diablo rsv Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 A11, Infantry Tank Mark.I 'Matilda 1' 4th RTR. British Expeditionary Force, September 1939. Although the A11 Matilda 1 was only produced in small numbers ( 140 between 1938-39 ) I feel that it is quite an important vehicle to add to a collection of British armour models, if only to highlight how short sighted British tank design was preceding WW2. Although planning work began in 1935 those who designed the tank were influenced by the mistaken belief that combat in a new war would be the same as in World War I, in which tanks were utilised for breaking through strong, static defensive positions. The General Staff specification required a cheap tank to be built with as many as possible already available commercial components. The result was a small, slow ( 8mph ), but heavily armoured vehicle. Armed with either a Vickers .303 or .50 machine gun and with a crew of two it was essentially a mobile machine gun post. Matilda I saw combat when the 4th RTR deployed to France with the British Expeditionary Force in September 1939 and the 7th RTR in May 1940. Despite some success it soon became clear that the Matilda1 tank was not suited for its intended role. Although it's heavy armour afforded the crew protection against anything other than the heaviest antitank weapons the vulnerability of the tracks and rollers proved to be a major issue. It's lack of armament meant it couldn't engage enemy armour or strongholds and the cramped interior and small turret didn't help the commander, who had to duck down to use the wireless, and direct the driver at the same time. Most of the vehicles in France were destroyed or abandoned and the few remaining units helped to cover the evacuation at Dunkirk before being blown up to prevent capture. The remaining UK stock was soon relegated to home defence and training duties. At the time of building this the only available kit of the Matilda 1 was this Accurate Armour resin one, now that I have finished it there will no doubt be a plethora of injection moulded kits from mainstream manufacturers. FC Model Trend have just released a 3D printed one which looks interesting. HERE I would say this kit was typical of most resin kits that I have built. They take a little more effort in clean up and some of the details may not be as detailed and crisp as an injection moulded kit but with a little perseverance the end result can be quite rewarding. My work in progress can be seen below. The kit provided resin tracks weren't great so I replaced them with Friulmodel T-26 tracks which are close match to the originals. As far as I recall the only other additions were the brass Aber fire extinguishers. The model has been painted using MRP paints in Khaki Green No.3 with Dark Green No.4 as a disruptive colour and the weathering was applied with various Mig Ammo pigments. I decided to go with a heavier coating of mud to help hide the weakest part of this kit which is the running gear. Annoyingly I have just noticed in the above photo that the Chinese eye on this side seems to have escaped the weathering. I'll put it down to the crew giving it a clean.🙄 For comparison I thought I would include a few shots with her alongside her big sister the Matilda 2. Overall I'm pretty satisfied with the end result but as always there are things I think I could probably have done better, mostly concerning the running gear but really I'm just glad I got to the end. Wayne 55 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APA Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 Wayne that's a fantastic build. We'll done. Weathing is spot on and you've made the old girl look very purposeful 👌 Cool colours as well. Have to congratulate you on getting through that build as well. I agree about the importance of this tank and think it is criminal there are no injection moulded kits out there. Andrew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carius Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 You have done a superb job I love both Matilda tanks. Cherrs from Brazil Cesar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilspen Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 Thanks for a very informative post. I was aware of this tank (and kit), but not the detail behind it. I certainly got the sense of the vulnerability of the track and running gear. I am impressed with the finish and weathering. I think if it was photoshopped onto a scenic background, I would have thought it real. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 Wayne, that is a cracker. You've managed to turn an ugly, ungainly vehicle into a very attractive model. Well done for sticking with it. It was worth it in the end. Nice one. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanC Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 Absolutely superb Wayne. And I like the shots with Matilda senior. 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 This came out very well. I think the tracks are the best part, so heavy, so 'metal', so full of character. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 Lovely models Wayne, certainly full of character (I think that's the military phrase for ugly as sin and damn near useless) Have a break, the M3/M4 GB starts soon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milan Mynar Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 Great work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 You really captured the quality of those early tanks. Superb modelling! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nenad Ilijic Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 Wayne, this turned out fantastic! Congratulations on your strong will and on getting through this build. It was worth it. Fantastic pictures, always pleasure to see more of them. Best, Nenad 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartH Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 Outstanding work Wayne. Well worth the effort in getting it finished. I love the heavy, muddy finish that you've achieved gives a very authentic feel 👏 Great to see alongside Matilda II...the progression/differences are vast! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edjbartos Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 Beautiful job Wayne, so much lovely detail to look at and the paintwork is just amazing... Ed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sardaukar Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 Wow, fantastic job and a great subject. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef N. Posted February 23, 2022 Share Posted February 23, 2022 Fantastic all round modelling Wayne. An odd looking beast, brilliantly done. Well done.👏👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzby061 Posted February 23, 2022 Share Posted February 23, 2022 Amazing work on that ugly duckling. Nice shots with the big brother. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Model Mate Posted February 23, 2022 Share Posted February 23, 2022 what a beauty! I love the wood effect on the launchers and tools. Great weathering too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick b Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 Fantastic work Wayne I appreciate it may have been cutting edge at the time but to have to go to war in that makes the mind boggle! Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Hi Wayne! WOW!! Really WOW! That is some incrediblly impressive modelling there!! Some of the most realistic weathering effects I have seen! With a suitable photo/real background that would look like the real thing! Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milan Mynar Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 An interesting vehicle, I hope someone will make it as a classic injection model in 1/35 scale. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diablo rsv Posted February 26, 2022 Author Share Posted February 26, 2022 On 21/02/2022 at 20:35, APA said: Wayne that's a fantastic build. We'll done. Weathing is spot on and you've made the old girl look very purposeful 👌 Cool colours as well. Have to congratulate you on getting through that build as well. I agree about the importance of this tank and think it is criminal there are no injection moulded kits out there. Andrew On 21/02/2022 at 20:53, Carius said: You have done a superb job I love both Matilda tanks. Cherrs from Brazil Cesar On 21/02/2022 at 20:58, neilspen said: Thanks for a very informative post. I was aware of this tank (and kit), but not the detail behind it. I certainly got the sense of the vulnerability of the track and running gear. I am impressed with the finish and weathering. I think if it was photoshopped onto a scenic background, I would have thought it real. On 22/02/2022 at 09:46, Bullbasket said: Wayne, that is a cracker. You've managed to turn an ugly, ungainly vehicle into a very attractive model. Well done for sticking with it. It was worth it in the end. Nice one. John. On 22/02/2022 at 10:44, IanC said: Absolutely superb Wayne. And I like the shots with Matilda senior. 👍 On 22/02/2022 at 16:46, Bertie Psmith said: This came out very well. I think the tracks are the best part, so heavy, so 'metal', so full of character. On 22/02/2022 at 18:11, Retired Bob said: Lovely models Wayne, certainly full of character (I think that's the military phrase for ugly as sin and damn near useless) Have a break, the M3/M4 GB starts soon. On 22/02/2022 at 18:25, Milan Mynar said: Great work. On 22/02/2022 at 19:37, John Masters said: You really captured the quality of those early tanks. Superb modelling! On 22/02/2022 at 20:25, Nenad Ilijic said: Wayne, this turned out fantastic! Congratulations on your strong will and on getting through this build. It was worth it. Fantastic pictures, always pleasure to see more of them. Best, Nenad On 22/02/2022 at 21:15, StuartH said: Outstanding work Wayne. Well worth the effort in getting it finished. I love the heavy, muddy finish that you've achieved gives a very authentic feel 👏 Great to see alongside Matilda II...the progression/differences are vast! On 22/02/2022 at 21:54, edjbartos said: Beautiful job Wayne, so much lovely detail to look at and the paintwork is just amazing... Ed On 22/02/2022 at 22:00, sardaukar said: Wow, fantastic job and a great subject. On 23/02/2022 at 06:40, Stef N. said: Fantastic all round modelling Wayne. An odd looking beast, brilliantly done. Well done.👏👍 On 23/02/2022 at 13:41, Buzby061 said: Amazing work on that ugly duckling. Nice shots with the big brother. Pete On 23/02/2022 at 16:11, Model Mate said: what a beauty! I love the wood effect on the launchers and tools. Great weathering too. On 24/02/2022 at 15:40, mick b said: Fantastic work Wayne I appreciate it may have been cutting edge at the time but to have to go to war in that makes the mind boggle! Mike 22 hours ago, PlaStix said: Hi Wayne! WOW!! Really WOW! That is some incrediblly impressive modelling there!! Some of the most realistic weathering effects I have seen! With a suitable photo/real background that would look like the real thing! Kind regards, Stix 16 hours ago, Milan Mynar said: An interesting vehicle, I hope someone will make it as a classic injection model in 1/35 scale. Many thanks Guys, that's some very nice feedback. I think there are times with most of my builds where I want to give up on them, usually when things aren't going the way I had hoped. I have found that posting work on here and the encouragement received definitely helps with getting them to the end. It's not exactly the most aesthetically pleasing tank ever designed but it definitely stands out from the crowd. I thought the comparison with the A12 Matilda would be interesting, although it wasn't really an evolution of the A11, it was more of a different idea on how infantry support tanks should work, with the addition of the 2pdr gun the A12 gave defence against enemy armour where as the A11 was more of a mobile machine gun nest. I'm pleased you like the tracks Bertie, as it such a stand out feature of the tank they really needed to look right. I was a bit concerned about getting the weathering to look authentic on this one and so I left it for some time before attempting it. To be honest I had a couple of happy accidents with it in some areas so I'm really pleased that you think it looks realistic. Since I have posted this on here and a couple of Facebook pages I have had a lot of comments regarding the lack of an injection moulded model of this tank, I really do hope the rumours are true and that one wont be too far away. Thanks again Wayne 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanC Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 Rumours? Who is thought to be doing one? I'm obviously out of the loop on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maginot Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 Very nicely modelled and presented Matilda Mk.1. Your weathering is most convincing. Photography is excellent. Interesting to see the two Matildas posing together. The wallah who named tanks for the British Army must have had a crisis of imagination the day these two showed up. 🤓 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrzeM Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Absolutely fantastic! Looks soooo real! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfa1983 Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 Looks great. The Matilda II looks very modern next to her! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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