Emhar 1/35 WWI MK IV Tadpole

Steve the pre shading looks great, just checking out your painting the shaded areas look brilliant. Looking forward to seeing you progress on this one.

Terry.

I tried Model Cellar, their links are out of production.

Found one set on Evil-bay, but i am not paying what that idiot wants for them.

Just to be sure, I just went and checked their sight again (was going to e-mail and ask if they had plans for future production). Looks like they are back in limited release starting next month! 

WooHoo!!

666Irish wrote:

Ok, so I have been staring at this one on my shelf for a while, and finally decided that it is time to make this one happen. It is an Emhar Mk IV Tadpole. After opening the box, I realize two things: 1) it's gonna be big!, and 2) It's pretty basic and sparse, with LOTS of room for improvement.  My question here is not about color, as that one has been done to death all over the internet, and there still are no clear answers. What I want to know is if there are any photo etch, aftermarket upgrade kits, or any aftermarket individual tracks for this monster. In my research, I have come up with zilch! I found one company that has Indy links on it's website (ModelCellar), but they are out of production. Has anyone built this, or other Emhar Mk IV or Mk V WWI tanks? and if so, were you able to locate any aftermarket stuff.   Thanks in advance. Steve

Model Cellar Productions make a set of indy links for the Mark IV.

By the way are you using the recent FSM article on the Emhar 1/35 Mark V by Cookie Sewell? It may not be the exact same tank, but some of the info/tips could probably work with your Mark IV.

A quick shot from this morning with the Paint on.

Closest I could get to a color chip from WWI Armor. Basically Pactra OD Aircraft paint, mixed with Tamiya buff, and thinned a bit..

The extended sponsons were an experiment to try and cross wider trenches, and prevent "Ditching" (getting stuck in a trench). As big as these things were, they had a lot less power than you would think, and a top speed of about 4-4.5 mph.

These Tadpole sponsons were intended for production MK V tanks, but the only two that were actually built were Mk IV versions. They never saw action.

Its not everyday someone makes a WW1 tank, an I never heard of this version.

Slo it's a Mark II tank with an enlarge back, but why?

Ok, so a bit of an update.

Got the major assembly done, save for the right side so I can install the guns.

Primed and preshaded. This is my first attept at preshading, and my first time painting a complete build with an airbrush.

Thanks, Bill. I'm working on it. I have another, much bigger project in the works that is helping me with my scratch building, but I quite enjoy it.

My bipod is a bit thick in places, but overall, I am happy with it.

Scratch building looks top notch to me.  I'm starting at scratchbuilding, too, and I think the "secret" is, don't give up until it looks right.

This mortar looks right to me.

Bill

So I finally made a bit of a start on it. I looked at the rather poor representation of the mortar, and thought that I would start there. After going through the net, and the feww WWI books I have, I realized that the one in the kit isn't even close to what they would have used had this tank seen service.

My scratch building is still on the learning curve, and I still have some sanding and detail work to do on it, but here is the new mortar.

Kit mortar is on the left.

666Irish wrote:

I already have your site bookmarked, minimortar. Looks like it will be an excellent reference for this build. Ok, another question... I located a set of Lewis guns in resin and photoetch. Thing is, they are 1/32. In a model of this size, do you think that 1/32 guns will be very noticable on a 1/35 tank?

Thanks. If you're asking me about the Lewis Guns, all I can say is "perhaps". Only you will be able to make that call. I have not seen these guns in resin/PE.

Looking forward to your build.

I already have your site bookmarked, minimortar. Looks like it will be an excellent reference for this build.

Ok, another question...

I located a set of Lewis guns in resin and photoetch. Thing is, they are 1/32. In a model of this size, do you think that 1/32 guns will be very noticable on a 1/35 tank?

Yes, the kit does have some issues and needs some TLC but overall, I enjoyed building this kit. Mine is basically OOB.

It is big and will take up some space in your display cabinet. The base measures 13-1/2 x 7 inches.

More here...