This remarkable looking thing is a 1918 British Mark V tank that saw duty in the final months of the First World War. With an engine (built by Ricardo, who now make the twin-turbo V8 engine fitted to McLaren supercars) mounted in the centre of the crew’s cabin the Mark V was a miserable place to spend any time in. Ponderous, painfully slow, and unreliable, these early tanks were no fun at all, but they would change the course of warfare for ever.

This beautiful Model Team style recreation of the 100 year old Mark V comes from Master MOCer and TLCB regular Sariel and it’s packed with brilliant engineering. With an XL motor driving each track Sariel’s Mark V can cross 22cm wide gaps, climb 9cm vertically, and ascend a 60% slope thanks to the 176 rubber feet mounted to the tracks for traction. This means that just like your Mom at a free buffet, nothing will get in its way.

Sariel’s Mark V also features a working 6-cylinder piston engine inside a realistically replicated cabin, a functional un-ditching beam, and two remote controlled side mounted guns that can rotate and elevate. Twin SBrick bluetooth bricks take care of the control signal, and mean that the Mark V can be controlled by a mobile phone and – more coolly – by a Playstation controller!

There’s lots more of Sariel’s Mark V tank to see at his Flickr album by clicking here, and you join in the discussion and watch a video of the model in action at the Eurobricks discussion forum by clicking here.