Post WoW1 (War of the Worlds 1) the great powers of Europe invested heavily in the technology from the Martian tripods, in an effort to build viable defence/deterrents against a second possible invasion from the Red Planet.

While the Germans and French persued 3 legged designs, the British -under the direction of Brig.Gen Garden-Freud - experimented with 4 legged and 6 legged designs. One of the these designs was the Matilda 3 Cavalry Walker of which 6 pre-production units were ordered by the Ministry of Supply for evaluation against conventional tanks. The walking units, while impressive, suffered from poor reliability in the field and also had a high profile which made them easy targets. They were especially vunerable to artillery fire.

The Matilda 3 was adapted from the conventional tank of the same name (Matilda 2 Infantry Tank). It was powered by 2 Leyland 6 cylinder diesels of 120 hp each giving it a maximum speed of 17 mph and a range of 190 miles. The main armament was a 2lb gun which could fire AP, HE as well as canister biological rounds. The biological rounds were intended to be used in the air burst mode where by the target would be showered with shards of contaminated material.

With the deteorating political situation in Europe the Cavalry tank concept was dropped and the British concentrated their efforts on treaded vehicles and anti gravity research.

The Model

Obviously this is the Tamiya 1/35 Matilda turret sitting on a lot of plasticard... It was supposed to be a quick build... but I guess making 4 of anything is a pain..... As always lots of panzer IV wheels were used.

Image: Commander

Image: Right side view