Crew.

[Adrian Harris]

With the large hatches at the front, it seems to me that there ought to be some kind of presence inside the tank. My plan is to have a couple of Churchill animatronic upper bodies, with just the heads animated.

One will be in the officers uniform from the John Colman figure, the other will be in overalls of some kind. They'll probably only be visible down to the shoulder line, so accuracy isn't that important but it would be fun to have a couple of figures loafing around on the tank when it's not in motion.

Pics I've found online seem to show them in just boiler suits of some kind, and I know it was devilishly hot inside, so I can't see them wearing shirts, jackets and ties.

The re-enactors all seem to favour a "Sam Browne" belt with pistol and holster and gas mask in a bag worn at the front high up on the chest. Is it likely these would have been worn at all times, or just when the brass was about ?

Adrian (waiting for the etch primer to dry )

[mark lawson]

As with anything tank related crews wearing belts and gas mask bags is asking to them to snag on everything inside the tank and make movement for the crews cumbersome I would have thought most items would be hanging within close range of an individual crew members station, less is more springs to mind.

[Chris Hall]

But this is WW1 we're talking about .....

The tank crews would have been relatively indistinguishable from the PBI. Firstly because they were worried they'd be shot as spies if captured (tank crews were at some risk of that anyway), and secondly because, if the tank was knocked out, the survivors were expected to demount the Lewis guns and fight with the infantry. So conformity was key, and comfort and convenience would have been very low on the scale of importance.

Officers wore 'Regimentals' - tunic, shirt and tie. Below the waist was a bit more optional - overalls, riding breeches, trousers, even shorts. It was all about status, and demonstrating responsibility - not wearing a shirt and tie was probably a Courts Martial offence . By the end of 1917 most 'Regimentals' would have been Tank Corps or MGC, but some officers would have retained the tunic and badges of the Regiment they were originally commissioned into.

OR's would have worn their tunics too, despite the heat inside the tank. Underneath they would have been likely to wear brownish overalls, but it was by no means universal.

Headgear would have been a mixture of leather helmets, 'Brodie' tin helmets, and caps with the stiffeners removed (known as 'cor blimeys' due to the normal NCO response !), with the peak at the back so as to not obscure vision on the gunsight or vision slit.

All ranks would have worn Regimental badges, rank insignia, and the white Tank Badge which denoted completion of training. Sam Browne's would have been common, as sidearms were standard. Gas mask cases would also have been likely. Given the speed needed to evacuate a burning tank (it's been estimated a man had about 4 seconds to get out ) all equipment would have been worn and not 'hung up'.

So, in summary, the 'John Colman' figure gives you everything you need for an officer, although you may need to amend the badges. I think Dragon do (did) a Lewis Gunner which would serve for Enlisted Men. Overalls and headgear to taste.

Incidentally, the Germans approached it in the same way, ie. largely using standard infantry clothing, but with leather patches on knees and elbows. Officers tended to wear leather jackets, some privately purchased (for Liesel's crew, I kit-bashed from the 'Lutz Fedder' figure with a 'Century 21' leather jacket). The French, of course, deviated from the 'norm' issuing leather coats ....

Hope this helps,

Chris

[Adrian Harris]

Many thanks Chris, that's a real help. As always

I've found a site in France which sells 1/6th "Cor Blimey" caps, so hopefully I'll able to kit out a couple of chaps with them. I'm going to get a few cheap overalls from ebay and see if I can dirty them up to simulate a mechanic or two.

I've got one complete Colman on the way, plus various bits to add to the other figures.

All of which are a distraction from the sheer square footage of Mk IV which still needs to be sanded cleaned and primed before I can attempt Stage 9.

Adrian.

[Adrian Harris]

Whilst I've been finding a few bits of kit, I thought I'd take on board Chris's comments about "brownish overalls" and try my hand at the Peter Mallett's shoe cream method of colouring clothing.

The basic overalls come from the Patton figure, and I chose them as they have quite a thin material, so hang quite nicely on a figure.

The basic colour is green, so I used Tarrago Shoe Cream No. 35 "Khaki". As suggested by Pete, this was added using an old toothbrush and worked well into the cloth.

I'm quite pleased with the results, though the picture makes it look more patchy than it appears to the naked eye. I have a few other cheap overalls, so the next step is to add the khaki colour, then blacks and browns to make it look like it's owner belongs in a tank.

Adrian.

[John Heath]

One other method you might want to try for the basic brown colouring is soaking the overalls in hot instant coffe for a few minutes. Doesn't hsve to be too strong. I'm assuming the overall are a cotton type of material. Doesn't seem to get too brown no matter how long you leave it soaking.

Used the method many times on model boats where I wanted an old looking brown sail.

John

[Phil Woollard]

Hi Adrian, you quite rightly mentioned the thinner material that hangs better on the figure, this is probably the most important scale give away to any photo/diorama, I avoid any bolt upright poses of the crew where possible, in this respect the clothing looks like it's made of cardboard.
Get the wife to wash the clothing to death or slip the stuff in your trouser pockets when they go for a wash so it gets a good pounding and loosens those fibres so there a bit like our favourite underpants regards Phil