Meng 1/35 Mark IV (female), previewed by Scott Van Aken

The Mark IV was a British tank of the First World War. Introduced in 1917, it benefited from significant developments of the Mark I tank (the intervening designs being small batches used for training). The main improvements were in armour, the re-siting of the fuel tank and ease of transport. Armour was increased to resist the German armour-piercing bullet, the drivetrain was strengthened and side turrets were constructed so that they could be swung inside, enabling travel by train (Previously they had to be separately transported to the battlefield by truck).

A total of 1,220 Mark IVs were built: 420 "Males", 595 "Females" and 205 Tank Tenders (unarmed vehicles used to carry supplies), which made it the most numerous British tank of the war. The Mark IV was first used in mid 1917 at the Battle of Messines Ridge. It remained in British service until the end of the war, and a small number served briefly with other combatants afterwards.

For those wondering, the females were armed with five Lewis machine guns. The Males had two 6 pounders with shortened barrels and three Lewis guns. The 6 pounders were one in each sponson along with a Lewis gun.

THE KIT

This was a kit that a vendor seemed unable to sell even with a low price so I bought it. The box is jammed full of sprues because the seller included a full set of male tracks and a male instruction book. I looked through the sprues but did not see any of the 6 pounder canon so it appears I can only do the female version.

The majority of the parts are for the road wheels and the tracks. You spend all of the first several pages of the instructions building the hull. This consists of the central part of the hull with the rear storage area. It is only then that you move to the side panels. It is here that you start the fairly lengthy process of attaching the myria road wheels. There are 26 on each side. These are eventually trapped in two hull side pieces. Once that is done, the tracks for that side are assembled. There are 92 on each side and each track consists of three pieces. Once those are installed, there are 15 cleats that need to be added, about one every 6 links. This is then repeated for the other side.

Attention then turns to the guns, the gun mounts and the side sponsons. When both sides are done, they are then attached to the hull sides that have the tracks and that sub-assembly is then attached to the rest of the hull. With that complete, the unditching beam is assembled. This is where you use the chain that is included in the kit. Each side needs to be cut to length. There is a photo etch assembly to which the beam is attached. Instructions are a tad vague on exactly where it fits and I'm betting most builders will leave off this feature.

Generally, the instruction booklet is quite good. There are multiple construction steps with detail drawings to help with placement. Decals are for either the captured German one shown on the box art, or an overall green British version. The photo etch is well done and the small decal sheet is nicely printed.

If you have ever built a Meng kit of any sort, you know that they are well done and go together well. This one should be no exception. Those of us who don't built much armor will be wide-eyed at the large number of parts and how many of those parts are for the running gear. However, those who do build a lot of armor will find this to be pretty normal. The end result should be a superb model of one of the first practical tanks.

KIT #:	2009
PRICE:	$15.00 from a vendor
DECALS:	Two options
REVIEWER:	Scott Van Aken
NOTES:	2014 release. Includes p.e. and a chain