Queen of the desert - Infantry Tank Mk.II “Matilda” scratch

[wibblywobbly]

The Matilda was indeed very well known for its armour. During the early days of the war it was good match for the enemy. Always fancied one, but the complexity of the design had me running for the hills, top grade engineering has gone into your model. Love it!!

[43rdRecceReg]

Thanks guys for your amazing Feedback

@43rdRecceReg, that’s a very good idea! In fact that the Cromwell (turret) is available from Chris, this would be a possible variant too

@Raminator, the Valentine was the first overall scratch built tank I designed, so I had to learn a lot about improvement for production use. After the Centurion and the Matilda, the prototype of the M48 is coming up, while I’m designing currently a Japanese Type 97 Shinhoto Chi-Ha

Coincidentally, I'm building Chris's Cromwell at the moment. Incidentally, the Tiger 1 hull upgrade listed on his site states that one of the improvements his model offers (actually designed by Birger..) is proportionality. In other words, the thickness of the armour is true (scale wise) to, and reflects, the original (real) beast. Is your Matilda also accurate in the plate department? In the meantime, I shall follow your progress with great interest

[88-bait]

Keep it coming; ya cant beat a bit of British armour to ignite the interest

[Panzerjaeger66]

Is your Matilda also accurate in the plate department?

I´m working with plate thickness 1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm and 3mm, depending if strenght is needed or if it´s more for scale view. Mostly the thickness matching ± the origin, or is milled resp. thin at the outline.

[43rdRecceReg]

Is your Matilda also accurate in the plate department?

I´m working with plate thickness 1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm and 3mm, depending if strenght is needed or if it´s more for scale view. Mostly the thickness matching ± the origin, or is milled resp. thin at the outline.

Well, whatever the relative densities of the plate armour, the model certainly looks every bit as beefy as the real thing. Have you any plans for the electronics, gears and controller? I guess if it's going to 'see action', and not dwell on the shelf, you'll want it to be as tough as the original too. I'm certainly adding reinforcement to my Cromwell build

[Panzerjaeger66]

Gears will be from Mato resp. HL standard. I´m using only HL or Clark electronics in my Tanks, but that´s no part of the model kit.

Does anybody have original b/w pictures of Matilda´s in the desert, carrying external fuel drums? So many model kits 1:35 have these external fuel drums but I´ve never seen a picture in all my books that proved this topic.

[PainlessWolf]

Good afternoon,
Here is part of a four video series on the Matilda II that explains the fuel tank which is shown mounted and also, the optional rota-trailer(sp?) which also helped to extend the range of this tank in the desert. This version of the vehicle belongs to the Tank Museum and the video series belongs to World of Tanks and was done 2 years ago before the current rebuild of the tank got underway. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfTDDhNmRN4
regards,
Painless

[Panzerjaeger66]

Thanks for your quick reply
I know this tank, but was this tank really used in the desert with the external tank or was it rebuilt later for the Museum? I got doubtful...

[PainlessWolf]

Good afternoon,
Understanding your frustration, I kept looking about. One thing I noted was that most online rear shots of these tanks were of captured versions in the DAK 'speeding' across the desert festooned with Infantry and jerrycans. No external fuel tanks. I did find a page in the Tank Encyclopedia that verified that the Tank Museums Matilda II was in Libya in 1941. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/g ... lda_II.php I did find a photo of a really interesting metal rod rack on the back with jerrycans in it. The soldiers in this pic were British. Maybe that could substitute if you don't want to use the fuel tank.
regards,
Painless

[B_Man]

It's not the desert but these pictures of Australian Matilda's in the Pacific seem to suggest that some had the external tank and others didn't. The few shots of tanks in action I have seen that show the rear all seem to have the fuel drum removed. Maybe that was a procedure to reduce the chance of fire?

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