WL SERIBRING —— ietsCamo A : retire bts Ya "aM FILTER | FILTER| FILTER) TEI Wee es ley lh i FILTER A.M1G-8006 A.miG-s002Publisher: AMMO of Mig Jimenez ‘Original ee" AMMO of Mig Jimenez “echnical and Historia! Research: Danele Guglelm! Novels by: Mig Jimenez, John Tolcher, Volker Bembennek Project Manager: Carlos Cuesta Cover Design and Art Direction Mig Jimenez Loyout anc Graphic Design: Antonio Alonso Graphic Design Assistant: Chema Pellejero ‘anslaions César Oliva English corection Riek Lawler and fain Harmon Published in Printed in Spain Is@N 978-84.943198-6-0 ©2015 AMMO of Mig Jimene? 5. L Al rights reserved. No part of ‘this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, present or future, including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval system ‘without permission in writing fom the publishers. ne orArmour in the Great War Daniele Guglielmi has written many articles on historical and modeling subjects, designed tree military mags, and has a number of published ‘books to his credit, incuding: 26. Panzer-Divsion 1943-1945; Centauro Heavy Armoured Car, Panzer in italy italian Armour in German Service 1843-1945; The Kalan Campaign through German Eyes 1943-1945 Ariete Ralian Main Battle Tank alan 75mm Self-Propelled Guns; Spring 1545 on the alan Front ~ A 25 Day Atlas from the Apennines to the Po River, some of which was writen in colaboration with ather authors, Daniele Guglielmi was Born in 1959 in Florence, italy, and Ives near Calenzano with hs wife Cosetta and their two daughters Lisa and Chi- ara. He member of or personaly leads several modeling and research lassocations and works wath a number of allan and foreign scholars, msttuions, museums and firms, No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted a any form, including electron, optic, mechanical, recording or other ans, vithout te prior written permasion ofthe Publsher. Bie pas- sages ofthe text may be used forthe sake of reviewing the book The photos that appear inthis volume come from the authors callection and in mast cases have been acquired from international archives inthe 1980s and 1990s, The Publsher is wing to sete any form af copyright aiingerent, for those images and documents of which the original provenance has been impossible to determine,IntroductionDaniele Guglielmi The first armoured vehicles Before the beginning of the Great War, the armoured vehicles appeared ‘only in some science-fiction novels orn the reports of futuristic riltary Cffcers. The sole practcl results were 2 few cars o lores fitted with imited protection and rarely with machine guns. ‘Some projects were proposed in Great Britain, Austria, a, and Gere ‘ary butallof them remained on paper In 1912 the British War Ofice received plans for a tracked combat vehicle, based on the intemal com ‘bustion engines developedin the fist decade ofthe XX Century and the ‘tracked tractors use to tow heavy loads, but rejected the project. The Brtish Royal Army employed the tracked tractor, having acquired some | USmade Holt models for hauling the heaves aril. In 1914 the Royal ‘Naval Air Service actvated a section of armoured cars, based an ight Cas equipped with limited armour plates and one or two machine gun. In the same year, the Britkh Expeditionary Force (BEF) was created to “be sent nto France and Belgium to combat the German impera Ary. “The BEF included the Royal Naval Air Service armoured cars and the ‘Motor Machine Gun Senice, based on matoryces with sidecar and ‘machine gu. “These fighting vehicles were useful, but designed for a mobile war on ‘good roads. When the opposing armies dug themselves into te trench +6 the British suffered huge losses in worthless assaults against the en femy fortifications. For some Britsh ofcesit was clear that a well pro tected and armed vehicles could have been the solution of the problem, “The need to overcome the maddy ground ful of cates, barbed wire, ‘fences, advancing in the open while exposed to the continuous fre (flight weapons, and protecting ones own infantey while opening 3 Beech in the enemy defences, lead to development ofa fully tracked ‘and armoures vehicle. “The development of a “Landship" or “Machine Gun Destroyer", as these vehicles were intlly named inthe United Kingdom, was not an (85) task Infact, the "top brass” (the higher rank officers) were notin favour of the new weapon, whose development could dent important nancial esources, technicians, and time away from the other branches Of the British armed forces. The government and the mitary supreme Command were imolved in traning hundreds of thousands of young Fecruits ~ the country had entered the war with a small profesional Volunteer army, but later was obliged to introduce the cal-up conscip ton = after the losses sustaned in the European Western Front and in ther Secondary fronts such as Cental fica, the Galipoli peninsula, the Middle East and the Bacans. While requiring @ much higher produc- tion rate of miitary equipment in the United Kingdom and inthe alied countres, spending precious resources for a new, strange weapon was considered a wast of ential resources Nevertheless, the private industry and a few forward thinking officers persisted in developing the “Landship" and obtained the permission to Continue the researches and tests. Finally in February 1915, a specialized Royal Naw committee was established, lead by Fist Lord of Admiralty \Winston Churchill and consisted of naval ofcers, engineer, and poti- Cans, forthe development ofthe armoured tracked vehide which coud ‘uarantee at least these performance specications steering capabii- ts, 2 range of more than 20 miles (about 32 km), top speed of no less than 4 miles perhour (about 7 krwh), and the ability to cross a trench spanning 5 feet (1,5 metres) wide. To move the machine and employ the weapons (one small un and two machine guns) it was expected to requie a crew of 10 men. In June the naval committe was merged with asiilar organization belonging tothe Royal Army and some of the ‘members travelled to the French front to examine the German tench system. In September 1915 the "Lite Wille” was presented, an experimental hl fitted with tracks; it was tested in December and exhibited many efits but aso proved thatthe concept was the ight one. Thanks to the enthusiasm and the experience of the miltary personne and industial flexibly, the development went ahead rapidly. Atte enc of January 1916 the new "Big Wilie” (ater caled "Mother”) was ready and on February 2nd the committee was able to present some func- toning machines tothe higher authorities, among them the Minster of ‘Munitions (later rime Minister) David Uoyd George and the Secretary Of State of War Fed Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitehener. The final pro- totypes had received a new name, “Tank te term was used to avoid thes discovery by enemy spies operating in Great Britain in fat, the fist series samples were moved aboard tins, concealed under large tarpaulins a water containers. The poitical and military authorites were rot fully convinced about the new weapon, but on February 12th, 1916 the fist commission for 100 tanks was accented (re mperaat oe oe ty he Ro ay nthe dekpment oe ns eas ich ruta on toms as or reso, hl dc hae ae rs. Fear hte in ie es na haya hy me eas mh coreg »The tank makes the scene ‘The next obstacle was to traning the personnel invoked in the deploy- ‘ment and maintenance ofthe entre fleet ofthe tanks, Most ofthe initial Crews were chosen from the men ofthe Motoc Machine Gun Service, of the Mechanical Transport of the Army Service Corps and some volunteer ivan expert mechanics. Known asthe Heavy Section of the Machine Gun Corps, on August 20th this special branch received the frst §0 op- erative tanks. The afcial denomination was Mark | (thus Model number 1); half of the production was configured 3s the Male version, armed wth two pdr (57mm) QF (quck-fiing) naval guns in the sponsors and ‘three machine guns ~ the Bish Lewis or Vickers or the French Hotchkiss = the other 25 were armed as the Female version, equipped only with five machine guns. Within 2 few days, al tanks of the C and D Companies were moved to the rear of the Somme front, witha top seret operation, The nose created bythe tanks was covered bythe continuous thunder ofa preimi- nary artilery bombardment. At daw of Sentember 15th the frst armour attack in history was launched in the Fler-Courelette area, curing the ‘yer wit sma ete oda" Mak Foren eter Bip 117 shah Te ofer ned te angel mae eh fe uae ‘serge ans a he sea ate Seanad Conga oe eh nk Seton ae ie cate Grn Cron 7 Noe battle ofthe Somme, with the 32 avaiable tanks (the others were out of ‘order) engaged ina subsidiary role in supporting the infantry stretched lover an 8 kilometer front. tas a complete surprise forthe Germans, but almost al the vehicles became immobilized ty the dificut terrain afte a few kilometers of advance due to mechanical failures and the ‘muddy field of bale, Moreoves, the crews proved tobe inadequately trained. The entire life expectancy of the tracks was estimated to be no more of 40 Kilometers. The few tanks wich arte to the enemy trenches were disabled by the artiley, apart fram only one example which was able to support the accompanying infantry unti a breach in the German line had been opened. The French commanders involed in ‘the same attack were cial ofthe British for choosing to deploy such a small number of tanks, feeling that the Brtsh had sacrificed the secrecy ‘ofthe new weapon while deploying a number too small to be decisive Even if nota full success, this frst operation proved to the weld that ‘new and powerful weapon had appeared and that its potential were ABE votes ch tk ama nsf the Bataan on avy ns at ata in repaaon r fhe Bre of Cama nts roe pase ee ies fo acon a he Senn vc ue at wt erty ay ra ones New arrivals on the battle fields After the baptism of fire, the opinions ofthe Brsh military personnel ‘iverged: the lowest ranking troops appreciated the tanks and could see its potential, those inthe highest ranks continued to think with anole rmentalty, preferring the frontal mass attacks ofthe infantry, bayonet fitting, supported by the aril. But the government and some officers Petsisted and a new commission for 1,000 samples was approved. The Heavy Branch of the Machine Gun Corps —a new fake name to confuse the enemy — was enlarged to nine battalions. At the end of 1916 the four companies on the Western Front began operating; the command ofthe cops studied, developed, and tested new training and tacts. in England and in Northern France, workshops and proving grounds were built as well as new railway lines to accommodate the new technology The main base was created in Bovington, in Dorset ater the war was enlarge! and now houses the Armour Centre of the Royal Army, which includes one ofthe most important armour museum in the word. During the lied offensive of Aras in spring 1917, 60 tanks supported the infantymen. Again, most ofthe vehicles were dsabled by the me- chanical falures andthe difficult ground; the tactical ertar of dicing the ‘armoured fore into small units caused futher losses In July, 216 British tanks were employed in the Third Batle of Ypres, ‘which proved indecisive because of the tere conditions of the terrain ‘Asgeunt ng pad wth 2 oun te own cbc we ae ako aug ‘es ty ematigsThe improved versions “The Mark | had proved to be not completely reliable; the slightly im: proved Mack il and Il types were mainly used for the training of the Crews and at the beginning of 1917 the new Mark IV sere ready for “service twas external similar tothe previous modes, bu the improves ‘ments were siificant. The ground clearance was increase, the spon- fans withthe weapons were retractable to ease ray vansport with (ut disassembling any main components, the Gpdr guns were replaced “by an improved and shorter version, the fuel tank was now armoured ‘and moved cutide of the hull. Improvements for the crew included fore hatches, an air extractor fan, and a siencer to reduce the noise. “Thathickness ofthe armour plates had been increased to withstand the 'AP (armour piercing) 7. 92mm rifle rounds K mode) developed in ahutry by the Germans. Often, a large wooden beam was transported to assst in overcoming the muddy terrain. Last but not least, the engine was improved to increase power more reliability. (n July 28th, 1917 the Heavy Branch ofthe Machine Gun Corps was of- fiealy designate. The Tank Corps. The new Mark IVS debut was atthe bate of hessines in une 1917, butte tactics had sti not been fly ‘modified andthe units were again dployedin smal detachrents along the large and mary front “The following action did provide improved results. During the offensive ‘Of Cambrai in Noverber 1817, the fst bate in which tanks were em: ployed in large numbers and under suitable conditions, some 480 tanks "were used together with several infantry and cavalry divisions on dry and solid round, The Gerrans were taken by surprise and the British troops enetrated the Hindenburg ne for several kiometres, protected by the ie of more than one thousand pieces of atilery. The favourable results sought for along time had at lst artived: the tanks had flattened the Barbed wires, destroyed the strong-poins, forced the enemy infantry 0 take cover and the cavaly mounted units were fee to roam about the ea lines, hitting the command posts, depots, and atlery emplace- iments. But the British command called back the tanks in order to occupy ‘the conquered postions, this enabled the Germans to counterattack and ‘slop the Alied advance. Despite the lst opportunity the effectiveness of “the tank was no lenger in doubt. The new year ‘Atthe beginning of 1918 the Erich Tank Corps had 13 Battalions oper “ating in France. To flank the cavalry mounted squadrons, anew machine had been developed: the Medium A Tank, known aso as the Whippet, ‘he name refering tots speed, 8 iles‘pro-hour (about 13 kv) which was double that of the Mark I, and the relatively sal and ight weight ‘tank. As the Marks, it was not equipped with a revving turret it was farmed with four Hotchkiss machine guns - in the Britsh 303 calibre (@.zmm) M1 version -, one forever side ofthe box shaped casemate. ‘chad two engines, one to dve each wack; the aver had to be very lexperienced to steer without problems. Only 200 Whippets were built: ‘the baptism of fre tack place at Clincampsin Macch 1918, after along period of fine tuning, Jnthe meantime the Mark IV was placed side by sde with the new Mark equipped with 2 moce powerul engine and other mechanical im: [rovements. The tp speed on hard oround was 8 km/h and it could be “steered by only one man instead ofthe four men necessary inthe pe “@us models. The protuction began in December 1917 and the firs use ‘asat Hamel in Jly 1918. Some ofthese Mark V and the older Mark Vs ‘were later converted to Hermaphrodites (or Composites), both Male and Female being armed with a 6pdr gun on one side and a machine gun on ‘the other this change was adopied to avoid thatthe tanks armed only "wath machine guns would be outgunned by the new German A7V tanks. “In the sping of 1918 the German Imperial Army launched a sttong ‘offensive (called Spring Offensive or Kaserschlacht) and the British a ‘moured units were spit into many small detachments to help the infan- tty to defend the static positions. Many tanks were ast during the move- rent or combat; now the enemy had less fear ofthe armour and had ‘developed special anti-tank weapons, such as armour pietng projec- ties, mines, demolition charges, and enlarged the width of ts venches tormake passing them very dificult. Some British tanks were abandones and captured, examined, and use bythe German Army IMid-summer was the time of the well planned Alied offensive (aed Hundred Days Ofensie), Some Mark IVs and Vs had been experimental lengthened by 2.70 metres with the so-called "Tadpole Tal” to cross Wider trenches, but was replaced by the simiar Mark V*. Most ofthe Tank Corps was concentrated in eight heavy battalions (wth 324 vehi- es, two light battalions (with 96), a reserve of 42 tanks, 120 armoured supply teams, personnel (especially machine gun teams) carers, and 22 gun carries, plus 16 armoured cars belonging tothe 17th Battalion, allaunched in @ mass attack in the Amiens sector. The battle began on “August 8th and cd not conclude unt the end of October, followed by the armistice requested by the German government. The Bish heavy tanks had performed well, opening passages for the Whippet, which had enlarged the conquered area In just @ few days, a great deal of enemy weapons and soldiers had been captured and the Tank Corps was emipioyed to pursue the defeated enemy. Inthe second half of the war the tanks had not only been decisive in winning battles but had also won the support of the previously skeptical ‘der commanders “The known total amount ofeach inital Mark produced are: Mark, 150 samples (75 Males; Gun Carrier Mark, 48; Markl, $0 (25 Males); Mark Ii, $0; Mark Iv, 1,015 (420 Males); Suoply Tank Mark IV, 205; Mark V, 400 (200 Males; Mark V* (lengthened hull, 578; Mark x (personnel caer), 34. Other models or devvatnes were produced after the end of hastitis. The Tank Corps motto was “Fear Naught”. The colours chosen 35 a ‘marking by Colonel Hugh Els (the fist commander of the Corp) were simply those ound ina sik shop and not used by other Arms oF Corps, the combination was: “from mud (bron), through blood (red), tothe ‘green fields beyond”, as the regimental slogan recites (his interpretation ‘as Suggested by Colon! Fuld, ‘ae pon big eed om 2 pre edo 2 Mat Vote 18 Baloo rt Mo ug 398 aye Bates AB rey; »The other fronts ‘The British used the tanks on other fronts as well. After the successes ofthe armoured car unis in Egypt and Palestine in 1916, in Apel 1917 ight Mark Is were used against the Turks inthe Second Battle of Gaza thee destroyed tanks were relaced by as many Mark Ws duting the Third Battie of Gaza in November 1917, which supported a successul infantry attack. The soft terrain was no impediment to tracked vehicles, which suprised the enemy artving in the middle ofthe dashes forcing the Ottomans to withdraw or surrender. The same results were abtained In Mesopotamia and durng the Battles of Megideo and Damascus wth the armoured cars invohed ‘Moreover, the Alid countries sent some armoured vehicles to Northern Russia to defend the ports used to land the suppl arriving bythe West- fern world. After the Bolshevk Revolution of November 1917 (October fo the local calendar), the Ales trained the "White" troops against the "Red" ones and let behind some tanks before dsembarking n 1919, “sk pk tome sie farina pi Rc ot The French tanks From the earliest days ofthe war, the French employed some cas armed vith a machine guns, only few of them had some form of protection. Inthe months that followed real armoured cars appeared as wel as r= ‘moured weapon caries. Inthe meantime, testing en the tacked vehi- cles had begun, lead by Colonel Jean-Baptiste Eugene Estienne Yate p= pointed chet ofthe Fench armoured branch and nicknamed the “Pere es chars", father of the tanks) Aterthe frst deployment of British tanks, the French Army decided to launch a program to acquire a large amount of armoured tacked ve- icles. n September of 1916 the Arlene Speciale Specal Aten), was created asa branch ofthe atllery arm. The studies and testing had been taking place since 1915, with three main diferent lines of development. The frst two lead to the heawy and sow Schneider CA (later CA1) anc Sant Chamond tanks, af which 400 units of each had been manufac- {wed and up-dated several times (for exami, passing from Schneider MI 10 M2 type) in an efor to improve ther performances and rely After the intial lashes with the Germans, the need fr addtional spaced ‘armour plates was recognized and implemented These two types of tanks were distributed at battery and group levels whichis typieal for the artilery, but not company and battalion level was common for the infantry. Then appeared the Renault FT (only in the postwar period armed FT17) ight tank, inexpensive, fst, and easly ‘maintained, these qualities outclassed all other models in use by ary na- tion. Possibly the most significant feature was ts armament ~one ram Hotchkiss Model 1914 machine gun or one 37mm Puteaux SAI short ABE rota necs ‘gun — located in a revling turret with a cupola placed on top of the hull forthe 360° of obsewation as well as ventilation fo the crew. Some ‘examples dd have a tal to asst in traversing ditches and trenches ‘The Fs were asigned at company and battalion level, but the personnel ‘maintained the organization and uniforms of the aril. The Ts were produced nat only forthe French Army, more than 3,600 (with about 3,200 completed before the armistice, but were ako intended for use by allied senices. The total producto order had been for 7.800 units, but the production was arested after the armistice, Renaut wasnt ble ‘to build all the commissioned tanks and other firms were invoNed in the productive proces (Belt, Schnedery Delauny-Selevile) The French introduce armour The Schneider from April 16th, 1917 — and Saint Charnond —from May 5th tanks were used in some attacks against the German lines, but the results were very poor, The vehicles had to advance in small groups on 2 ground ful of cates, without preiminary reconnaissance, far from ‘the supporting infantry with limited vision for the crews, and under the relentless bombardment of enemy aril. n the engagements that fl- lowed, some crews didnot want to serve an the Saint Chamonds, dueto the heavy loses caused by becoming stranded in mud, leaving an easy target forthe enemy ‘As was the case with the British, the French created large depots and ‘workshops just afew kilometres behind the front and made use of the rat transport to limit the cross country travel by the tanks. In addition, ‘the practice of reconnaissance of the train before an operation was be considered fundamental before launching an attack, ‘The Schineider tanks were modified and produced as an improved ver- sion, with changes such as improved internal ventilation, the relocation ‘of external fuel tanks, upgraded armour plates, an automatic starter, Improved engine cooing sjstem, anid a new gas exhaust. Aso the Saint ‘Chamond was to be modified during the production or directly on the bale field, honeve it remand a very difficult vehicle to use and was far less popular with the crews. ‘The concept of the set;ropelled pillbox instead ofan agile all-terrain vehicle was partially overcome only after the faled Apri 1917 French Some hope nkotb onal Wersheno te an Cop oe 1818‘offensive of general Niele. inthe following cashes the tanks were femployed with better tactics, but the most important change was the Introduction of the F. Fst employed on May 31st, 1918 near Soissons during the second Battle of the Marne, the FT quickly conquered the battlefields. n the final phases ofthe confit, the French employed hun- dreds of armoured vehicies- divided among 17 aroups of Schneiders, 12 of Saint Chamonds, 3 regiments of FIs (which became 9 regiments, ‘with 27 battalons atthe end of war) -, which contributed tothe defeat ‘of the Germans Inspite ofthese successes, the high command continued to consider the tanks simply as 2 support mechanism forthe infanty, which remained the real “King of Bate", and not asa breaithrough weapon, The same Flawed concept remained in place at the outbreak ofthe Second Word War, contbuting to Frances quick defeat by the more motile German unis, The German armour 4s strange 2s it seems, the Germans, who after the Fist World War Ibecame one ofthe most important innovators ofthe armoured vehicle ‘2nd its tcc, adopted the use of tanks nly in 1918 and in very li Hted quantity. At the beginning ofthat year 100 examples of the A7V (bbrevaton of Algemenes Kregsdepartement, 7. Abteiung, Verkehr- ‘Swesen, that was General Wor Department, 7th ranch, Transportation) tank were commissioned to be manufactured, however any 20 were Completed before the end of wax. The running gear was copied from the Holt tractor used in the alied Austian-Hungaran Army. The armament {omprised one S7mm Masim-Nordentelt gun and six 782mm MGO8 ‘machine guns, The crew was composed of 18 men, the amount neces- Sat to steer the machine and to Use the many weapons aboard “The ATVs were fist used in combat on March 21st, 1918, when fe tanks were deployed north ofthe Saint Quentin Canal_A few days ater, {onthe 2ath of Apr, the fst tank-versus-tank clash in history took place ‘when three Bish Mark Ws (ovo Females and one Male) and three Ger- ‘man ATVs ret at Vilrs-Bretonneux. The German tanks participated in Ciy a few bates: in May near Soisons during the Third Battle of the ‘Aisne, on July 15th at Rhoms during the Second Battle ofthe Marne, and {on October 11th near hvuy. Not once did the Imperial armour achieve ‘any significant measure of succes ‘Apart from afew prototypes, the A7V was the only tank produced by Germany during the war, together with 2 few armoured cars. Some 30 British Marks were captured by Germany and reused in battle, together ‘with afew other Alied tanks. The Matk Ns and Vs were judged by Ger ‘many to be the best armoured vehicles in use and there wee plans to build a modified model in Germany, tobe produced ina series ‘The total amount ofthe armour employed by the Germans during the ‘war was very low, nothing compared to the over 2,500 tanks produced by the Brtish and 4,000 by the French, The folowing years were to Produce adraste change in the miltary way of thinking forthe German strategists. (Gor bucand aed oy ea cota The US tanks ‘The United States of America offcaly entered the war in April 1917, but dd not begin to ight in Europe for many months. The US Army had to recrut and Wain hundreds of thousands of soldiers and it lacked an armoured component. The King armoured car had been tested by the Us Marines Corps in 1915 and later assigned to the 1st Armored Car Sgusdton, which consisted of eight cas, but twas never sent in Europe The miitary authorities chose the Fenich Renault FT light tank to quickly equip the troops and Major George S. Patton was appointed command eof the fist armoured unit employed in France, the Tank Corps In Septernber 1918, during the Saint Mie! offensive, the American Bx- Peditionary Force (AEF) employed wo tank battaions, with some 150 Fis directly supplied by the French command. in October, inthe Saint ‘Quentin sector the US troops aso fought using some Briish Mark Vs “The armour supported the American infantry, achieving some successes against the German postions. The FT was in production inthe USA un- ‘er French icense, named M1917 tank, although no example of the “American version arwed in Europe in time to take part to the wat Inthe USA, at Camp Cott near Gettysburg, the Tank Service was created, Beginning asa small unt under the leed of Major Dwight D. Eisenhower, the motto ofthe US tankers vas “Teaterm Rough” and is stil used to this day Ifthe war had continued into 1819, the US Army could have deployed ‘mare than 1,000 FT and M1917 tanks and the new Mark Vil (or Liberty) heavy tank, 2 Oton vehicle derived from the British MatkV. rane? >»Italy and Russia Italy was one of the very fist nations to develop armoured vehicies,us- ing some armed cars in tybia in 1911, inthe war against the Ottoman Empire. During the Great War, taly abo employed some models of a ‘moured cas, the most numerous was the Ansaldo Lancia 1ZM type With regard to tracked vehicles, after unsatisfying tests conducted with ‘an imported Schneider tank, the FT was selected for mass production in ital Four samples arved from France for training, but not one of th sries nor the Rallan improved mode, the Fiat 3000 tank, managed to Participate tothe war Simiar in some aspect to the German A7V but equipped with arevolu- ing turet armed with a 6Smm gun, in addition to seven 6 Smm Fat 1914 machine guns in the casemate, only two examples of the Fat 2000 heavy tank were bul, and were used for training and propaganda purposes, In Russia, the so called “Tzar Tank” was developed. Based on a ticyce design the vehice featured two huge front wheels ~ each one propelled bya 250 hp engine —and a smaller rear whe, The hull was ata height (of 8 metres from the ground and housed three main guns and a few ‘machine guns. The project proved to be useless and the only prototype ball was scrapped in short order. After the failute of other prototypes ‘2nd concept, the Russian government adopted foreign models Aco of ties hs ben tetera sa aang onan eh a Technical features ‘The fist tanks to zopear an the bate fede were very different fram one ‘example tothe nest. The British Marks had the look ofa large damond ‘shaped box crewed by & men, without cupolas or tures the racks run ring parallel tothe hl The speed ofthese inal designs was very low, {and the tering capability poor This aspect was improved inthe last ver ‘ions produced witha true braking system used to restrict the movement ‘ofthe right o the let track causing the vehi to turnin that direction ‘The climbing capability ofthis design was adequate and it was possible for the vehicles to overtake large trenches The Whippet was much lighter, significant faster, hada crew of only ‘wo tankers, But sil lacked a revolving ture, ‘Te French Schneider was an angled box wit alow and narrow tracked running gear located on the lower part ofthe hull the armament con- ABE ronan sisted in one 75mm howitzer and two &mm Hotchkiss Model 1914 ma- chine guns. By comparizon the Saint Chamond was areal monster, ait was very long, heavy, and difcut to operate it was armed with along barrelled 75mm gun ithe most powerful weapon of all the tanks ofthe Great War) and four Hotchkiss Medel 1914 machine guns. Both ofthese French tanks were slow, prone to machanicl beakdowins and were of ten rendered immobile by the muddy battlefield. These tanks also suf- fered from the lack ofa revolving turret, which appeared latter an the FT Ught fas, a crew of two, and ith good performance characteristics fn afferent types of teran, the FT was the fst "modem" design ofthe inital tanks is main features nuded a drivers post inthe front ofthe hl, turret iocated mid hul, and engine bonnet and access inthe rear of the vehi. These defining charactestis are features stil found on rmadern tanks. The turet was produced in two different versons, one rounded and one multifaceted; both featured an upper cupola (not for the access) and a rear double hatch. The frontline units recorded many ‘defects, particulary wth the 37mm gun, the fuel ites, the cooling 95- tem, and other critical mechanical components These problems and the lack of spare pats compelled the French Army to ship several ans back to the factory for corrections. “The German A7V tank design occupied the midcle ground between the [Marks and the Schneder with large angle hull ad narrow and short tacks, the armament was dstrouted on the front, the sides and the rear. The German supreme command did not have confidence in the 'se of tanks, bu feared those employed by the enemy and ordered the evelopment of anttank weapons and traps. The German defensive tactics were abl to damage or destroy most of the atmoured vehicles employed by ther enemies in the final battles of Wt After the end of the Fst Werld Way, few tanks and their derivatives re- rained in the arsenals of the victorious nations, many were transferred to other nations to reinforce thet forces and were used again in subse- ‘quent battles. Some examples have survived and are now preserved in ‘museums and collections throughout the world Aestono swims es= The crews Operating a tank was dangerous and exhausting: the interior tempera ture could exceed 50° C, the ar was full of posonous gases, the venta tion insufficient, the nose was very high and ited crew communica tion to hand signal, the exernal visibly was insufficient, and internal ‘metal fragments could kl oc injure the men after a projectile had hit the fexternal armour. The tankers learned to wear metal helmets, chainmail ‘ras, heavy leather clothes, and gas masks. Often a member of acrew Tost consciousness inside the tank due to exposure to ths hostile envi Fonment and had to be replaced. (Generally the tankers would wear the common uniforms ofthe orignal (Comps or arms — suchas arilery infantry, cavalry, covered or replaced by overalls. Special badges were adopted and used on the crew uni forms, sometimes unofficaly (ne ofthe most cfficultconcepts to perfect and orchestrate was the co- ‘Operation between the tanks and the ather branches of the armies. This Ispartculaly tue of the infant, which often fall behind due to enemy airy and machine gun fie and was notable to support the armoured Vehicles or acupy the ground they had conquered Asset Osmond hex probe, top te ait oe co made rer pot sn eo sng te retarecaratne anes passed Prototypes and derivatives {As soon as production ofthe frst tanks had begun, engineers put forth proposals or new versions and mode's. Many innovative conceats were esigned including amphibious versons, searchlight vehices, flame: ‘ower, balloon tractors, mine clearance vehicles, and extremely large tanks. Some of the most useful desgns included the eldest Mark tanks being motifed for roles a personnel or supply carriers, fascines carries, ‘command posts, recavery vehicles, bridge ayes, and radio vans. A more direct combat modification was achieved by converting a number of FIs Into sel-propeled guns (S°Gs) ‘Some ofthe more innovative prototypes were completed after the end (of the war and gave life to complete families of armoured fighting ver Files (AVS), employed by several counties ong ater WWi had ended, Disguise and camouflage ‘The First World War marked the intaduction of another new sience to warfare. After some extensive study and experimentation completed by some countries atthe end of XIX Century the basic concepts of disguise and camoutlage were established and proved their significance on the battlefields. The soldiers and their equipment and weapons had to be concealed from the enemy, their dscover had to be delayed as long 23: posible. Several concepts were borrawed from the animal kingdom, hich offered mary examples of how to conceal oneself ina vanety of There are very different methods used between a dsquised vehicle and camouflaged one. The first term specifies the ability to appear to be another object, for example 2 dangerous tank viualytansformed into fan innocuous baen, The second term refers to an object merging with the surrounding natural environment, such as an armoured car painted a matt sand yellow colour while operating in desert terrain ‘Among the armies involved in the Great War, atthe beginning France Sent its solders into combat not ony using old and obsolete tactics, but ‘50 dressed with uniforms well visble from a distance due tothe vive red and blue colours used and the shiny helms and cuirasses wern by some unis. The lases among the miltary personnel were very high ang the French Supreme Command tied to implement some drastic changes tothe appearance of ther racos and equipment. The German and t= ish armed forces were the examples to be folowed: artsts were em- ployed to improve both the disguise and the camouflage and, apart for Some naive exaggerations, the resus were very good. ‘The identification of the crret tone ofa colour is very aificult when studying the Fist World War. The Fistoncal photos are ony in black {white and often of low quality, the offical orders and reports seem contracictoy, the veteran’ testimonies appear not always rlabe, ang there are no suring samples ofthe orginal paints. Unfortunately, the ‘museums have been competed to repaint the presened examples of \W vehicles. One ofthe most useful resources have been the coloured paintings created by some contemporary ats ror varThe colours for the British tanks ‘The frst tanks used in action were British and so thet pint schemes were the fist in batle. The base colour was a ight grey which org ‘ated with the Royal Navy, but the High Command wished to use @ tue camouflage and designated Lieutenant Colonel Solomon J. Solomon to study the subject and to conduct some tests. This officer had extensive experience wth the colours of th British and French uniforms and mi- tary materials, so he rapidly proposed some solutions to overcome afew primary obstacles. Some fundamental principles were established which Included breaking up the lage sihouette of 3 dark vehide which was visible at long distance. Of equal importance was the use of three or rote tones in order to camouflage objects in a varity of terrain such 25 muddy plains, woods, vllages, and both law and high grasses. The fpemary objective was to break the sihouette ofthe vehicle, so to hie it '35500n as possible and fo dsguise it within its surroundings. LUeutenant Colonel Solomon used both scale models and real tanks to test diferent schemes, personaly painting and designing a variety pat- tems. When he believed to have found the bes frm and combination Of the colous, the ideas were shared with both offices and tankers, lho seem to have been reluctant to implement his findings. In fact, the correct paints were not always avaiable near the frontline and very Hitt tie waa afforded to camouflage all of the tanks which artved in France fom England. Often the personnel used their magination and teperience to complete the scheme. Usualy, the patches were in 60 colours chosen from green, brown, and ochre on the grey base, out- ‘no ith thn Basie. On some eas ete sprsons were camouflage ‘A pnd amoutags fase amare uk a Sl te othe Ars ya ‘ane From the beginning of 1917 the quantiy of tanks produced and shipped {0 France was considerably increased and the more common colour was a monochrome medium brown, ikely the same ight aki brown usec inthe same peried by the British arly. However, some comparies and "ingle tanks continued to use the "Solarnen camouflage”, particularly the personnel had the time to receive and use new paints. Other tanks Seem to have been repainted ina lighter shade which appears to be grey in some cases and green in others, Altera few days or weeks on the battle field, mud, dust, and dt cove tered the tanks, particulary the lower areas. Tis created a natural cam- ‘uflage or atleast helped to confuse the vehicles with the terran on ATE votes which they had to operate. Some crews employed camouflage nets and leafy branches to partally or completely cover ther tanks, especialy while awaiting to move aut and advance through the enemy lines Most of Whippets were painted in medium brow, ight oreen, or dark ‘teen; some appear to have been repainted in camouflage patterns “The interiors ofthe rts tanks were gloss white, with the parts accu pied by the engine and other mechanical devices panted in aluminium (or rustproof colours British markings Every British tank had a serial number, based on 3 or 4 digs forthe [Marks and the letter A plus 3 digits on the Whippet, which appeared in the original colour from the factory. Names and numbers could refer to the battalion or the position ofthe tank inside the unit; for example, 10". Usual the numbers, the names, and other markings were white corred, When a tank was repainted, generally the markings were left on the ‘orginal background, however in some cases they were covered over ang sappeated under the camoutage Rea & white stripes were painted on the font side ofthe hull and often 0 oni top as an identfication sgn from spring 1918 forward. This ‘was prompted by the Germans use of captured tanks and the need to ‘uickly discern frien from foe during the chaos of battle Some crews painted personal markings; for example, the C Company Of the Sth Tank Company displayed the “ace of spade” of the 12th British Infanty Divsion onthe sides of the hull. The F Company ofthe 16th Tank Battalion painted playing card to diferentiate the platoons. ‘At the end of war the 6th Tank Batialon of Whippets applied large red IX and four small cices in a rhombus, refering tothe 32n Britsh Infantry Division, Rison Mob east aed car beng sand by Garman oes 1938French colours Alter the frst few months of combat, the French Army had begun ex erimenting with different camouflage for ships, acraft, arly, and the static postions So, it was easy to extend these practices to armour. The first tests saw elaborate patterns which included anywhere from two to six cfferent colours often separated by black sips. The main Intent was to change the shape of the vehicle in order to confuse the lenemy. Several artists were employed to design diferent patterns, some lf which were chosen and later simplified to be put into practice at the factories or direct at the bate elds. The fist tanks were completed with a monochrome paint in gis at Fete (artilery ory), that was a ight grey-blue tone used for ordnance, Fhelmets, enera military equipment, and the cl railway. The camo colouts used in the factories were: arly grey, ove green, ‘medium or reddish brow, Sienna, and pale ochre, Occasionally the df ferent colour patches were divided by outlines ofa dark colour, ypicaly black. The personnel at both the depots and the font used the same tones as wel as others acquted onsite. {An interesting deal regards the fake observation and fre embrasures painted on the hull sides of the Schneider tanks, which were success fun attracting enemy fre PAINTING THE INTERIORoa Before being able to work onto the exterior, the interior will need to be completely painted and weathered. The fist step was to prepare al the pars wath the grey primer fom ANIMO of Mig enez along wath the appropriate thinner fro a smooth surface. ‘A rusteed color base color is mixed with Tamiya acrylic paints and then sprayed overal, Ths color wil come the underlying bass for the chips and scr | planned to create worn and distessed interior surfaces using the hairspray” technique, whereby underlying layers of color are re vealed by scubbing off a water soluable barier layer To do this | Sprayed the barrier using Several layers of AMMO Chipping Fluid over the red-ust colon The actual color of the interior, an Wory white col, is sprayed onto the surfaces. Again | mised ths color with Tamiya acre paints and thinned with Me Hobby thinner ‘And now forthe fun part! With some tap water and and a sf rush | scrub over the ivory surfaces which activates the Chipping Fue and reveals some of the redrust color below. Using diferent kinds of brushes and scrubbing motions one can create @ number of varied types of wear and tea. But please be gentle here and ty to not exag- erate those effects, \When Iwas satisied with the result ofthe chipping, treated all of the surfaces wth a thin post shading aye. The post-shade helps to create the appearance of volume by reinforce the shadow zones, This ao 2 frst sep into the weathering process. World Wer 1 y»HERD nthe ass of hash wea party onthe oor tees ofthe a a chipping fluid are enhanced by adding diluted acrylic colors to some sfite Oped oes EI Acctional fine chips and scratches are applied tothe surfaces using 8 fine brush. Deeper damage is portrayed using the darker rust coF 6, while surface blemishs are created using lighter coors, Since al cratches are not created equal in the ral worl, i important that we also ceate variety in our effects, IE Tre classic Pn-wash is stil one of the more effective methods for shading and creating depth around surface features, All detais such asjoins, res, ete, are treated using dark colored enamel pant. For this | sed the perfectly presmixed enamel washes from AMMO of Mig IZ] Tre lst step forme on the interior isthe application of some pigment colors Tis step should be done aso with great care so as to exagget- ate this effect and completely cover all af my previous work. COnce | had the pigment applied in a way that looked good to me, I then added a light wash of Pigment Fer to permanently adhere them in place. The amos finished interior parts. ts always a good idea to test fit the parts from time to time.Don't to forget to add some “special effects ke grease and ol stains. A ite drop here and there is all that is needed to convey the sty. ‘And now with the interior completely painted |am ready to move onto the remainder ofthe build | wanted to make those big ste! plates from which this tank was bolted Using the miling tol | carefully treated all the large see lates. You have together, lack moe ike the ral ones. To do this, | reworked them usinga _to_be especially carefly here so as nat damage al of those delicate rivets ‘ling tol and some Tamiya putty simulating a rough steel surface. Here isa layout of my too | used to create texturing on the surfaces von mar Ie‘The final step was to blend the effects by carefully sanding the surfaces us- ing some fine sandpaper To reach all areas and t facitae this jab | used @ sculpting tool anto which I glued apiece of sandpaper. Now some Tamiya putty, cluted with plastic lue, was spread over the sur face to sacthen some effects and ta create even more texturing, ‘view of th let side cesly shows the reworked and replace Kit parts ~_Thetool box is a homemade part cast in resin, the tool racks and seme rinor fitings vere replaced bythe FE part fom the Aber set. The towing (able comes from Karaya, Looking at my references and photos it is noticeable thatthe springs sup- plied in the kt appear fr too thin. Nev, lager sorings were created from “wrapping 0.5mm copper wire an appropriate sized od. (EE) Ofte right sce, the tools were improved and some minor reworking fon the exhaust. Aso nicely visible here isthe replaced spring on the = - unning gear made from copper wire26) {All he insde-sufaces ofthe running gear were painted black so as to pre- The big spade-tketallin the kits booklet called "unltching tal") was com- ‘vent any bare plastic being visible onthe finshed model pletely repaced by photo etched parts. The rivets added withthe help of 2 punch & ie set ‘The ready and assembled running ger just waiting fr ther tracks. At ths stage that cogjtated However, since my plan was to show a damaged track Fong and hard about using the quitenice and perfectly acceptable kit tracks. Afterall that would My litle scene I decided upon using the PE tracks be the obvious and easy solution, from Aber | realy recommend these tracks if someone wants to create some super realistic F-T7 tracks, but please be sure to understand that this willimove acon- Siderable amount of additional work since every track link consists of PE pats. Not for the beginner! Finally, when the tracks ae fn ished they look great and am very pleased with the resis BE] Test thee tps ofthe constuction bool el wh the asm of he ty te. hema boron comodo ge mle pr wih et safer ad even muir ‘eon charge nas replace gun wth hee trom Orgs Hay or arPAINTING AND WEATHERING 132] In doing my research for this moe, came across afew very nice drawings showing a French FF-17 tank in 1918 from an unknown unit This tank had a "tiger stripe” camouflage which immediately ‘aught my attention. However, creating such a came can be very challenging, but at the end ofthe day idecde to ie ita go. To Uke to make a sketch especialy when itis an involved bea _ ‘camouflage like on this one. Fast sh i sings to gre he ete ela in crwth a Ammo of Mig surface primer, Now ep pat he base cl deed to sta wth te brown a parts of the camo pattern and mixed myself an appropriate tone with Siieert mre tc pans, When fang metab to flow te pine of Hand shadow, wt te righ ones toners he upper suacs and vce vera Gre anc hs Ke ot panting “Cobras oy “eal ght, bu he pnp haste sree ih als fm one pt ote cl omy aie dey tom above Necstn sp creo ors tat wt rin dhe roo a ‘color on the finished camo pattern. For this job | used the excellent! rode fom uresion called Poncepury hs an ey sag fr Mare ag even conpeccomodtag aes on bees ead ven he materEJ Time to paint the secand color. With the brown stripes protected by the MxPutty sprayed a green color overall. Again, the color is mixed from Tamiya acres Eid Lets repeat the fun jb with the Panzerputty, now covering the green Now for the third cole, alight creamy yellow, s applied inthe same matter as before, What a mess! ‘And naw for the moment of truth ~ did it work? The Panzerputty is removed to reveal the coors under the layers of masking ape he ral och ofthe caro patente back duping ‘stripes, using a fine-tipped brush, ‘The vehicle numbers were also applied free hand with a paintbrush. Not too dificult, it just takes a steady hand, [EE] Other vehicle markings are decals found with the kit abd were applied vith the help of some setting soutions.Maa Thegin the weathering process by spraying on a light post shading and Dark colored enamel washes from the AMMO range were applied around same pre-dusting on the lower areas ‘the surface detals and along pane! ins. These localized washes are impor tant for creating shadows ane depth tothe surface details pr agtd Coe ‘Another lve! of paint chins and highlights are applied in several st (ofcourse theres the influence af al drt and dust, depending upon where ch color ofcamoutiage | might use diferent colors to show varying ages and when the vehile has been inaction. Fr this it tank | mixed two df= ind types of scratches. Ako some details like the rivets were highlighted ferent Pigment colors together with some Mat Gel Base from Valo. Ths ‘mixture was carefully applied to appropriate areas with an old paintorush ote | used some nicely premixed Natur Eecs from AMMO mixed vith a sit of plaster and then applied using the speckling technique. For thisog ‘Avery nice detail i the spade on the tall ofthis vehicle. Special attention is ‘therefore given to this deta Al the scratches onthe surface were achieved wth acrylic pants and a fine paintcush Of course the tracks got the same treatment with drt and mus ike the res ofthe vehide. Here are the finshed left and «ght running gears, ready tobe placed onto the fnished model hs hace dl a Even standing alone the 1-17 already aarereoeeae re EE VIGNETTE (Tr: amBefore | had even started the construction of the vehicle, Ihad spent a lot Elements like the broken tree and the sandbags are sculpted with Apoxie (of time by thinking about how I would ceate the appropriate stene. The Sculpt 2 part putty basic layout was created mainly from Styrofoam. The processing of ths ‘materia is very easy and not to mention ofthe light weight of the fished erieh ase Gale } Tee YX ‘A quick look atthe base prior to paint \e ing, Surface testes on the (round > Nak Wee csmltigta rests ’ ae Detals ike the barbed wire was Scratch bud withthe help of appropriate pieces of thin copper wie. It a tedious job, but the result is worth the efor The groundwork s painted using various earth fones vied from acryc paints. talso pay attenti to the ledges ofthe syrofoam by adding a nice wooden lami- nate which then st atop a noble, black frame.“This igure requis All the figures are paiFrench Tank St. Chamond It was during World War One that the first tanks were built and saw action, and one of them was the St Cham- ‘ond. Its design was flawed: for example the caterpillar tracks were too short compared to the length of the tank, leaving a large overhang at the front. The nose could easily dig into the ground on uneven terrain, amajor problem when trying to cross trenches. Even so, 400 were produced during the war. | find its ungainly stance and riveted construction very appealing, and a great subject for a model. And its use in a heavily bombarded battlefield meant they could get dirty, another reason | wanted to build and paint this new kit from Takom.‘he moveable tacks are very good, with 3 parts per link. But ft takes time to clean up the parts off the Sprues. Assembly is relatively easy if you fllow the The St Charond had a complex suspension system. It is well detailed in the Takom kit ight sequence: glue 83 tothe track pate B1 fist, then ‘though the assembly canbe challenging at imes, sore patience and perseveance may Jain some ofthe tracks together inserting each pin into be required ts very rice to have this level of detai inthe kit, even though much is only the hole of the next ink visible from underneath Next add part 82 over the end ofthe track pin, and press 82 down unt it clicks into place. Add 2 itle gle to jon 82 tothe track plate and i's done. tsa ce kit with litle entra detail requite. Aso, | replaced an air vent cover on the roa with @ new ane made from id, 30 I replaced some of them: New rivets were carefully cut off an old aluminium sheet. The kt cover Was abit thick, although th is aot a me- th.a new sharp blade. They can be picked up with tool such a @_jor flaw in my opinion. The aluminium sheet came from a soficrink can, ahily moistened, and placed into postion after some liqud cement sanded and cut with a sharp habby ke, then joined with Cyanoacryiate ‘added t the new location. (le. The exaust pipe was riled out as wel.coro ‘inate in i tod ly yen iy Oa a and warm water. Next it was airbrushed with AMMO black primer, thm wih ite AMO Ace me Ike oes a ‘el pat gts ny rok and ay ese es al jonah ck cy Fis ren age Une pa Next came a light coat of AMMO Dark Rust, mixed i with alte thinner, although the paint alone is probably thn enough for atbrush- ing. This was alowed to cue fora few haus, and folawed by a coat ‘of ANNO Matt Vanish, Before | took the next step | tried out the new products and tech- niques on some pieces of styrene. In particular | wanted to ascertain, the optimum number of Chipping Fluid coats to get the best results {or double ayers of chipped paint ‘So now AMMO Chipping Fluid was aired onto the mode! itself Ic can be sprayed straght on, but Ike to thn it with soapy water to break the surface tension and get the smoothest coat. few squits (of dh Soap are added to a small amount of water, no mare than 50 ml would guess. This was mixed in equal proportions with the Chip ping Fiuid, which ws airbrushed on in 4 very light equal coats. f you have a light source behind you during arousing, the shine of the et liqud wil help you judge the amount of fluid going on, a sooth even coat i best. {have read that these tanks were painted Avtlery Grey fist, folowed by the camaufage colors. rue it gave me the opportunity to do & double layer of chipped paint, which | find an interesting effect. So next Tamiya XF-20 wes sprayed on, thinned with about 30% Tamiya Lacquer Thinner The outline ofthe camouflage was then drawn on in pend “ie for more Chipping Fa thinned with soapy water before “he ine | appied ony 3 igh oats a he tp ne of pan wl be ‘easier to chip than the lower one, oe 2 2ach aea of camouflage color was masked with lu Tack fst. The side ofthe Bh Tack facing the paint was pressed down to the surface to make 3 fay sharp edge, then | ‘masked in behind the Blu Tack with mask ing tape. The colors were airbrushed on without overlapping, because overlapped paint would be too thick to chip. As there were four different colours masking took gq One source of reference | usd for the cam couflage nas the book "Schneider CA, St. CChamond” by Witold Lavaynawicz Also, the colors called out in the Tako insteuc tions are Tamiya paints, which seemed dose enough to those in Lawrynowic’s book. $0! basicaly used the Tamiya colors, ‘modified atte to reduce the contvastbe- ‘ween the green, grey and brown. AMMO ow make a pant set for WW French Tanks which was not avaiable at the time. Now the chipping process began. Smal areas were dane at atime, oistening the paint ist with plain water to actvate the Chipping Fd Underneath. A toothpick was used to make scratches and a small tiff hogs hai paintbrush was used to make random chips. ‘Te camouflage colors were outined with AMMO Rubber ‘and Ties ore, painted by hand. By Exposed exis of the tank get the most ‘wear, as do zones suscepuible to boots ‘ed crow acti.| planned to use a new technique on this madel, which involied spray ing windex on the paint work. Ths can dssohve previous layers of pant unless they ae protected with Testors Spray Lacquer, also known 35 Dulleote, Two or tree coats are suficient, make sure that all areas ‘are covered and allow each coat to dy bere the next [At this point | decided to add the Fst washes, inthis case a pin wash Using ANAMO Streaking Rust Effects paint. A litte Enarnl Thinner was raced withthe paint on a pallet, which was then added to grooves ‘and around rivets witha fine brush Excess pain was removed with a soft brush, damp with some Enamel ‘Thinner, Clean the brush regulty, to leave a neat fish Next | made some steaks with the Streaking Rust Effects, by fist painting vertical ines, ‘The streaks were faded and feathered out using a soft bush damp) with Enamel Thinner again, brushing up and down the streaks a A sttong camouflage tke this can overpower the appearance ‘of & model, thats one of the ree sons wy | ightened the green and brown a litle and reéuced the contvast between the colo. And the weathering wil not only show effects from the environ ‘ment, but wil also serve to reduce the strength Cf the disruptive camouflage and enhance the features ofthe tank structure sof This is begin- ning o happen already.inthis step | began the new technique |mertioned befor, which should add an effect ke dried dit on the tank, | cid each sie ata Ume so the other sides were roughly masked off, Then a thin even coat of hairspray was msted over the surface. Nothing new 3 fx wa Here! have added 1 part Windex to 9 pats water ina pump action spray bottle. (Winders an ammonia based Next Tamiya XF-20 and XF-59 were mixed in equa household cleaner) Nearby | have some parts and lightly sprayed over the Dry hairspray. This running water such 35 2 running tap, now ight brow color looks lice dried cit to my eye, but an even mist ofthe windexdwate soliton OU can use whatever color suits yu. was alowed 's sprayed ove the light brown paint 4o dy fra few minutes. have Only ed this ec Almost immediately the solution wl dix nique wath Tamiya pants) solve the hasprayaint so alter 2or3 ‘seconds the model is doused under ‘the running wate to stop ther ‘ction and remave some of the hairspreypaint. ai | applied the technique several times to build up fenough paint. The result should leave a motte ef fect ike dust or dred dit.128} The sength of the camoufage has. been reduced sufficiently by the died dit effect. Pas you can see that | added more of the ef- fect tonards the centre ofthe panels This is quite subti, but! believe it makes the B ‘and sides of the model appear more sold Reference photos show that these tanks sometimes cari stowage, usualy loose and not tied down according to the images | have. 50 |rmade tarpaulins and bedols from teabog papet, cut to shape and painted by hand with a heavy coat of acc paint. When the paint was Just touch dry but not full cured, the sheets were flexible and rubbery. [At this point | folded and crumpled them to shape; ina few hours the paint wl cure and stiffen somewhat EI An unditehing beam and storage box were made from styrene with 2 Title aluminium sheet forthe hinges, and a bucket ia scratched from some more aluminium sheet and copper wie. The timber box and beam were painted wood colors from the AMMO Teo Colors set; hinges were painted Shadow ust, ako inthe set. reward they were given washes of AMIMO Streaking Rust EHects, and then AMMO Dark Brown Wash For Green Vehicles. EB] Before adding them to the mode, the tarpauins and bed rals were painted various shades of grey and green, Dark shades ofthe colors were arorshed on fist, making sure to penetrate all ceases. Then lighter Shades of paint were aibrushed on. This time the pain om the ateush was ighty msted aver the tems, so thatthe paint mist ust skimmed 055 the upper areas and crease ridges. Like drybrushing withthe ai- brush. Finally, they were glued anto the tank, and thin enamel washes Were used to furter accentuate highlights and shadows,EE] “rother pin wash, this time using AMMO Dark Brown Wash For Green Vehicles, Steaks were added with this wash as wel, sing the seme techniques described ea {At this point felt that some areas needed subtle blending and high lighting. The top central area shown here, for example. So inthis focation | apalied avery ight mis of Tamiya Buff haul thinned down wth Tamiya Lacquer Thinner. EE] Now AMMO Light Rust Wash was brushed on and around paint chips, with edges feathered away using another pant brush damp with ANIMO Enamel Thinner. After a ay orto itis dry enough to be worked over. Then a tle AMIMO Streaking Rust Efects was added to ‘the chips inside the lighter rust col. Rust washes were ao added 10 the exhaust and various steel tems, You can see how the weathering effects have helped de | fine the shape of the tank. Rusty chips show up many af the edges; dark washes enhance rivets and plates, and"Now| added some subtle spattering of died mud. Some AMMO Rainmarks Time Gitferent ANIMO pigments were mixed to Effects was rk Brown Wash on ‘obtain the color that | felt suited the other weathering |had done already tanks cous gate ot of min hei The rae i as aed placesin te sspeson that woul ol aot pile up in heavy depos ‘of mud, and alowed to dry for an hour or two, a "Next! prepared some of the pigments alone. A few drops of Enamel Thin- The paste was brushed on as shown, over the grate! and ner were mixed t0 the pigments, to make a paste lower areas of the tank. World War 1enamel thinner had evaporated tank on is side and began with @ paint brush, tered random deposits around ere, Be careful not to drep the Before any of the pigments can be di ere hes vith AMM Pigment f+ tur the pigments, just ong an edge and let the fluid sprea by ite, While the Fier was 20 used ANIM fects Fld datker and more damp.‘The tracks were primed and painted Shadow Rust. Washes of Streaking Rust and Light Rust Wash followed, then exoosed edges were dy rushed wath i, Color Siver, The tacks were then covered with pigments using the same method as described above This dry water canbe applied with a fine bush, making puddles and spots fn the horizontal surface, pls fine runs dawn the sides The Tus faith ‘ark and looks best in shadowed ares, in a similar way to washes and post shading, So i was pated along pane! edges, in groves and i paces bly to-be darker, Not to0 much; emember to keep things a itl random and ot too arc | docded to add Wet Effects to the upper areas of the tank als. Some of ‘the pigments as used before were mixed withthe Wet Effects Fuld Lastly the machine guns were painted matt black. When dry, AMMO Gun Metal pigments were ruded over them using my ng.By December 1918 the war atmo- sphere was waning quickly, and a multitude of soldiers returned to their homes or to the barracks, thankful to have survived. Many were also angered by the conditions they had to en- dure: with meager rations and little pay, the malcontent and lack ‘of morale rendered those troops quite ineffective at putting down the revolts and riots that were spreading through the new Germany like a wild: fire. Particularly on the bordering areas in the east, where the changing frontiers were causing lots of problems and confrontation. Under these dire circumstances, and while the last details of the Versailles treaty were being firmed up, nationalist and anti-communist paramilitary volunteer groups known as FREIKORPS were created. At first they focused on maintaining order and containment of rev- olutionary sprouts on the frontier zone and nearby areas. The Freikorps primarily used light wheeled AFVs, as they were relatively easy to maintain and operate. These AFV's were bolstered by a lim- ited number of tanks that had survived the wai These vehicles were only used by the Kommandeur der Kampfwagen or “KOKAMPF”. ‘One of these survivors was this Mark IV named “MARIECHEN’, probably repainted in this original cam- ‘ouflage scheme by the KOKAMPF. Although some of these vehicles retained the wartime camouflage, crosses and mark- ings, some others received new paint schemes and markings and the Balkan Crosses were always removed. ¥ Model: TAKOM 1/35th scale World War bPAINTING ‘The camouflages and paints employed during the Great job first drew thick black lines to break the shape of the War weren't particularly sophisticated like those in use vehicle, and then proceeded to fill up each resulting today, In most cases the paints had a civilian origin-e.g. _area with different colors to create even more contrast from the railroad-. They were almost always hand There were a lot of different colors in use, and in most, ‘ted with large brushes. The “artists” entrusted with the _cases they didn’thelp that much to actually conceal the tank. In the end, what camouflaged each vehicle was the accumulation of dirt, mud, and dust that covered the vehicle after a few days in combat. [EI This new release from Takom is simoly excelent, 2 highly detaied model that has set a bench: ‘mark fr qualty an accuracy. The MarkIV is easy 10 build and wil not requie aftermarket detas Cor corrections. Thsis the perfect modelo enjoy the painting process due to its large fat sur faces, and the huge amount of vets and smal details that wil be enhanced in the subsequent ‘weathering | first airbrush an acre primer, it isthe neces Bee rer enaen Ge oe ence clo ‘The panel ines and other shadow areas are preshaded with a black primer to help create more volume. Alter letting the primer dry for 24 hours, we apply the fist camouflage olor grey in this ase, The compres: S01 should be set to about 50 PSI, and the paint applied in several thin coats, allowing each coat to dy.‘After outining the camouflage patter, fil up each area withthe pertinent A wide brush s used to paint just the edges ofeach color patch. You have color witha pencl to dilute the paint with some water to avold brush marks. Notice that its necessary to apply the color wth nice coverage, ae Tiy to make half an inch patches. Later they wil be filed up withthe ait Now you can fill up the inside withthe aibrush without having to get clase brush to the edges [Ei The end esutisperect, alos as itt had been masked off and paint- ed only with an arorush; but it has taken half the time, an is sper and easier as wel(1) Next we paint the black tines by hand with a medium-sized brush following the pencil marks. EE] The finshed camouflage. | used the AMMO set fox WWI German and British tanks. Boao The skull marking can be done with adhe- sive masking paper. Fist | designed it on a computer and printed the skull onthe mask ing paper. Once it has been airorushed, Ire touched it with a brush to add deals AB reson:Now its time to paint the tral shade. ts advisable to apply mu ted them with a dark rust ted coats 10 avoid paint build-up,Focthe effects of bul up dit, luse a mix of cifferent brown and grey ol pants. The os wil ive more depth and con- trast, resulting in 2 more dramatic fish,chiping, andDUST AND MUD EFFECTS ‘On most vehicles the dust and mud effects are the key ele- ment to achieve a realistic, almost magic appearance. But if done wrong or in excess they can ruin our model. This is the reason we need to look at real examples and copy from reality the shape and shades of mud and dry earth. In ‘a WWI tank these effects are even more important, because they are a distinctive element of the conflict and vehicle's setting. In reality, the colorful and distinctive camouflages used in this war were always toned down by a generous Hog Belore start applying the dust effets, | covered the tr dist colored enamals are airbushed on the lower areas, thicker coverage closer to the ground, and becoming more trans parent as goes up the vehicle side. Immediately after that, a fat brush moistened with thinners fs used to evenly remove some of the paint with upward brushstrokes layer of dust, earth and mud adhered to the surface of these vehicles. We'll notice how, in this Mark IV, the original base ‘olor changes considerably at the end of the process -which is more complex than simply adding a coat of textured mus. It requires multiple steps to get proper depth and a realis- tic appearance-. For this reason | am going to explain the whole technique in detail so we can better understand the process and apply it to any kind of vehicle.add mud to the tacks. | use masking 110 protect the adjacent area Irub some GUN METAL pigment (A Mig-3009) with my fin ‘ger to add a palshed For the fresh mud effects ve used ect for fresh oll This prod- is very dark and glossy iyi sparingly on lini ely important no[G5 The last touch that wil adda Ife aspect to our model isthe dirt pled up ‘onthe honzontal surfaces. thas to anpearlike loose dr, ots beter to use actual sol. You can pickup different dt textures and cols and moe them, ‘Oncea micture to our Ekng is selacte it's nacssary to sift to getjust the finest material Ive used a sample kitchen sieve [5 wetlatso need Sand & Gravel Glue (A Mig-2012) Nou caf add some natural fives to depict small branches and other plant elements, (EE) BU « uty kite to place small amounts of dir inthe desired ares. It canMain sources ‘The imperial War Museum (WM) and the Tank Museum of Bovington (TMB) ate two ofthe most important military museums inthe weld. They have large sections dedicated tothe Fist Wierd War which include preserved vehicles, weapons, equipment, recreated scenes, original documents and drawings, ‘manus, and photographs. The support of thes invaluable museums salvos above ond beyond Boots: Cabos, Jia, Tank Fight, 1916, Magid, Ancrea Pres, 2013 Forty, George, Royal Tank Regiment, Tunbridge Wels, Speliount Lt, 1988 ‘Macks, Kenneth, History ofthe Royal Armoured Corps, 1914-1975, Beaminster, Newton Publications, 1983 Pignato, Nicola, ante mondiale del mezzicorazzt, volume 5: Francia e Giappone dalle righ’ al 1945, Parma, Emanno Albertel Eitce, 1975 Strasheim Rainer Bevte-Tanks Bish tanksin German Service Vo, Erangen,Tankograd, 2011, SBN 978-5-936519-24-2 Strasheim, Raines, Beute-Tanks Bish tanksin German Serie Vbl2, Erangen, Tankograd, 2011, SBN 978-3-936519.25.9 Tourn, ire, es Vehicles Blinds Francais 1900-1844, Nancy, Edtons EPA, 1879 Various Authors, Stora deimezz corazati, Roma, Fateli abbr Etore, 1977 White, Ban Terence, Britsh Tanks and Fighting Vehicles 1914-1945, London, lan Allan, 1970, Zaloga, Steven 1, Fench Tanks of World War |, New Vanguard 173, Oxford, Osprey Publishing, 2012 Main technical data LE EL LE ‘Mare V (Male) 28,500 8 Whiopet 14,000, 13 60 3 Schneider 13600 8 80 6 Saint Chamond 23,000.12 50 a a 6,500 8 60 2 aN. 33/000 15 50 18 "he Sie atin th Fc Mates de Crore) of Sur 9 The Fropled Ssure wh te a he coc Bc whe moog a 9:9 ee ‘Ma ono Tehama pon cof eres pe Pe Sour canoage ABE ronan