Mike’s model tank to go in library display
THE First World War saw great advances in technology and while the conflict saw the first decisive deployment of the aeroplane as a weapon, it is the tank that is the most iconic machine of that time.
The British Mark IV tank played a key role in the final victory and thousands of them were built here in the Black Country (see Bugle 1361).
To mark the centenary of the end of the war Mike Hartshorne, a dealer in militaria and collectibles, has handcrafted a precise scale model of a Mark IV tank.
Working to a scale of one foot to one inch he has painstakingly constructed the model, based on the only complete Mark IV on display at Bovington Tank Museum, from scratch over the last two and half months.
“It must have taken 200 hours at least,” said Mike when he brought his model to the Bugle office. “I used the Haynes Manual on the tank for the drawings and I’ve made it from wood and other bits and pieces. It’s painted in the original chocolate brown that the tanks left the factory in.”
Mike’s attention to detail is impressive. Every rivet is reproduced and even every individual caterpillar track plate. The top is removable, revealing the fully detailed interior with its engine, controls and guns.
Mike’s model has been on show at his shop in Worcester Street, Wolverhampton, but is now on display at Tipton Library as part of a First World War commemorative display organised by Nigel Martin.