Quote from: NARSES2 on July 28, 2023, 06:02:20 AMThey look terrific and the figure gives them a sense of scale 

When it comes to weird tanks I've always thought the Tsar Tank takes some beating.

Tsar Tank

Brother Narses is (as usual) correct!   The figures DO help appreciably;  and the Царь-танк  (Tzar tank)  looks like a full scale whiff.

Yeah is what you expect to find as a fairground attraction not stuck in the mud somewhere in russia..it's still around I think or that could be a while back now.

Quote from: Wardukw on July 28, 2023, 12:46:04 PMYeah is what you expect to find as a fairground attraction not stuck in the mud somewhere in russia..it's still around I think or that could be a while back now.

I'd love to see it today, festering slowly in a Russian forest in the middle of nowhere, but Wikipaedia  sayeth "Until 1917, the tank was guarded at the test site, but then, due to the outbreak of the Russian revolution, the vehicle was forgotten.......... the huge structure of the vehicle rusted for another 6 years in the forest some 60 kilometres (37 mi) from Moscow until 1923, when the tank was finally dismantled for scrap.

I decided to set this in the Rif War, early 1920s. It'll be a Spanish or French vehicle. No one really wanted to lay claim to this idea.

The weathering has started, but I think I have to change it - the dirt looks like rust, so I'll have to tone it down or change the color a bit. The decals (2307) look silvered, but that'll get fixed. Zombie John is joined by a new addition, the Puzzled French Mechanic:



"What fresh hell is this?"

The best thing that mechanic can do is find a big hill..push it down it and claim it ran away from him 

Well you have made the wild and wacky into a creditable model, well done.

Still cannot get my head around the concept and why anybody ever thought this was a practical idea, but then, there are so many other things and gadgets in the same category that actually existed, you give a Gallic Shrug and move on.

Good Work

Love the mechanic scratching his head 

Quote from: NARSES2 on July 29, 2023, 06:39:45 AMLove the mechanic scratching his head 

You can hear him sucking through his teeth, "it's not gonna be cheap Guv'.

Haha , this is high level of stupid design to beat . . .   
Place a sticker on the side ,, this side up ,, .

Think about dozen of them airdropped with parachutes .  Or traffic jam at the rush hour . Crazy ,   

Great build Frank 👌
It does make you wonder what those designers were drinking or smoking or both.

Quote from: Mossie on July 29, 2023, 08:34:52 AM

Quote from: NARSES2 on July 29, 2023, 06:39:45 AMLove the mechanic scratching his head 

You can hear him sucking through his teeth, "it's not gonna be cheap Guv'.

        

Since this is going to be set in the Rif Wars, with both Spain and France involved (and the mechanic is as 3D scan of a French guy) the options are:

"C'est quoi cette connerie? Ça va être le bordel."

or

"¿Qué es esta mierda? Va a ser un desastre."

As he's talking to John McEnroe shouldn't he be saying 'Tu ne peux pas être sérieux!' 

Being a mechanic, he's probably saying " Zut alors monsieur, ca va couter tres cher!"   

I'm calling the spheroid tank done. I'm still working on the French mechanic and his tools, but I'll use those in future projects.





With the bored French guy:



With the French mechanic (who's in the process of getting painted) and his workshop. The bench is scratchbuilt, the tools are from a Miniart tool set:





Here's the French guy, George Bush and the Inspector with the Spheroid tank and the much cooler Indian motorcycle:



For the back story - during the 1920s chapter of the Rif Wars, both the Spaniards and the French were throwing men and equipment into the war. They had some FT-17 and Schneider CA 1 tanks, but they needed a way of crossing valleys and open fields to reach the Rifian fortifications - without suffering WWI levels of casualties.

Since getting enough tanks and trained crews was an expensive proposition, engineers from the two nations designed a spherical tank, built around a two cylinder motorcycle engine. The spherical tank provided adequate protection against small arms fire and it's small size provided a small target. It ran well on flat surfaces (paved roads, good dirt roads, well graded gravel roads). Unfortunately, the small internal volume limited the choice of weapons. Early designs used either a  Chauchat or a Mle 1914 Hotchkiss machine gun, but field tests showed that the tank could not fire accurately while underway and the heat, engine vapors and gun smoke were greatly impairing the driver. Modifications included an air vent over the engine and gun and the use of a Puteaux SA 18 as the main weapon, with 12 rounds of ammunition. This would allow (in theory) for the spheroid tank to cover open ground quickly, reach the enemy fortifications and use the Puteaux to decimate gun emplacements, trenches and small walls.

In practice, dirt, dust, pebbles and uneven (and hilly) terrain meant that the Spheroid tank spent most of its service time under repair. When it worked as intended, the Rifians just shrugged and moved their positions further up hill, or added rocky berms to their gun emplacements and trenches.