Friday 17 February 2017

A7V Mephisto

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.

[This post was my 'Armour' theme entry for AHPC VII]

16 comments:

  1. Beautiful work! I saw Mephisto in Brisbane about 10 years ago. Very cool to see in the flesh!

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  2. Really nicely painted. I find early armoured vehicles fascinating because of the wildly varying designs, & it's always great to see them in miniature!

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  3. Barks - your A7V looks *so* good. The ambush camo is just grand, and I love the details (like the devil). I also enjoyed the mini-history lesson about the Mephisto in Canberra. Splendid!

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  4. A beautifully painted nachine Barks!

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  5. It's a pretty blocky vehicle but your careful camo makes it visually interesting, in addition to the historical appeal. The little devil on the front is really well-done, and it's so tiny!

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    1. Thanks, Allison, it is a very distinctive vehicle!

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  6. Very cool mate! I must confess I've not seen Mephisto in the flesh either which I'm rather embarrassed to admit...

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  7. Fantastic job mate - you've done her proud!

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