Tintin Moon Tank... help!

[strobez]

Ok, I couldn't resist... flipping through my Tintin collection looking for other vehicles, I remembered that he drives a blue tank on the moon!

The only problem... I've never built a tank before... so any and all tips and tricks are welcome.

After a short dalliance with a Merkava III, I settled on. 1/72 scale Leopard.  The Ace reboxings of the Revell kits are abundant here in Seoul, So it seemed like the right balance of quality and money ($8) to give it a shot.  I bought the Merkava first, but then after some reflection realized that the Leopard probably had the better basic shape.

Here's what I'm looking to build...



And here's where I'm going to start.  I've heard it's best to build it first, then paint it.  So assuming that's sound advice... off we go!

[Old Wombat]

The tricky bit is going to be making the flat side fenders, & the curved front face of the moon tank from the angular Leopard front, but that 2nd point will be your problem with any kit.

I might have suggested the Centurion as a better starting point, it looks to be closer to the basic profile.

Ace models do one (actually, they do a couple of variants):


Same kit built up from a similar angle to the moon tank image:


An M60 is another good (better) option:



PS: Hergé (Georges Remi) would have been at least passingly familiar with both the Centurion & M60, much less likely to have come across the Leopard.

[Dizzyfugu]

Fellow user FrancLab, a modeler and illustrator from Canada, built the Tin Tin moon vehicle from scratch, IIRC:

Tintin - Char lunaire / Lunar tank by François, on Flickr

Chassis looks very Centurion-esque in this case, too?

[NARSES2]

Chassis looks very Centurion-esque in this case, too?

Very much so

[strobez]

I've seen that 1/35 scratchbuild before (while looking for reference pictures) and I believe Francois mentioned on some message thread that he'd cobbled it together from some Japanese tank.  However, I agree that the Centurion seems indeed to be the most similar-looking chassis out there.  The only problem is that I have an innate fear of cutting up high-priced model kits for WHIF projects - something about not using all the parts I paid for I think.  So that, and the fact that the ACE Centurion is not available on any of the shelves near me... I'm still looking for alternatives.  However, I'm heading off to Singapore for a few days next week... so you never know what you might find on a shelf you've never seen before, right?

Of course, since I've already bought the Merkava III and the Leopard, and am looking for another... it seems silly that I'm quibbling about the price I suppose, but that's just compounding my fear at the moment.

When I mentioned "Ace" I was referring to the Ace Corporation kits - which are simply reboxings of Revell kits by a local Korean company (not sure where the Revell kits are originally made though... might be here in Korea, hence the "local market" offer).

So, my preference on kits is really "limited to" the following: https://www.scalemates.com/search.php?fkSECTION[]=Kits&q=%09Ace+Corporation&fkSCALE[]=%221:72%22&fkGROUPS[]=%22Vehicles%22&fkCATNAME[]=%22Tanks%22

Out of that lot, at first I thought the Merkava would be the easiest to work with... and then changed my mind to the Leopard... right up until I realized that I miscounted the number of wheels!  The body shape I can more or less work with, but an extra wheel is just a glaring mistake that will haunt my dreams.

I did notice though, that the list includes one of Old Wombat's suggestions - the M60 (https://www.scalemates.com/kits/226909-ace-corporation-3340-m60-a1) - a reboxed M60 A1 version of the Revell M60 A3 kit that was posted.  Based on the cover art alone, I'd sort of dismissed it as an option... but am now giving it a second look.

At least it has the correct number of wheels...

[rickshaw]

Number of wheels in the kit, isn't that important.  The more the better in fact.  What I'd recommend you do is invest in plasticard.  Once you have the wheels, draw out the shape of the hull on the plasticard and construct it from scratch.  Don't worry about using the rest of the kit.   You won't need it.   Once you have the hull scratchbuilt, then attach the wheels to the hull, the correct distance apart.  The spacing is  a little odd for a torsion bar suspension but I suspect the Horstman units from the Centurion wouldn't be right either.  Once you have the wheels attached (I'd recommend drilling holes in each hull side and using thin metal wire as axles), then build up the hull top, sides and the mudguards (although, why you'd need those on the moon is beyond me).  Build each level as a separate box and glue it one, on top of the other. Once that is done, add the detail.  Scribe the outlines of the various lockers and hatches.   Finally, add the track.   Voila, basically done.   

[Old Wombat]

the mudguards (although, why you'd need those on the moon is beyond me

Dust guards!

No atmosphere but those tracks churning through the moon dust would throw a bucket-load of it about.

[rickshaw]

the mudguards (although, why you'd need those on the moon is beyond me

Dust guards!

No atmosphere but those tracks churning through the moon dust would throw a bucket-load of it about.

Dust guards would extend downwards, over the suspension to as close to the moon's surface as possible, covering the suspension.  Even on the existing moon rover there wasn't that much dust kicked up by the wheels, so I still can't see how much a tank could produce that would require them...

[zenrat]

the mudguards (although, why you'd need those on the moon is beyond me

Dust guards!

No atmosphere but those tracks churning through the moon dust would throw a bucket-load of it about.

And it would take a while to settle.

Or would it?  I must look up footage of the moonbuggy Lunar Rover to check that out.

[Old Wombat]

I seem to recall it settling quite quickly, as there's no air friction or currents to hold it aloft, but it still (apparently) got everywhere.

[zenrat]

Yertiz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cKpzp358F4
Some rooster tails and a bit of flung dust but nothing outrageous.
Whoever is driving is having a bit of fun.  Looks like a kid in a paddock bomb!

[strobez]

Waking this thread up...

[Old Wombat]

HOORAY!

[JayBee]

Yertiz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cKpzp358F4
Some rooster tails and a bit of flung dust but nothing outrageous.
Whoever is driving is having a bit of fun.  Looks like a kid in a paddock bomb!

Note how the dust is settling so very quickly. I would suggest that the conspiracy theorists are correct and we never went to the moon at all.
This must have been filmed on a studio set on Earth! 

[strobez]

Ok... so, as promised.  This project has risen from the "Shelf of Planned but never quite got off the ground" and is now well under way.

After seeing a successful build by a French model builder based off the M26 Pershing, I decided to go that route.



Only need some of these sprues. The back grating was already used for the Tintin Bordurian tank project. That's okay, we won't be needing it.



Wheels... wheels and more wheels. Tanks sure have a lot of these...



Top trimmed and placement of viewing bubbles figured out.



Back end boxed in and side skirts elongated.



Boxes on top of boxes, cut out and glued from sheet polystyrene. Holes for the view bubbles cut out.