Small Scale Military Headquarters

I have wanted an FOV Matilda II tank in the livery of a British Expeditionary Force (BEF) vehicle in France in 1940 to counter my other Blitzkrieg-era German tanks in 1/32 scale. Matildas played a key role in the Battle of Arras (May 21, 1940) which was one of the few near-successes the Allies enjoyed against the German invasion of France and Belgium. Since FOV was likely never to make a Matilda in BEF markings, that left me with the repaint option. This was a long-gestating project that I actually started over 5 years ago and then revisited this past week. Below are some pics of the end result. There is more to see in the "Customs & Mods" forum as well. Enjoy

That's really a nice job! I've only seen the Matilda painted in the desert colors so this is a welcome change.

Really nice. I have meant to paint one of my Matildas. I had hoped that FOV would have released a Euro camo back in the day. (Same for a Euro camo T-72.)

Hi everyone!! Long time no see!!

Love the repaint tman!! Its a shame FOV never made those early war paint schemes for the BEF even when they had the molds. Is FOV still around?? I haven't bought a FOV model in 2.5 years

I like tha camo work and the weathering. Very cool.

I did a early war Matilda a few years ago. It is also a repainted FOV model....





The side flashes were hand painted while the number and the platoon tank name were Archer dry transfers that were exceptionally difficult to apply, I recall....

Tom

Very nice work with your Matilda, Tom! I like the figure and use of decals for the serial numbering and tank name as well.

I couldn't find suitable decals for mine (though I probably didn't look hard enough) and consequently wound up not painting the serial numbers. I saw profile depictions of early-war Matildas that didn't have them on the sides and then some that did. The side flashes were fairly easy to paint. I left the "Desert Rats" and divisional markings on the front to give the tank a little more individuality, even though they are inaccurate.

The name and numbers were Archer dry transfers. I hated them. This was the only tank I ever used them on.

Your camo and markings are right on.

Yes, many variations and many different looks of the same vehicle. I think the one I modeled was a England based tank, never was in France...


Tom

I, too, have dabbled with BEF armor and this 1:48th scale war gamer's resin model of a Matilda II by Blitzkrieg Miniatures was my subject---as shown below:

Nice! I didn't know war gamers used bigger scales like 1/48. It must make for a cool looking gaming table.

I have a ton of FOW stuff I built a while back. I think that is like 1/100 scale...

Tom