The Official Armortek Forum - World leader in one sixth scale metal kits

Hi all,

Just to say hello to everyone, as I purchased one of the new MK IV a few month ago.

In the last weeks I spend some time in consuming any literature about these great land-ships I could found, trying to get a better picture.
Please excuse my bad english I suppose my skills on english grammar are totally out of action.
Living in Germany I have built a couple of RC models in the last few years, but nothing like an Armortek model. This will be a new challenge.

I am pleased to become part of this extremely skilled community with it’s amazing quantity of informations, perfect builds and an exquisite sense of humour.

I think the most publications will be well known by this perfect informed community.
For me they provide a better understanding for these early tracklayers:

- Great War Tank Mark IV, Owners´ Workshop Manual / Haynes Publishing
(great book, worth the money — you will quickly get the full picture)

- Beute Tanks Vol.1 + Vol.2 / Tankograd - World War One No. 1003 and 1004
ISBN 978-3-936519-25-9 , ISBN 978-3-936519-24-2
(a lot of information over the captured tanks in german service)

- Die Bayerische Sturm-Panzer-Kraftwagen-Abteilung 13, Thomas Müller / Scherzers Militär Verlag, ISBN 978-3-938845-47-9
(book in german, with some interesting insights of B.S.P.K.A. 13 in Charleroi)

- Tank Mark IV / Armour in Profile, Number 1
(small publication with basic informations)

- British Mark IV Tank / New Vanguard Osprey Publications ISBN 978-1-84603-082-6
(in the last years the only basic publication of good quality I have found)

- Beutepanzer im Ersten Weltkrieg, Fred Koch / Podzun - Pallas ISBN 3-7909-0520-8
(publication in german about the captured british tanks in german service)

- Mechanical Maintenance of the Mark IV Tank (Issued by the general Staff April 1918) / Partizan Press caliverbooks (insights how to deal with mechanical problems in the field)

- The Tank in Action by Captain D. G. Browne, M. C.
from the Web: California Digital Library: (I’m not shure if I can post the downlod link here so if you cant find these books pm me)

- Tanks 1914-1918, The Log-Book of a Pioneer by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Albert G. Stern. From the Web, Open Library: (I’m not shure if I can post the downlod link here so if you cant find these books pm me)

If you know some further publications which are worth to read, it will be great if you will share your knowledge with the other tankers.


greetings from Germany
regards oliver

Hi Oliver, and welcome.

Thank you for the list of books, some of which I hadn't seen.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading "A Company Of Tanks" by Major William Henry Lowe Watson, D.S.O., D.C.M., which was originally published in 1920.

Not a lot of technical detail, but interesting from an operational point of view. I was intrigued about their use of cars to get around the front line, and the fact they just used to leave them in a village somewhere and collect them again a few days later. Especially when you consider that they were what we would class a "Veteran" cars now.

I'm currently converting "The Boilerplate War" from a tattered paperback for reading on my Kindle. From what I've seen, it's much more of a blood and guts description of the action, rather than the "lost ten chaps today" sort of stuff in the first book.

Adrian.

Hi Oliver,
A good list of books that you have posted, especially the ones from the German perspective. My very good friend Sonja, from Bayreuth, scratch built a British Mk V in 1/8th scale and of course painted it to represent one operated by the German Army. Any way here are some more books people might find useful.
The Ironclads of Cambrai (The first great tank battle) Brian Cooper isbn 0-304-36363-4
Tanks and Trenches (First hand accounts of tank warfare in WW1) edited by David Fletcher isbn 1-85627-906-5.
The Devil's Chariots The Birth and secret battles of the first tanks by John Glanfield isbn 0-7509-2706-2.
A New Excalibur The development of the tank 1909 to 1939 by A J Smithers.
An Illustrated record of the development of the British Armoured fighting vehicle tanks 1915-18 by RAC Tank museum, Bovington Camp, Dorset. 1967.
This last book is a thin paperback book crammed with detail and information. One detail that I had not read anywhere else was that they found that the lower brackets that the the tracks hang from were not required if the track tension was adjusted well. A fact that should allay any concerns of modellers about track shedding over trenches.
I am sat at home waiting for UPS to deliver my new Mk IV kit as I write.
Gunner.

Hi Adrian,
Hi Ian,

Ask the experts and you will get perfect informations.
Thank you for your advice. All Books you have mentioned attract my curiosity.

What shall I do? Order new books or be patient and wait for the MK IV Kit?
Maybe the latter will be better.
But a few minutes ago I found the book „A Company of Tanks“ as pdf-file.
That will help me over the next days or weeks and sweeten the time waiting for a sign from Gill.

Years ago I read about the MK V from Sonja. It was a very interesting project which I liked very much.
I haven’t quite decided yet but I’m thinking about building the tank as a captured version in German service like Max, Fritz or Bob in the color pattern „Buntfarben“.
If it turned out to be a girl I’m flirting with the idea to build one of the three tanks used during the January uprising in Berlin 1919 (Hanni, Fee, ???).

Oliver

I like your ideas on which tank to model, the post war ones would be unique I should think. I am trying to upload a photo of Sonja's Mk V showing the colourful scheme she used.
Here goes. Hope you get yours soon.
gunner.