1/35 Meng Mk. A Whippet British Medium Tank (FINISHED)
Hello armor mavens. Here's my second attempt at something without wings. WWI Steampunk! I built a Mk. V tank a few years ago and was quite happy with it. I'm having a go at another Meng tank, this time the Mk. A Whippet. Research revealed it was fast for a tank of the time, about 8 miles per hour, the equivalent to a man running. It was apparently meant to replace or supplement calvary.
Going with "Firefly", B Company 6th Battalion in May of 1918.
So I dove right in. There is no interior on this kit, so it was a matter building it. I got the body done in a few hours.
I followed the directions and built the sponsons (Not sure if that's what these are called).
Ready for assembly...
Fit was perfect. Like their Mk. V, the detail is wonderful.
First I covered it with XF-69 NATO Black as primer. I liked the camo color on the box, a greyish green, so I sought to replicate it. I didn't want another khaki brown tank, like the MK. V . I mixed about half XF-13 IJA Green and half XF-19 Sky Grey.
I added some XF-2 White for streaking and fading. You can see where I was checking the color on the box. I think I'm close.
I switch to painting the red and white stripes. I put down AK Interactive worn effects fluid before spraying the white and red. An old Testors paint brush (dampened) was then used to wear it off. I was pleased with the effect.
I sprayed it with Alclad Aqua gloss then found that I had pebbling. I should just stick with the Tamiya clear/Mr.Leveling thinner. Alot less headaches. I added all six decals. I had an issue with the "IX" decals and for some reason the Micro Sol reacted with the Aqua Gloss. I suspect humidity issues, or lack thereof, in my basement. I decided to strip the area and paint these in. I think the red is too dark. I may do it again but brighter....or I might say good enough. I doubt these were perfect on the real thing.
Time to get going on the tracks, all 86,000 links....