Albion tank help

[RAFF-35]

Hi all, ive had this idea of "what if Britain thought that the light tank concept was a good idea during WW1" so ive set about designing the Albion tank, based on the Renault FT-17 chassis, but to reduce the frontal cross section (to take less hits and be less visible) the driver is sat in the prone position.



To build this, id use the tracks, wheels etc from the FT-17 and would probably also use the turret too, but ive no idea what to use for the hull, seeing how it would be quite low and relatively wide, any suggestions and help would be most appreciated, thanks   

[lenny100]

that hull looks very ww2  panther like to me

[NARSES2]

Initially I read Albino Tank 

I really like that. Be good to see it in the flesh so to speak

[Mossie]

Oh, I do like that.   Reminds me of the Ford 3-Ton tank, a little bit.

My only suggestion would to be have a simpler turret, either a straight cylinder or with angled sides.  Looks good either way.

[RAFF-35]

My only suggestion would to be have a simpler turret, either a straight cylinder or with angled sides. 

Thank you,  what would be the benefits of having a cylindrical turret? And I might do angled if I use the FT-17 turret

You could cut the FT17 hull down.  Just need to remember to do the engineering first.  The automotive components will be the deciding factor.  Also in another thread, track run to vehicle width was discussed and it really is an important consideration.

That is an interesting consideration, but it won't be enormously wide, just compared to the height and width of the Renault.

[Mossie]

My only suggestion would to be have a simpler turret, either a straight cylinder or with angled sides. 

Thank you,  what would be the benefits of having a cylindrical turret? And I might do angled if I use the FT-17 turret

Ease of manufacture I believe, much of the emphasis on British tanks was to get them into production fast.  It seems to be a British trait, but all the wartime armoured cars I can think of had cylindrical turrets, or cylindrical with angled sides like the Lanchester and Rolls Royce cars.  No production tanks had top mounted turrets, although Little Willie was mocked up with one and the early Tritton Chaser Medium Mark A prototype had one, both cylindrical.

Still a cool design.

[RAFF-35]

Of course, yes!!! Now you've said it, I remember the Willie turret now, thanks for pointing that out, it was never a final design and suitable alterations can be made before I actually build the thing

[Mossie]

If you don't already know it, Landships is a very good site for all things about WWI armour.
http://www.landships.info/landships/index.html

There's a lot of pictures and info on the menu on the left hand side and more in the forum.

[RAFF-35]

Thanks for all the help but how would you go about building  the hull?

[Mossie]

It's a pretty simple shape, so I'd probably scratch it from plastic card.  What scale are you building in?

[Captain Canada]

Yup. I'd go scratch as well. Sheet and tube and rod. Would be simple enough ! And fun to do. Cool design btw I like that idea.

[Mossie]

Having thought about it, you might be able to heavily modify a Vickers 6 ton tank?  Mirage do kits in both 1/72 and 1/35.

[RAFF-35]

I've got 1:76 FT-17 parts, so that's the scale I'll build in, by all means, build the idea yourself, I'd love to see the results there aren't enough WW1 whiffs out there A heavily modified 6 ton would also be an interesting build.

[Mossie]

I've had a WWI whif in mind since just before the anniversary started, I've just not got around to it.  I really should do it before the anniversary of the armistice, given my work rate I'll need that long...

[RAFF-35]

Hahaha, care to share the idea or not??