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Congratulations to Chris on his tracks, I have been caught up with Unditching Rails.
I have now modified the rails to replicate the ones on B Battalion Tanks of the vintage of Bloodstone. It has involved a lot of thought and I will tomorrow post some photos of the result.
Mark provided me some spare rail so that I could extend the rails by the right amount. So if anyone needs some rail please let me know and I will send it on.
So a big thank you for the back up that Armortek provides
Steve

Steve -

Thanks for the comments on the tracks - it's a big and important stage, and I'm glad it's done !

I shall be very interested to see your unditching rails. I'd assumed the required result could be achieved by bending them in a different way ...... more fool me . I might be in line for some of your spare rail which, I assume, will need to be soldered ? (another skill to learn).

All the best, and hope to see you again soon,

Chris

The above photo shows the original configuration and attachment of the un-ditching rails. I have made extensions to the Armortek rails, along with brazing up the bend points in the rails so a contiguous look is achieved. The extensions are held in place by bands which wrap around the cover, these I have produced by using 3mm Bicycle mudguard stays which I have hammered flat whilst keeping round ends which are threaded for a 3mm Nut. Once these rails are attached I can get on with fitting the tracks!
Steve

Hi Steve
That is looking good

Derek

Tracks on and a test drive to make sure it was all working. Plus an opportunity to flatten the mole hills that are ruining our 'lawn'
Having got the split links in place I realised that they were going to disappear under the track plates. So I have put a marker of yellow paint on the outside of the link which can be viewed when EK0239 and EK0240 are removed for working on the track. Other wise it is going to be hard work finding the missing link
To get the tracks slack enough to join I made a modification to EK0318 creating a rebate in the rear edge so the square boss part can be brought back as far as it can possibly go. It was very tight getting the track on so every little helps.
Next Sponsons on and a proper test drive.
Steve

Following the arrival of Bow shackles I have made up a trial tow rope. The useful piece of information is that the tow rope is approximately six feet long to duplicate the pattern of the rope as seen on photos of the tanks. I await Chris having the time to look at the question of tow ropes for greater insight!
All the best
Steve

Looking good Steve. With all the tanks nearing completion you guys in the UK could almost do a re-enactment for Cambrai commemorations.

Cheers
Ray

Ray, I am hoping that in a couple of years time we might be able to do something with even far flung owners attending?
Steve

Steve Stuart wrote:I await Chris having the time to look at the question of tow ropes for greater insight!

No pressure then, Steve .........

I've had a wander through all my books and, unsurprisingly, there's no special mention of towing ropes / hawsers. The only real reference is to the "top tower" tanks which had converted (raised) unditching rails in order to tow supply sledges, so that the tow ropes didn't snag on the unditching beam.

So it's back to the photos. Tow ropes / hawsers seem to be all over the place, presumably at the whim of the crew. I've seen then on the back and on the front, and curled up on the roof.

So, once again, I conclude that anything goes unless you have a clear picture of your particular tank. And, having said that, I think Steve's nailed it - that looks ideal.

Another thing for me to copy .... I'm standing on the shoulders of Giants ! I bought some sheet steel today to have a go at those rear armour plates - never thought I'd be saying, or typing, that !

All the best,

Chris

PS. I was very amused to find last night that, if you put "towing hawsers ww1 tanks" into Google, the first link is the thread on this Forum that I started on 31 May ! Fame at last !

out of curiosity I had a look not too many about found this one though also found tanks names for f 6th battalion tank corps 1917 might come in handy

colin

Colin, thank you for your list of 'F' Tanks there are some good names there! I have settled on a B Battalion Tank, Bloodstone (II).
I took my Tank to Bovington for a meeting of the Southern Armour Group on Saturday, it was its first test run with sponsons on. Unfortunately it was not quite as successful as I hoped as I lost a fair number of the bolts holding on the track plates to the chains. So today I have taken the Tracks off to work through the bolts making sure they are tight. The positive note was that they came off fairly easily, the yellow paint mark on the split link paid off big time.
I have got get it ready for Tank Fest...
Steve

Stuart Harrison-Barker has sent me a few pictures of my Mark IV's first outing to Bovington Tank Museum. The Southern Armour Group meets there regularly either inside or outside if the weather is good and entertains the visitors, as well as ourselves. I have taken the Tiger along as well. If you track down Stuart's photos via the SAG on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/1462035094053356/
there are more of my Mark IV as well as other Tanks and People.
I hope this is of interest!
Steve

A third outing of my Mark IV. Fiona and I visited Chris Hall and his wife in their part of Wiltshire. Chris and I were able to compare notes on our build progress and other Mark IV matters. My Mark IV made a brief excursion in their garden. Fiona's photo! I look forward to Leisel appearing in a similar manner, as the paint scheme is much more dramatic!
Steve

Steve -

It was great to see you, and a privilege to see Bloodstone II in action. Helen managed to take a short video:

https://youtu.be/ete5YZ39LWM

(It's not Real until people can see it in action ! )

And a couple of pictures of us discussing the details:




And I'll now be working extra-hard on getting Liesel ready for a joint outing - it'll be a bit one-sided, though, as a Female is no match for a Male ! She'll certainly be more decorative, though .........

All the best, and thanks for the tips,

Chris

colin fairweather wrote:out of curiosity I had a look not too many about found this one though also found tanks names for f 6th battalion tank corps 1917 might come in handy

colin

While looking through Steve's excellent build history for clues as to how he did the top rear armour plate I noted this earlier posting by Colin.

As an aside, you might be interested to learn that F30 "Flaming Fire" was another Beutepanzer, captured after Cambrai. She (as she was a Female) became "Lotte", also of Abt. 14, and was lost on 1 June 1918 at the Fort de la Pompelle in the same area as my "Liesel". While "Liesel" was removed and replaced in around 1926 for 'Health and Safety' reasons, "Lotte" survived intact until 1942.

How do we know this ? Well, basically, British paint was a lot better than German paint ! After a few winters the German paint wore away (except for the Iron Crosses), allowing the F30 on the front horns to show through clearly. I've got several postcards showing this.

Anyone doing "Flaming Fire" ? Certainly a tank with history .......

All the best,

Chris (passionate Mk. IV history buff)