I am in the process of building a Bolt Action 28mm Home Guard force, I did want to add some armour to them with a Mark IV Male World War One tank put into service, even if it was merely as a mobile pillbox.
This realistic replica was built for the movie ‘War Horse’ and is now maintained in running condition to save wear and tear on the museums original WW1 tanks at events, including Tankfest.
The Tank Museum obtained the tank as it was used in Steven Spielberg’s World War One blockbuster Warhorse.
Though it looks like an authentic Mark IV tank, it was in fact constructed for the film.
Here is a video about the “tank” at the Tank Museum .
The Tank Museum is a collection of armoured fighting vehicles at Bovington Camp in Dorset, South West England. I visited the Tank Museum before in 1984, 1997, and 2016, but recently made a return visit.
At the Bovington Tank Museum you can get close up and personal with the first tanks that were built and used in combat, such as the Mark IV Tank.
First World War tanks, namely the British Mark IV, started the practice of carrying fascines on the roof, to be deployed to fill trenches that would otherwise be an obstacle to the tank.
The Mark IV was a British tank of the First World War. Introduced in 1917, it benefited from significant developments of the Mark I tank (the intervening designs being small batches used for training). The main improvements were in armour, the re-siting of the fuel tank and ease of transport. A total of 1,220 Mk IV were built: 420 “Males”, 595 “Females” and 205 Tank Tenders (unarmed vehicles used to carry supplies), which made it the most numerous British tank of the war.
The “Male” tanks were armed with three machine guns and two 6-pdrs. Whilst the “Female” tanks had Five .303 Lewis machine guns.
The Mark IV was first used in mid 1917 at the Battle of Messines Ridge. It remained in British service until the end of the war, and a small number served briefly with other combatants afterwards.
I am in the process of building a Bolt Action 28mm Home Guard force, I did want to add some armour to them with a Mark IV Male World War One tank put into service, even if it was merely as a mobile pillbox.
The Bovington Tank Museum has on display a Mark IV Male tank that was used just in this way. It was used in World War One and then presented to the Navy. When war broke out in September 1939, the Tank Mark IV (Male) number 2324 was refurbished for Home Guard duties.
I am in the process of building a Bolt Action 28mm Home Guard force, I did want to add some armour to them with a Mark IV Male World War One tank put into service, even if it was merely as a mobile pillbox.
The Bovington Tank Museum has on display a Mark IV Male tank that was used just in this way. It was used in World War One and then presented to the Navy. When war broke out in September 1939, the Tank Mark IV (Male) number 2324 was refurbished for Home Guard duties.
I am in the process of building a Bolt Action 28mm Home Guard force, I did want to add some armour to them with a Mark IV Male World War One tank put into service, even if it was merely as a mobile pillbox.
The Bovington Tank Museum has on display a Mark IV Male tank that was used just in this way. It was used in World War One and then presented to the Navy. When war broke out in September 1939, the Tank Mark IV (Male) number 2324 was refurbished for Home Guard duties.
Looking at the original photograph it was apparent that the Mark IV had a camouflage pattern that looked like the kind that was applied to early war British tanks.
Mark IV at HMS Excellent
I masked the Mark IV with blu-tak and duct tape.
I then used a Humbrol Tank Grey 67 spray for the dark colour.
I did the model in stages, mainly as I didn’t have enough blu-tak to do the model in one go.
I tried to copy the camouflage pattern as shown in the 1940 photograph.
This is the same view but with more spraying done.
The rear view. I am pleased with the way this turned out.
This is another view. the blu-tak did remove some of the base coat paint, so I will need to do some retouching up.
As well as looking at the general feeling of discontent across the country I did focus on an incident in Glasgow.
In Great Britain the government feared a bolshevik uprising and was quick to oppress any potential threat to the established order. One of the biggest areas for concern were the labour movements and trade unions. One strike in Glasgow in 1919 eventually resulted in a street battle between strikers and police, which was so bad, the army was called in. The “Battle of George Square”, also known as “Bloody Friday” and “Black Friday”, was one of the most intense riots in the history of Glasgow; it took place on Friday, 31 January 1919. Clashes between the City of Glasgow Police and protesters broke out, prompting the War Cabinet to make soldiers available to the civil power, to prevent the violence from escalating.
I also saw this post the first of a series of blog posts.
In future blog posts I want to have a look at potential battles in the 1919 British Revolution and the forces involved.
I did start thinking about possible scenarios and forces. I have in the cupboard the boxed set of Battlefront’s 15mm The Great War Mitchell’s Marauders.
The boxed set includes one Company HQ, two Rifle Platoons, one Machine-gun Platoon, one Royal Artillery Gun Detachment. It also has one Medium Tank Platoon comprising a single Mark A Whippet and a Heavy Tank Platoon which is two Mark IV tanks.
I was thinking that this would be a good starting force for the 1919 British Revolution.
In my original blog post I used a couple of contemporary photographs, one was of the tanks, Medium Mark C tanks, and soldiers at the Glasgow Cattle Market in the Gallowgate waiting to be called in for action in Glasgow. The other photograph though was a Mark IV tank on the streets of Dublin.
I realised that I wanted to do some more research into this era and as you do went to Google. As well as finding more photographs from the era I also discovered that there was a book about a range of incidents across 1919.
1919; Britain’s Year of Revolution tells the story of an almost unknown passage in British history. On the August Bank Holiday that year, the government in London despatched warships to the northern city of Liverpool in an overwhelming show of force. Thousands of troops, backed by tanks, had been trying without success to suppress disorder on the streets. Earlier that year in London, 1000 soldiers had marched on Downing Street, before being disarmed by a battalion of the Grenadier Guards loyal to the government. In Luton that summer, the town hall was burned down by rioters, before the army was brought in to restore order and in Glasgow, artillery and tanks were positioned in the centre of the city to deter what the Secretary of State for Scotland described as a ‘Bolshevik uprising’. Industrial unrest and mutiny in the armed forces combined together to produce the fear that Britain was facing the same kind of situation which had led to the Russian Revolution two years earlier. Drawing chiefly upon contemporary sources, this book describes the sequence of events which looked as though they might be the precursor to a revolution along the lines of those sweeping across Europe at that time. To some observers, it seemed only a matter of time before Britain transformed itself from a constitutional monarchy into a Soviet Republic.
I am in the process of building a Bolt Action 28mm Home Guard force, I did want to add some armour to them with a Mark IV Male World War One tank put into service, even if it was merely as a mobile pillbox.
The Bovington Tank Museum has on display a Mark IV Male tank that was used just in this way. It was used in World War One and then presented to the Navy. When war broke out in September 1939, the Tank Mark IV (Male) number 2324 was refurbished for Home Guard duties.
However going to the cupboard I saw that it had leaked some yellow sticky stuff, which I am thinking might be the propellant. However despite that I decided I would paint the tank with the spray. However after going for it, I realised that I wasn’t going to be able to finish the tank, as the propellant ran out.
Hmmm.
I did look at possible alternatives, attempting to find a new paint which matched the colour of Team Yankee Chieftain Green.
There are various conversion charts available online and it was clear from a couple that Vallejo Model Color 894 Russian Uniform was a match.
My local FLGS however doesn’t sell Vallejo paints, it stocks Citadel and The Army Painter range. Finding a match with those was more challenging.
In the end I decided I really didn’t need to worry. The Home Guard Mark IV (male) World War One Tank could probably be any shade of (army) green.
So I bought a can of Army Green Spray from the Army Painter range.
Back home I gave the Mark IV a base coat and I am quite pleased with the final shade.
I have a 15mm Home Guard Mark IV Male, but as I am in the process of building a Bolt Action 28mm Home Guard force, I did want to add some armour to them with a Mark IV Male World War One tank put into service, even if it was merely as a mobile pillbox.
I mentioned this idea in an article I wrote on a French themed Operation Sealion, Otaire de Vigneur.
To add a bit of diversity to my games, I also have one of Minifigs’ World War One British tanks, for use by a Home Guard unit (stolen from a local museum no doubt).
Now when I wrote that article and bought the miniature it was only an assumption and what I thought would be a nice idea, and probably had no basis in truth….
Well just shows a little historical research never hurt anyone, as the Bovington Tank Museum has on display a Mark IV Male tank that was used just in this way. It was used in World War One and then presented to the Navy. When war broke out in September 1939, the Tank Mark IV (Male) number 2324 was refurbished for Home Guard duties; according to the Bovington Tank Museum website.
Our exhibit, a male tank, was presented to the Royal Navy’s Gunnery School, HMS Excellent after the war to commemorate their help training Tank Corps gunners and it was temporarily refurbished for Home Guard duties in 1940. (Believed to have been achieved by removed parts from another tank possibly on Southsea Common.)
This photograph is from HMS Excellent in 1940.
Mark IV at HMS Excellent
One thing clear from this photograph is the disruptive camouflage they have used on the tank.
So though I thought my idea was probably if Operation Sealion had happened, I didn’t think and didn’t realise that it had in fact happened despite the fact that the Germans hadn’t invaded.
So as I also have the Royal Navy Section this gives me an excuse to use this model.
The tracks fitted really easily to the hull of the tank.
The sponson were simple to fit with the metal castings of the main weapons.
I added the exhaust, but decided against adding the “unditching beam” rails that are included with the kit.
Mark IVs were also the first tanks fitted with “unditching beams” by field workshops. A large wooden beam, reinforced with sheet metal, was stored across the top of the tank on a set of parallel rails. If the tank became stuck, the beam was attached to the tracks (often under fire) and then the tracks would drag it beneath the vehicle, providing grip.
The period photographs of the Home Guard Mark IV show the tank without these rails.
The next stage was to give the model a white undercoat.
Then it is on to the basecoat, where I did have some problems…
