Overview
Description: Created for our 100th anniversary, this exhibition, “Tanks for Memories: The Tank in Popular Culture,” examines how the tank has become a cultural icon through the manufacture of multiple toys, games, models, works of art, books, comics, video games, and films.
Exhibition Space: Large exhibition hall – 1000sqm
Objective: The Tanks in Popular Culture exhibition aimed to showcase how tanks have been depicted in popular culture through games, toys, cartoons, and other media over the last century.
Challenges: The challenge was to develop a design that could incorporate all the exhibits and cover various themes without using a timeline to demonstrate the cultural evolution of tanks. Our team managed local contractors to ensure that the construction pieces matched the 3D designs and that the build was as seamless as possible.
Scorpion Tank: Recreated as a toy for Action Man
Tanks in Popular Culture
Tanks for Memories: Tanks in Popular Culture opened in April 2023 following a four-month build programme and focused on the tank as a cultural icon through film, art, news, books and literature, toys and games, and video games.
The exhibition combines these themes with new graphic panels, films, vehicles, showcase displays, and interactives to give visitors a unique experience and understanding of the tank in popular culture. One key deliverable was to provide visitors with ‘play’ in the space and offer an engaging experience for the whole family.
Introduction & Back Story
Tanks and armoured vehicles have appeared in numerous publications and have become recognisable cultural symbols since their debut, particularly during World War I. Items such as sweetheart brooches, trench art, teapots, and postcards were created for the public, and films like “The Battle of the Ancre and the March of the Tanks” gained popularity. By 1918, tanks were well-established in the public consciousness.
Bovington became the leading tank training site after tanks were first used in action on the Somme in September 1916. Initially, returned tanks were displayed outdoors until poet Rudyard Kipling suggested creating a museum in 1923. This led to establishing a dedicated tank museum that built on the tanks’ cultural significance from the war.
Introduction & Entrance Concept
3D Model Overview
Toys & Games
The toy industry for tanks began with an advertisement in November 1916, just after the first tank attack. Popular early toys included pull-along and clockwork tanks. In 1937, Dinky made Royal Tank Corps soldiers and vehicles, while production paused during WWII. After the war, Dinky produced the classic Centurion tank from 1954 to 1970.
In 1972, Hasbro launched ‘Action Man,’ based on the Scorpion Reconnaissance Vehicle. Later, Hasbro expanded to include the Spartan Personnel Carrier. The tank toy market has continued to thrive, with products for all ages available at The Tank Museum’s shop.
Model Making
Model making has thousands of enthusiastic hobbyists worldwide, with tank modelmakers forming a significant part of this community. The museum has its own ‘Modellers’ group, which has created several dioramas for exhibitions. Additionally, the museum hosts the South West Model Show annually, and inquiries from modelmakers to the Archive are among the most common. It was important for us to design an area that embraced model making and resonated with this vibrant group.
Books & Comics
Since their fictional debut, tanks and armoured vehicles have appeared in countless publications, including newspapers, magazines, posters, and books. While some may be known only to experts, many are familiar to the general public. Notable examples include Punch Magazine, Victor and Commando Comics, Haynes Manuals, the Osprey Series, Dorling Kindersley publications, and HMSO Books.
Visitor Feedback
90% Apeal to diferent ages
69% - 9/10 out of 10
Overall Rating 9.14 out of 10
The Tank Museum completed an independent evaluation report on the qualitative feedback for the ‘Tanks for the Memories: The Tank in Popular Culture’ exhibition in April 2023.
Visitor Feedback
“You’ll be blown away with exactly how much there is to see here!!”
“Words cannot explain how amazing this museum is! A massive display of tanks and the complete history from the beginning! So much to see that we literally spent the entire day here. We even managed to see the exhibition hall which is a spectacle in itself! A truly magnificent place to visit if you love tanks and history. Tickets valid all year round too. Thank you for an amazing experience.”
“Great day out, superb value for money.”
“Over recent years the museum has secured lottery heritage funding to extend and upgrade the facilities from top to bottom. The exhibits have now been tastefully assembled and arranged in “themes” telling the tank story from the beginning to the present day. Increased funding facilitated the vehicles and exhibits to be given more room. We particularly liked the “Toy” themed exhibition at the end. Very good indeed a lot of thought and effort has been put into these set displays.”
“Great day out so much to see and to learn history whilst enjoying yourself”
“I have been before and once again had a great day at the Tank Museum. So much to see amazing and was so pleased The Fury Tank on display with all info regarding Uniforms, Photos, Brad Pitt of course details of the Script and more . Also we noticed that a New Video Gaming area being set up looks really cool . Lots for children of all ages to get involved. Well worth the visit and especially as you get an annual return visit included … go for it if you’re in the area.”
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Beyond the Exhibition
Over 45k joined The Tank Museum live on the set of Tanks in Popular Culture seen on Twitch and YouTube. Featured guests include Bruce Crompton, David Willie, Jack Beckett, Chris Copson, Paul Famojuro, Chris van Schaardenburgh, Stefan Karlsson, and many others.
