BoB: Tanks

Grinding my way through the playroom, I stumbled over my second armoured park (the first being the AVBCW armoured park). Loads of Brigade Models/Company B Mark V tanks.

I had assembled the main resion components but shyed away from the metals guns and other components. As I commented to Richard:

This is partly why I’ve had them a good few years and not built them – they’re complex and fiddly and I knew unless they were pinned, then I’d waste a lot of time bodging it before they then fell apart when stared at too intently.
One thing I have learnt from doing up houses, is that you need the right tools for the job, if you bodge it, it’ll break/fall apart, and then you’ll have to do it all over again properly.

As in, I’ll wave a little white flag and admit to not have drill bits small enough, and not having the skill to do that level of detailled pinning – I can do bigger stuff no problem (size isn’t everything).

L-R: Male; Hermaphrodite; and Female
(Oh yeah is that going to generate some spurious Google search hits or what ?!)

The Male Mark Vs had a cannon in each sponsoon; the Females had two HMGs (Hotchkisses) in each sponsoon; and the Hermaphrodite tanks had a a single male sponsoon (cannon + HMG), and a single Female sponsoon (2 HMGs). HMGs were also mounted (this spurious Google search is getting worse…) on the front of the tank and also one…on the back.

So off they went to Uncle Rich’s Pinning Service(TM).

As I originally bought these for my BoB armies I was planning on painting them in White/Red Russian colours, but seeing as my interests in WW1 and AVBCW have expanded their use I’m now a little stuck as to what to paint them. My books on RCW armoured vehicles indicate that they would probably have arrived painted in British colours: either a Khaki Green colour; maybe a drab Grey; or possibly khaki. Books on WW1 British armour indicate all of the above, especially Khaki for those in the Middle East, and I’m guesing those would have been shipped to the AFSR first. Then there is some indication that the Whites/Reds used camo patterns (see Kolmiots et al 2001 – Tanks of the Russian Civil War). Certainly both the Whites and the Reds went to town with extra markings and slogans on all the tanks and armoured cars that came into their possession.

So I think I’ll go for a plain starter with green/khaki (I may need to deploy these models on the 16th for the AVBCW Big Game JP and I are organising).

Good job I have another 2 of each of these models stashed away awaiting attention. 😉