Sunday, January 8, 2017

'Armour' from Barks: Mephisto (and friend)

The A7V was introduced in the last year of WW1. Only twenty Sturmpanzerwagens were built, compared to the well over 1000 British tanks which fought.

These tracked and armoured fridges are 15mm A7Vs from PSC. They are very precisely sculpted pre-built models and I recommend them. I made up the camouflage and markings based on an amalgamation of historical vehicles. You can see the origins of the iconic Hinterhalt (ambush) colours. I stippled it on using an old brush. The crosses are decals I picked up from eBay- I would try to freehand one, but not a dozen!


Of the twenty A7Vs, only one survives- No. 506 Mephisto. It was stolen by Australian diggers (Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!) and is currently in our national war memorial (unmissable if you are in Canberra). Fellow Aussie blogger Kaptain Kobold has plenty of info and pics of his visit here- here's one showing the 'nose art'. The demon Mephisto is cheekily running off with a British tank! I tried to replicate this freehand, along with the name. Mephisto has a lot more green to it than mine, but I can live with that.
Photo by Kaptain Kobold


I confess I haven't seen Mephisto in the flesh, and I would love to do so someday.
Posted by Curt at 3:57 PM
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47 comments:

  1. TamsinPJanuary 8, 2017 at 4:16 PM

    Lovely work Barks :)

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  2. AdamC1776January 8, 2017 at 4:49 PM

    Nice to see the German counterpart to my entry. Great job!

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  3. The KiwiJanuary 8, 2017 at 5:27 PM

    AWESOME! Excellent work.
    I have seen Mephisto when it was in Brisbane a few years back. I didn't know it had moved to Canberra.
    Great stuff Barks.
    Cheers mate

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BarksJanuary 8, 2017 at 8:47 PM

      I think it is on loan to Canberra after the Brisbane floods.

      Delete
  4. Paul O'GJanuary 8, 2017 at 5:37 PM

    Nicely done John - great homage to that wonderful exhibit and momento of Digger "souveniring"!

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  5. RodJanuary 8, 2017 at 6:06 PM

    Really nice work Barks!

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  6. CurtJanuary 8, 2017 at 7:26 PM

    Gorgeous tanks Barks. The cammo and weathering are top notch work.

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    Replies
    1. BarksJanuary 8, 2017 at 8:48 PM

      Thanks, Curt, they're great little sculpts.

      Delete
  7. JonathanJanuary 8, 2017 at 11:01 PM

    Great work on these PSC tanks. I hope you do get to see the one in the museum.

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  8. Dux HomunculorumJanuary 9, 2017 at 12:15 AM

    Great work Barks. I went on a pilgrimage down to Canberra to see Mephisto - it's well worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. DaveDJanuary 9, 2017 at 2:04 AM

    Two f the blighters.. excellent

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  10. Evan HughesJanuary 9, 2017 at 2:39 AM

    I've seen Mephisto in the metal so to speak, and it's the only tank I've ever seen which has three storeys and a mess hall.
    ; )
    Lovely work, mate, keep 'em coming!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BarksJanuary 9, 2017 at 2:45 AM

      If only it had a front end and a back end!

      Delete
  11. EndtransmissionJanuary 9, 2017 at 5:11 AM

    Fantastic work, especially the artwork on the front.

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  12. SanderJanuary 9, 2017 at 5:42 AM

    I build one of those in 1:72, but yours look sooooo much better, great work Barks!

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  13. ClintJanuary 9, 2017 at 6:15 AM

    Some more WW1 Tank love here.
    (It would be so much better if the AV7 was at Bovington though... it is a bit of a trip to see it in Canberra! See if you can sort this out for me theres a decent chap!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BarksJanuary 9, 2017 at 11:23 PM

      Stop hogging all the AFVs at Bovington!

      Delete
    2. ClintJanuary 12, 2017 at 9:38 AM

      We do share at Bovington.
      We even let the guys from Kubinka "Moscow" Tank Museum copy the original blueprints for the MAUS so they can renovate their version of the Maus.

      Delete
  14. Christopher(aka Axebreaker)January 9, 2017 at 6:16 AM

    Nice work on that beast!

    Christopher

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  15. Greg BJanuary 9, 2017 at 8:09 AM

    More WW1 whackiness - great job on this one Barks.

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    Replies
    1. BarksJanuary 9, 2017 at 11:24 PM

      I really like the variety in WW1 tanks before they all became variations on a theme.

      Delete
  16. Michael AwdryJanuary 9, 2017 at 9:21 AM

    Stunning work Barks.

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  17. Peter DouglasJanuary 9, 2017 at 9:59 AM

    Great to see these WW1 beasts in the bonus round. Excellent work on the camo and withering Barks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BarksJanuary 9, 2017 at 11:25 PM

      I was pleased to see the Brits and French represented in this round as well!

      Delete
  18. Mad PadreJanuary 9, 2017 at 11:33 AM

    Devilish! I love the way you've replicated the Mephisto artwork and name - adds tons of character. Vehicle names aren't often represented in smaller scale modelling, so this is nice.
    Figures it would have been Aussies who nicked the only surviving one!

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    Replies
    1. BarksJanuary 9, 2017 at 11:27 PM

      Thanks, Padre! I trend towards generic, multi-use markings but I knew I had to do this one.

      We do have our convict past to commemorate!

      Delete
  19. Moiterei_1984January 9, 2017 at 3:35 PM

    Most excellent! I've seen a 1/1 replica at Munster last year and these things are awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  20. James MacCraggsJanuary 9, 2017 at 4:21 PM

    Very well done, love the camo effect. Very menacing looking vehicles.

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    Replies
    1. BarksJanuary 9, 2017 at 11:28 PM

      Thanks, James, they do look implacable, if not entirely unstoppable!

      Delete
  21. PhyllionJanuary 11, 2017 at 2:28 AM

    These are a great pair, nice camo

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  22. Sidney RoundwoodJanuary 12, 2017 at 7:53 AM

    Great work, Barks!!

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  23. david bromleyJanuary 15, 2017 at 9:53 AM

    Very fine heavy metal, Barks!
    I do love the dazzle camouflage and the free hand decoration is very well done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BarksJanuary 15, 2017 at 11:00 PM

      Thanks, David! I quite enjoyed painting these, and hopefully some more WW1 armour will get done!

      Delete

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