urface Primer.G


• Tamiya Extra Fine C ement


• Loctite 404 instant adhesive


• Harder & S teenbeck Infinity CRplus Airbrush


• 10mm, 18mm, 40mm Tamiya Masking Tape


• Micro drill s et


• Celuclay papier-mâché
  Paints and Finishing Products:


• Tamiya A crylic paints as listed in the paint
  callouts.


• Winsor & Newton Oil P aint S eries 1 5 54 R aw
  Umber, 3 31 Ivory B lack,


• Vallejo A crylic paints as listed in the paint
  callouts


• Testors enamel Silver


• Mineral Spirit thinner
  References:


• Osprey New V angard # 133 British Mk.IV Tank by
  David Fletcher


• Deborah and T he W ar of T he Tanks 1917 by John A.
  Taylor


• Haynes Great W ar Tank by David Fletcher


• The Infantry Tank Mk1, IV, V by yes B uffetaut


• Images of W ar, Armoured W arfare in the First
  World W ar by Anthony T ucker-Jones

Modelspec

✓ High level of detail; e xcellent individual link

tracks.

✗ Track links e ach have a tiny mould mark

removed from the edge of the lip.

Rating

A handle

located behind

the driver

released the

fascene from

the tank.

A larger pin

for the towing

pintle was

made from

styrene rod,

bent after

heating over a

candle.

The model

was mounted

to a plywood

base, and small

sections of

Styrofoam were

used to build

contours before

adding the

ground work.

The figures

added some

life and size

perspective to

the display.

The un-ditching

beam was

secured to

the railings

with both

kit-supplied

and miniature

chain. Some

spare grousers

and track links

were placed in

the stowage

box next the

the exhaust

pipe.

B