Mk. IV No. 50 - Beutepanzer Female (Liesel)

[Chris Hall]

Steve -

I saw what you did there . Things are looking good for our planned run-out on Salisbury Plain in late August / early September, which should make for a good video !

Stephen -

Given your 'Beaut Aussie Cent' thread, that's praise indeed ! I'm starting to wonder what comes after I've finished Liesel, but it couldn't just be 'a tank' for me - if would have to be something with a real, and somewhat different, history. I might even be in the market for another Mark IV Female if the opportunity arose (and if I could find the money !) - F30 Flaming Fire II was captured after Cambrai and became Abt. 14's Lotte, which was Liesel's partner at the Fort de la Pompelle until about 1926 (when Liesel was scrapped ), and then survived alongside a replacement tank (Lyric) until 1942. It would be nice to have a British one alongside a German one, but with an unusual historical connection ......

I'm also starting to think about Armortek Day. I need to clear my ideas with Mark and Gill (and you, Stephen, as you're organising it), as this will be my first one and I don't want to tread on anyone's toes. But it would be great if a 'WW1 Special Interest Group' could set up, with lots of Mark IV's on display, and some boards talking about the history. I'd be happy to stay there all day and do some short talks for the public (as I seem to be the resident Muppet ). Ideally, we could set up in the Mark II / Whippet area. Perhaps we could even do a 'parade of tanks' to Excellent in the WW1 Hall, but I somewhat doubt Bovington would let us do it due to restricted access (either the wrong way around the 'Warhorse to Horsepower' exhibit or through the trench system (although, IIRC, there's a step down to the German trench section ?)), unless there's a back door I don't know about.

But Yes, I will at least have my own research on display. My collection of original Liesel pictures and postcards has trebled since I started this process !

With thanks,

Chris

PS. I did find out one thing recently - the correct pronunciation of 'Beute'. There's a German lady in the village who's mother is called Liesel, so she's quite interested. It's pronounced 'Boy-ter', and literally means 'captured' or 'looted'. Nice to be correct about these things .....

[Steve Stuart]

Chris,
'Beute' goes to 'Boy-ter', ('captured', looted) gives the word 'Booty' via the Dutch Sailors of piratical inclination, I guess? So your tank is the bootiful Leisel
Steve
This post may get deleted as the pun is too awful.

[Chris Hall]

Your first cryptic joke was certainly a lot better ..........

But it's certainly a kinder description of Liesel than one I found while trawling Google the other day:

German tanks still lying astraddle of some trenches, and distinguishable by their iron crosses – great inert monsters of phantasy they lie, with their muzzles deeply embedded – ‘Lotti’ and ‘Liesel’ were their names. On the side of one of them a witty Frenchman had written “Je ne recommencerai plus. Fritz” – and pray God his words may be true.

(Sir Evelyn Wrench, “Struggle, 1914-1920”)

Another Liesel search on Google shows that it's also the name of a fashion designer. Some of her slogans are tasteful / appropriate, others less so .....

[Chris Hall]

Build time (to date): 197.5 hours

There's a phrase used in building contracts: "Substantial Completion". It means that the building is complete, with all fittings in, but it needs to be finished off to make it a nice place to be, ie. decorated, outside areas cleaned up etc.

Well, today I think Liesel hit that point:







All the Armortek bits are on (no embarrassing discoveries that should have gone on at Stage 11 ), although there are a huge number of bolts and rivets left (and the Male sponson parts, of course). I've done pretty well all the historical conversion bits I wanted to do - the only thing I can think of that's left are the axe mounts at the back of the spud box. Pistol ports will be fitted after painting. And No, I haven't forgotten about the tracks - that's the last job of all.

Now for tidying up and undercoating before my painter friend comes round early next week. I've tackled a lot on this build, and been pleasantly surprised at the outcomes, but airbrushing is a closed book to me, and the quality of the paint job is absolutely crucial to the overall effect. Like I said earlier, "A man's got to be aware of his limitations". I have, though, designed some decals .........

Finished by the end of August ? Well it's certainly possible, but there's plenty of time before Armortek Day so I'm not going to rush it. I've tempted enough Fate by tidying away all the tools !

All the best,

Chris

[Steve Stuart]

Chris, congratulations on reaching this milestone!
The issue is that your Tank will never be completed? There are always improvements to be made in due course, and running repairs to be effected if you take your Tank out and about.
I am looking forward to seeing the paint work revealed.
All the best
Steve

[Chris Hall]

Build time (to date): 217.5 hours

Last week was spent painting (thankfully the weather was a lot better than it is now !) with the vital assistance of my friend Mike, who is an airbrush artist who normally paints motorbike tanks. This challenge certainly intrigued him !

After preparation and an all-over coat of Reseda Green (RAL 6011) (actually several coats, plus clear seal), we spent a good day just poring over my collection of Liesel pictures and postcards, which are all B&W, mostly grainy or worn (except for those magically enhanced by another friend, John, who is a retired Professor of Photography), and all the best part of 100 years old. We finally agreed on the difference between the dark, light, and very light shapes, the shadows and reflections which could be ignored, and allowed for post-War weathering. So that gave us some shapes to paint, which Mike masked up. Then the airbrushes came out. This was all a complete mystery to me, and I've learnt a lot. After the colours were applied (based on the advice of Rainer Strasheim in Germany, who is the World (and possibly only) Authority on WW1 Beutepanzers) the whole tank was given several coats of clear varnish for protection, with a final light spray of a flat matt varnish to dull everything down.

And, today, I've finally started to put some markings on Liesel, starting with the Iron Crosses of Imperial Germany. Decal making is, again, something I've never done before, but is relatively straightforward and the results are certainly impressive. Again, this was preceded by lots of study to determine size, shape, font, colour and position. Unit and name markings will be done in the next few days when the right decal paper has arrived.

Despite all the help and advice, though, the final choices have been mine, and I accept full responsibility for the outcome, which I hope is as historically accurate as possible for such an obscure subject. I'm as confident as I can be about the colours and their distribution. I haven't found any solid evidence that Abt. 14 used Brown Red (RAL 3011) and Lemon Yellow (RAL 1012) anywhere else but the sides of their tanks, which is why the front, roof and rear are just in the green basecoat. And I'm spared the effort of weathering, as Liesel only had an operational life of 5 days and was described as 'remarkably clean'. That's my justification, anyway !

Some of you may think that the result is quite garish, and contrary to the normal ethos of camouflage. But, in this case, the absolute opposite was intended. As the British and Germans were now using the same tanks, they needed to stand out from each other. The Germans went for lurid colours (using up stocks of captured railway paint - try to imagine the Orient Express !), and obvious national markings, whereas the British used red and white stripes on the front horns (and sometimes the roof as well).

So now, the Big Reveal -




I'm absolutely delighted with the results so far - I never dared to dream that she'd look this good ! I'm biased, of course - your opinions would be of greater value. I'm really looking forward to Armortek Day, when she'll be finished (OK - for the time being, Steve ! ) and proudly on display.

Of course, sometime this week, I've still got to fit the tracks .......

All the best,

Chris

[Chris Hall]

I sort-of hoped that I would get Liesel running by the end of August, allowing me plenty of "twiddle time" before the Big Day on 10 October. Well, suddenly, it all came together today ...........



I must have run her for a good hour around the garden, and she performed faultlessly - I just wish I could say the same for my driving ! My wife has built me a lovely assault course at the end of the garden, with trenches, a hill and a crater, so I'll be able to get it right before I drive near all the real things at Bovington .

Getting the tracks on looked impossible at first, but I knew it couldn't be as at least 5 of you have already done it. I think Steve Stuart's tip of filing down the insides of EK0317/19 and EK0322 (Stage 19), so that the front sprockets go well down inside the front horns, is the right way to go - it certainly worked for me. Before then the track links wouldn't even come close, and my poor track tensioning tool bent under the strain ! Mark's suggestion about holding the chains out with a couple of screwdrivers is also vital, so you can get the 'missing link' under the frame edge. I also temporarily removed EK0239 (Stage 14) to improve access - I think this did the same duty in 1917.

Anyway, if you do all that, it's really quite straightforward, and the second one is certainly quicker. And the effort is well rewarded !

As the Bank Holiday weather looks pretty grim, I shall be working on the rest of the decals, and tidying up some of the paintwork I've already scratched. The unditching beam needs fitting, and I need to reconfigure the soundcard - the speakers crackle when I switch on, but I'm not getting the right sounds yet.

I now realise what people mean when they say it's never really finished !

All the best,

Chris

PS. Suddenly my modelling table looks very empty .... but I've got track marks in my carpet !

[Steve Stuart]

Congratulations Chris!
Onwards to the next staging post.
All the best, Steve

[Chris Hall]

Steve Stuart brought his Male, 'Bloodstone II', over today so we had a play on the assault course built by my wife at the bottom of our garden, with 2 trenches (Hindenburg and Brown Lines), a climb up Flesquires Ridge, and then a drop down into Hooge Crater, while skirting Bourlon Wood (all famous battlegrounds for WW1 Mark IV tanks). I suspect this is the first time a pair of Mark IV tanks have operated together since 1918, as the Mark IV was very quickly ditched after the War in favour of the Mark V (although that probably only continued in service until around 1923).

It was also a good opportunity to compare the Male and Female builds. Neither of them are completely finished yet, but both are well on the way in time for Armortek Day !

Bloodstone II and Liesel together: https://youtu.be/CliCzDbQ9Wg

Bloodstone II going 'over the top': https://youtu.be/YV4MuD8RB_k

Liesel going 'over the top': https://youtu.be/KEd79PTHLRw
(I have to say that Steve is a much better driver than me !)

And some pictures, showing the different sponsons:






And, finally, a scale shot with our dog, Mia (who is, I'll admit, a very small Labrador, but clearly a very relaxed one !):



Thanks to our wives (Helen and Fiona) for the filming (and the background chatter ).

Progress-wise re. Liesel, there's nothing much more to report - I've just been enjoying playing with her ! The sound problem was easily fixed - I just turned the volume knob (I was a bit too sensitive to the comment in the manual that says the speakers need to be 'run in' ). I'll have to re-do the decals, as the first batch haven't taken too well. As I can't track down a printer that will print in white, I'm going to try printing on white decal paper with clear letters on a coloured background, and blend in the edges with the right shade of paint.

Onward, ever onward .....

Chris

[Steve Stuart]

A great honour to have participated in a celebration of the Mark IV using Helen's Tank Training Ground. We are hoping that there will be a good number of Mark IVs in October as one is impressive, two is far more so!
It was great to see Leisel in her paint scheme, which when the Tank was in the dappled light under the trees was surprisingly unobtrusive, whilst Bloodstone was quite distinct. On the gravel of the drive the appearance was reversed!
A great day out and the Sun shone all day as if to approve.
Steve

[Robert E Morey]

Chris/Steve,
Your tanks look fantastic together. I can't seem to view any of the video posted by Chris however? Perhaps its my browser settings? Anyone else have trouble? would like to view them. Great work on both models.
Thanks,
Bob

[Daniel Scholefield]

Well all being well my Mark IV will be joining the lineup, it's not as polished as these two but as long as my last work on it doesn't break it I will be there

[Robert E Morey]

Cool video, finally got it to work. My Browser must have went on holiday. Nice looking vehicles...
Bob

[Chris Hall]

Well, after a series of non-Liesel related issues (Real Life can really get in the way of having fun, can't it ? ), I've finally got Liesel into a condition which I'm pleased to call finished (at least for now).

I've sent the information in to Gill, Mark and Stephen for the World Record attempt, including the following pictures taken in our garden this morning, which was lovely and sunny:







Now to get her to Armortek Day - I've tried ramps into the car (unsuccessfully), so I'm now looking for a trailer ! But I WILL get there - even my wife says it's a non-negotiable ...........

All the best,

Chris

[Chris Hall]

Almost 6 months on, and it's probably time for an update.

I was very proud to display Liesel at the Armortek Day last October. The line-up of four Mark IV tanks under the front horns of the Mark II was simply amazing - and then we were joined by Helen Lawson's superb Mark I ...... I was also very honoured by all the positive comments I received. Thanks !

Since then, I've joined the Southern Armour Group (SAG), and been down to a couple of their meetings at Bovington. An excellent group, full of friendly people, and a hell of a venue .... makes me feel a bit like Jimmy Cooper (Phil Daniels) in 'Quadrophenia', in that I keep going back to the same place !

But, like most of us, Liesel has been shut away in the dry for most of the winter. Until today, that is, when Spring has definitely sprung. I should have gone to the SAG meeting but, instead, my friend John finally came over to play with his Panther for the first time since he bought it ! So we had a good play, and I took the opportunity to take these pictures of the Panzerwaffe in 1918 and 1945:




And now for my first Show Season ! There seem to be lots of events to go to, especially Military / Steam oriented. I hope to see you there !

All the best,

Chris