I am beginning to think that scratch building a model of a real tank is easier than building an imaginary one out of miscellaneous spare parts. When scratch building I just copy photos and drawings of something that was designed by experts who knew what they were doing (??). But trying to assemble a bunch of weird bits and pieces into something that resembles a real tank can be a female canine. However, looking at some of the "real" tanks that have been produced makes me think I couldn't do any worse than some of the monsters that were made, especially during the 1920s and 1930s.

So far I have decided to use a Tamiya Pershing tank top, HL Tiger track, and the road wheels are modified resin copies of HL road wheels. I don't really have a plan, I am just trying to think of ways to modify what I have available and use my spare parts in some reasonably realistic way. I hope this works out ......

going to look pretty cool

Kinda like a tank in a blender..... interesting !

Hi Rex
Interesting. But you appear to have 2 front ends - pics 6 & 11?
Or are you just spreading a bit of confusion for enemy gunners, so they don't know if you're coming or going?

Mal

Yeah, that's it ...... I wanna confuse enemy gunners ...... heck, I'm so confused about this project I don't know whether I'M coming or going!!! Photo # 11 should have been posted before # 6. I think I have finally figured out a front end that will only get changed two or three more times before I am happy with it.

Hi Rex
Ah, so there is method in the madness, or is that madness in the method?
I've started down a similar track - an unrealised vehicle - T50E1 - http://hobbyhavoc.com/forum/index.php?topic=3462.0 - you'll need to sign in to see the pics.

Mal

i have some stuff around but i planned on building this

I think I am happy enough with what you see here to quit fooling with the hull top at this point. There are some things that I think aren't quite right and I may change them (the mud flaps). Not everything is glued down as I have been moving things around trying to find out what looks good (not too silly). I may have to build two or three of these Zombies before I get it right.


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Now the fun begins ..... the turret.

Hi Rex
Hmm, Russian influence around the rear, German up front? 4 crew hatches up front - must be pretty cozy? Some sort of APC? Or maskirovka?
Interesting, whatever the answer.

Mal

Wow Rex! If I sent you my box of left over parts would you make me something that cool?

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You are correct on both ends! I didn't think about that APC idea, or "that word that I had to Google", but both could work. I just had a lot of different hatches available. However, I think if you are in a tank that is on fire, you can never have too many escape hatches !!!
rex

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Hey .... I have a great idea on how to save you the cost of shipping parts!!! Why don't I come up to stay at your place and build you a model in your hobby room? That way you could watch over my shoulder and give me direction and tell me what to do. Since I live at sea level and you are at about 7000 feet, I could probably adapt to the high elevation in a few days or so. Since there is less oxygen at that altitude, my work speed won't be as fast but I'm sure I could kick something out in a few weeks, a month maximum.


I'll have a better idea about what my schedule will be on Friday, after I see my Cardiologist. He thinks I'm a good candidate for conversion into a battery operated full function unit by installing a defibrillator on my ticker. I'm not too sure he knows what he is doing ....... I think he got his medical degree through the correspondence course at Jamaica Junior College .......

Sounds like you will do fine at high altitude. Just move slow and drink more whiskey than usual. That's how we handle it.

I started this project with the intention of building something out of the spare parts in my junk boxes. At first that worked out, but now I find myself scratch building most of it with the usual styrene and resin materials that I always use.


As you can see, the turret is more Churchill than anything original that I could come up with. I borrowed something off of all of the different types of Churchill turrets made. I have always wanted to do a Churchill, but there are so many versions, I can't make up my mind on which mark to build. This is one solution to partly satisfy that urge.


Since this project has turned out to be a little devil in a lot of ways, I am going to name it my XM666, mk.1, ausf A, "Spawn of Satan".

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That kind of reminds me of a car I had in college. It was rebuilt from the fixed up parts from more than one car crash. The front end was a 1977 and the back end was a 1978.

Here's another gun version I thought might work ......................

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Naw... too anti-aircraftish. Combine them. Big gun on the left, small cannon on the right

That is one hell of a "spare parts" box you are working with.

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Heck, I thought the 20mm guns were just right for street sweeping and crowd control ...... I have a lot of parts to build German or Sherman thingies but not much else.
I'm actually working on an anti aircraft turret now, but it is a totally scratch built thing that I hope to finish this next week.

For some reason I have always liked the looks of the AEC anti-aircraft turret that was used on the Crusader tank and the AEC armored car. I thought it could work on my Zombie project. Originally I just intended to build it as it was in real life with twin 20 mm Oerlikon guns Then I thought it would look better with 4 .50 cal mgs, or at least different as I had 20mm guns on the "Churchill" turret. There are some other changes too, I never intended to build an accurate copy of the AEC. I intended for the mgs to rotate, but that's all. Then I got the urge to articulate the sights with the gun elevation and depression. Sometimes things get out of hand and I think I built the pivoting levers and linkage two 3 or 4 times before I got it workable...... not perfect ..... just workable. There's still some minor clean up and then the painting begins.

I can argue about the caliber, but not the quality and creativity. Great Job!

If you really want to do some street sweeping or crowd control, you could put a scoop blade on the front, add a hopper for a trailer, and paint the whole thing "Soylent Green".

Kevin ..... I got to thinking about your Soylent Green possibility this last weekend and decided that my fantasy tank needed at least a fantasy trailer to go with it. Hey ...why not? How about an armored ammo and supply trailer equipped with track ....not tires. The are tracked trailers that exist in real life, so I guess they work out. This trailer didn't turn out the way I wanted.. I got kinda silly with it and it looks more like a circus trailer that a buncha clowns are gonna jump out of than an ammo trailer but it was fun and I used a few more spare parts.