Mark IV Tank (1:35 Emhar)

[Mike]

I dipped into this kit a couple of nights ago, and quickly knocked together the main hull, despite the shortcomings in fit & some really vague instructions. It's also one of those models that give no thought to you getting the angles of the parts right, so most of the construction had to be done while the glue was still soft enough to adjust.

A couple of major shortcomings were evident once I began construction, most notable being the dreadful rendition of the 6-pounder guns. By the time I'd dealt with the seams & mould slippage on the barrels, they were oval! I dropped Brooksy a PM & asked him to spin me some up on his lathe, which he agreed to, much to my delight! I also noticed the exhaust muffler was the wrong shape, being too short & too wide. I selected a chunk of brass rod from my supplies & cut it to a suitable length, using the panel lines on the roof as a guide. I soldered some brass sheet end caps on & then drilled 3 holes to accept the stubs from the engine inside the hull. These were soldered on in one session after being glued to a rod to keep them in position. Some sanding was needed to remove some excess solder, and then I drilled a hole in the end to accept the copper tube for the exhaust pipe. I retained the kit 2nd muffler, but nipped off the tail pipe & replaced it with more copper tube, reaming it out to give the end a more scale look.

The kit tracks are provided in 4 parts to each side for some reason, but are the type that can be glued with normal liquid glue. I've been assembling them in stages, as the joints are quite weak until cured (and not too great even then!). Last night I glued the ends together on one track to see whether it could be slipped over the sponsons in one piece. It could, so the other track is setting up as we speak.

I've had to leave off the "turrets" for now until the metal barrels arrive from Andy after which, I can close up the hull & give it a coat of primer to see where I need to trim & fill. I think I'll probably glue the tracks to the sponsons to spread the load across a larger area, as they're quite a tight fit. If it all pings open, Accurate Armour do a set of resin 20.5" tracks that I can get, but I'd rather not spend out if I can help it. The kit Lews guns were crap too, so I replaced those with some ally tubing sleeved inside copper tubing & shaped accordingly. Once the building is finished, I'll re-apply the rings to the barrels & add a sight to the ends.

It's going to be fun painting & weathering this model... plenty of scope to learn proper mud techniques & slosh a bit of pigment about

[andym]

I would seriously, seriously think about replacing the tracks! They are one of the worst parts of this kit and replacing them makes a huge difference.

HTH

Andy

[Mike]

£11 + postage though

[perry]

The only tank i want to build! (Apologies to all the armour builders oin here!!)

can we have a photo that puts it in perspective please boss?

[Mike]

It's about that big, yes...

Have you any preference as to what I put in there for perspective?

[dylan the rabbit]

It's about that big, yes...

Have you any preference as to what I put in there for perspective?

A £1 note

[perry]

A ruler, bag of sugar, bottle of beer..............?

No boss no preference!

[Mike]

A ruler, bag of sugar, bottle of beer..............?

No boss no preference!

Will this do?

[perry]

a bag of white sugar boss?

[perry]

always fancied buiding one of these and putting it in a mudsdy diorama

[Mike]

a bag of white sugar boss?

You didn't specify, and we don't have any in stock... cos we're healthy!

always fancied buiding one of these and putting it in a mudsdy diorama

Make it happen then. The kit's not expensive in the grand scheme of things. The Accurate Armour tracks are £10.xx and unless you're going to go mental & have some barrels turned up, that's yer lot

I was thinking about replacing all the pistol ports with pieces of styrene for extra detail, but I'm wondering whether I can be arsed cutting & sanding probably 20 little teardrop shaped pieces of card

[derek burton]

Airwaves do abrass set for it .

Dek.

[Mike]

Airwaves do abrass set for it .

Dek.

I read it was long discontinued... looks like they re-continued it

[Bobs_Buckles]

always fancied buiding one of these and putting it in a mudsdy diorama

Pezza,

I've got the "tadpole" in my stash. If you want it you can have it for the price of postage.

Cheers old bean,

Bob Von heavenly Saint

[Mike]

Pezza,

I've got the "tadpole" in my stash. If you want it you can have it for the price of postage.

Cheers old bean,

Bob Von heavenly Saint

Tadpole's a Mark IV with a rear extension (matron!) and a mortar crew sucking on the exhaust pipe, in case you thought Bob'd been drinking the thinners again

[Guest snipersmudge]

nice build there mike, this is one of those tanks i really should build but never have

[Doug Rogers]

Haven't got around to the MkIV yet, but I've done the Whippet. Although they're basic, as you say Mike, with a bit of detailing and plenty of dirt, they can make an interesting addition to the shelf. I thought about the AA tracks too, but just couldn't swallow the price.

[AnonymousDFB1]

Nice work Mike I remember building a little 1:72 one (Airfix?) when I was a kid for a WW1 project at school.

[Mike]

I succumbed to the resin tracks & have installed them now. They're not too difficult to deal with, and I used a paint stripper heat gun to bend them. The first one I applied a bit too much heat to, but after that worked a bit smarter & managed to glue them all in place with only a few hiccups. AA provide plenty of spares, which I guess would be useful for the Tadpole version, which has a significant track extension to the rear to accomodate the mortar emplacement.

Anyway. I've added a few extras, such as brass & pewter exhaust tie downs and a brass & plastic towing hitch at the front. I have a bit to add to this, but the main part is done. I've been using spare bolt heads from my M1 Abrams PE fret, and luckily there were 10 left over, so with 2 pinging off into space, I still had 8 to detail the two hitch

Here's a close-up of the kit tracks (black, on right) and the new Accurate Armour tracks. I could have done without the expense, but it was worth it in the end IMHO.

A couple of overall shots, showing the tracks installed & the few bits I've added. I tacked the sponsons in place, as I'm still short a couple of turned barrels

Once I've finished adding all the extra brass bits I'm making, I'll give the whole thing a blast of primer, which should show up any imperfections that need sorting out before I can paint (the white specks on the tracks are squirts of Vallejo filler in bubbles in the resin)

[Murdo]

Looking good Mike!

I wish they would bring out more of these fascinating WW1 kits.

I've built the Emhar Mk4, Whippet and the Artillery gun. All are kits that really aren't all that bad though the tracks on the Mk4 made a really determined attempt to resist being glued together.

[Mike]

Mine glued fine with some EMA plastic weld, but after I'd attached them to the hull, I could see that the joints were already starting to stretch & rupture. That's what tipped me over the edge to the resin replacements. Once I've tidied the installation up, it should look ok

I'm kind of interested in getting hold of a WWI Vickers machine gun crew, which is what my Grandad used to wield. I think it was a DFC he got for knocking out a couple of field guns or machine gun posts (I forget which) all on his todd sloane, before he got gased later in the war. Sadly I never met him as he died just before I was born. A brave guy, but quite grumpy by all accounts

[Mike]

I was thinking of conjouring up a big bundle of fascine material for my Mk.IV... anyone got any ideas what I could use? I was thinking of grabbing a handful of dry old twigs from the garden. Would that work?

[T-Tango]

I was thinking of conjouring up a big bundle of fascine material for my Mk.IV... anyone got any ideas what I could use? I was thinking of grabbing a handful of dry old twigs from the garden. Would that work?

Or try going down to your local florists and having a look to see if they have any odd bits of stuff they are throwing out.

[Mike]

The 6-pounder gun barrels have arrived!

Andy Brooks (Brooksy) is the god of all things turned and milled from metal... they're FABULOUS!

I've removed the oval plastic efforts from their breeches, squared up the ends, drilled out a 3mm hole using a pin-vice for control, and installed the new metal barrels. What a difference! They've been installed into their "turrets" now, and treated to a liberal coating of primer, so I'll grab a few photos of them in their sponsons once I get back from the Dentist. I'm all giddy!

[Dads203]

I was thinking of conjouring up a big bundle of fascine material for my Mk.IV... anyone got any ideas what I could use? I was thinking of grabbing a handful of dry old twigs from the garden. Would that work?

Have a look at the bristles from an old broom, might just work for you Mike?

Dan