Tprhhicokv-1

[Sisko]

With the breakup of the old Soviet Union the capabilities of Henristan's armed forces became increasingly uncertain. Henristan was always one of those Russian republics that were overlooked when it came to the allocation of up to date weaponry. When the collapse came, the little modern equipment stationed there, was moved back to Russia and what were left behind were essentially the dregs that Russians did not want.

The Russians did offer to sell back to Henristan some modern weaponry, however it was offered at greatly inflated prices that their small economy could not afford.

This capability crisis was a cause of concern for the newly installed Sultan of Henristan. However he was an ideas man and he decided to implement a homegrown arms industry to provide them with the weapons they could not buy.  

The Direktor of the Peoples Republic of Henristan Heavy Industries Co-operative was Oslamma Bin Liid. When the Grand Sultan of Henristan came to Oslamma asking for a design for a new battle tank he knew that much was being asked of him and the organisation that he headed.

Oslamma knew that The Peoples Republic of Henristan Heavy Industries Co-operative was more than capable of building cheaper copies of cheap Russian cars, tractors and mechanical toilets however the prospect of designing a modern armoured fighting vehicle was a challenge that seemed daunting. He immediately went to see his chief engineer Mustafa Bin Inmabeli. Mustafa seemed to think that it was possible for him to design a tank but he would have to do some research.

While rummaging around in a filing cabinet looking for a falafel that he had hidden so he could snack during Ramadan, Mustafa stumbled across some old production drawings for the KV-1 tank, which had been manufactured in Henristan during the great Patriotic War. Mustafa showed the Direktor of The Peoples Republic of Henristan Heavy Industries Co-operative what he had found. Mustfa convinced Oslamma that this design could be modernised and put into production using locally made products.

Oslamma was keen to impress the new Sultan with the capabilities of his company and decided that this was the perfect way in which to do it. Within a short time the drafting office had drawn up a modern looking design using the original KV1 drawings as a base.

Within months several preliminary production designs were being manufactured. The main gun was a problem for the production team as the expertise to manufacture the original guns had been lost along with the drawings. The production team from the original KV1 line earned the Ire of the Stalin by miss-spelling his name during a during wartime factory visit. When the war finished they became victims of his Gulags.

Mustafa had a solution for this conundrum. He noticed out the back that some old 50mm antiaircraft guns had been dumped as defective units due to the lack of padding for the gunner's seats. The guns were quietly removed cleaned up and installed on the first production tanks. One was kept aside as a template for future production needs.  

A year later when the TPRHHICOKV-1 tank was unveiled to the Sultan his first reaction was to remark that it looked familiar but he could not explain why it seemed familiar. Mustafa and Oslamma assured him that this familiarity was because it was so modern, and he had been looking at a lot of modern tanks in magazines. Convinced the design looked modern, he was however disappointed that the main gun seemed small in comparison with the tank guns had seen in those magazines. Mustafa and Oslamma assured the Sultan that the trend for very modern tank designs was for smaller guns. It was what all the countries were going for these days.

The tank was not driven around for the sultan as the engines had not been fitted but they assured the Sultan when they were, they would send a video to the Sultan showing it running.

The Sultan pleased that Henristan was at the cutting edge of modern tank design, put the TPRHHICOKV-1 tank into full production. Henritans's armed forces which where under the control of the Sultans cousins' half brother. Were initially enthusiastic about the new tanks however its performance was less than stellar and it was from here on in that it all started to go down hill for the TPRHHICOKV-1.

The problem was that it was slow and belched so much smoke that gas masks were required by all crewmembers. The engines were modified tractor engines and while slow smokey engines were fine for plowing the hard baked soil of Henristan's bread basket, they were no good however in an armoured vehicle. When they were put into action against the mountain tribesman during their rebellion they broke down......a lot, or the crews passed out due to smoke inhalation or the tank's positions were given away due to the smoke thus any potential offensive plans ended before they could begin.

The Final straw for the sultan however was when a bad review on the TPRHHICOKV-1 was published in his favorite military magazine. It was here that he learned that the gun was indeed small and that it was not a modern design just an updated version of the "old" KV-1.

The Sultan was furious he had Oslamma flayed alive and his body was fed to the Sultans pet vultures. Mustafa's engineering skills were the only thing that saved him from death. However due to his nose being cut off, he was never able to "tune" the mechanical operating toilets again.

The TPRHHICOKV-1's were decommissioned and the engines removed and placed into tractors. The bodies can be found in children play grounds across Henristan.

This is the Hobby Boss 1/48th scale KV-1 that has been heavily modified. I wanted it to look different enough to fool people at first glance. The turret was enlarged using putty and card and the side skirts were removed and card used to make the body of the tank bigger. Thin card was used to give surface detail and several bits and pieces from the spares box were used to give the turret and the body some character.

I really enjoyed this build and the base kit was so easy to assemble that the work to do the modifications was not a chore at all.

[Sisko]

Careful children it has sharp edges

[Sisko]

Smokey but deadly

[BadersBusCompany]

  Great Back Story..,faf names and a neat model....nice one    

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Great to see the Free Deomocratic Republic of Henristan back in the limelight where it truly belongs..... do you know if they've sorted-out that raw sewarage in the drinking water problem they were having last summer ?

Excellent model, Sisko, nice three-tone camo too !

Ian

[Brian da Basher]

That's just killer Sisko and your wonderful backstory had me rolling around laughing! Great stuff! I love how you've modified the turret. It looks like it belongs.

Great work!

Brian da Basher

P.S. I heard Henristan's drinking water problem was resloved by posting signs saying "Free Chocolate Milk" at all the public water fountains...

[BlackOps]

Great looking build Sisko!    

[ysi_maniac]

               

Really good

[lancer]

Amazing work sisko.  

[General Zod]

Great story and great looking model

How is the quality of the HB KV kit? I built one of their t34's I wasn't too impressed with it

[Maverick]

Sweet build Stuart, especially given it's a 48th scale job & not 35th.  Some really nice mods to be sure.

Mav

[gooberliberation]

Love it. It's so... old worldly  

[Sisko]

Great story and great looking model

How is the quality of the HB KV kit? I built one of their t34's I wasn't too impressed with it

It was a pleassure to build. The detail was good the fit was good and apart from a little flash which required some cleanup the kits was nearly flawless.

I can't vouch for the accuracies but it certainly looked the part for me.

I would certainly build more HB armour kits based on this one. In fact I have some plans for more of Henristans attempts and self help armour. :dum:

I am also think of cuttin and shuttin some HB aircraft kits for Henristani aircraft ideas I have.

Bwhahahahahahahahahahaaha  

[tanktastic43]

Once again another one i've dug up while going through the C&FP's.

Nice build and a good back story too.

Can't wait to see more from Henristan. 

[puddingwrestler]

Terribly terribly smooth sir!