Done @p.2 +++ 1:72 'Chelydra' hovertank from/for the Dougram universe

[Dizzyfugu]

Well, I have been having this idea and project on the agenda for a while, but several reasons delayed its entry to the GB - primarily heavy paint stripping over the course of several weeks. This is a kind of multiple mummy resurrections, since I plan to bash remnants of two incomplete mecha husks from the junk pile, originally built in the late Eighties, wrecked, partly re-used in former kitbashing projects, and with crude and multiple layers of enamel paint. Will certainly not become the most crisp build, but I will try to save what's left - and IMHO we need some mecha or SF flavor to this build.

So, this will become a relatively compact 1:72 hovertank, bashed from an 1:48 Eastland ARH-52 "Groundsearch" Air Cushion Vehicle and an 1:72 Bromry ARMC "Instead" 8x8 tank - or better, from what's left of both of them... 

[ysi_maniac]

These kits look promising indeed.

[Dizzyfugu]

The Instead tank is really cool, and it is a shame that it just exists here in bits and pieces anymore. The kit also comes with optional rocket launcher pods for the turret flanks, and an alternative turret with fifteen bigger artillery missiles. The pods still exist and I might try to mount them, but the planned fans behind the turret cause some headaches. And, after all, they'd rise the vehicle's CG, and I guess that you'd rather avoid anything that makes a tank at 100 mph topple over in a curve... 

Besides, hardware work started, and I ordered a metal gun barrel (a 1:48 3.7cm PaK with a neat muzzle brake) for the turret, and I fear that I have to scratch the whole propeller arrangement including multi-blade-props for this one. Sounds like a challenge so far.

[Dizzyfugu]

Time for WiP pics. First an intermediate shot from the tedious "bleaching" process of the old parts - not only parts for the build, but others, too (e .g. the lower arms from an 1:100 VF-1 Gerwalk):

(Fang of the Sun) Dougram +++ 1:72 Eastland AHT-81 'Chelydra' Hovercraft Tank (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The resurrected basis:

(Fang of the Sun) Dougram +++ 1:72 Eastland AHT-81 'Chelydra' Hovercraft Tank (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The Instead's upper hull was trimmed down, and a plug in front of the turret ring mount taken out so that the length matches the deck of the Groundsearch hovercraft, which lost its original cockpit details:

(Fang of the Sun) Dougram +++ 1:72 Eastland AHT-81 'Chelydra' Hovercraft Tank (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some gaps have to be filled, though, and PSR started...

(Fang of the Sun) Dougram +++ 1:72 Eastland AHT-81 'Chelydra' Hovercraft Tank (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Things evolve gradually, because only the major parts are available, and the propulsion system at the rear causes some headaches... 

[jalles]

It's looking great so far, I'm excited to see where this one goes    I was thinking of doing a Russian assault hovercraft before I settled on the Marauder, so I'm glad someone else has taken up the mantel.

[philp]

Fun project.

I have the Instead almost completed.  Need to finish the camo and figure out what I am doing to the turret since I am not using the rocket launchers.

Also have the 48th hovercraft and also thought about a 72nd hover tank with it.  Might end up more of a Hovercar or an APC.  Will see whenever I get back to it.

[Dizzyfugu]

The good thing about the Dougram stuff is that it is pretty realistic - esp. the support vehicles around the robots. Cool designs. If you want more of this style, there's a vehicle range in 1:72 from Kotobukiya with generic tanks (tracked and wheeled, both are basically the same chassis with two equipment options each), two unmanned combat heli drones and two large flatbed trucks. Perfect matches.

Besides, things keep moving here - here are some impressions concerning the propulsion. The original, tail-mounted jet engines were already gone, and the new upper hull as well as the turret would not allow me to mount them anymore, anyway. So I decided to go for classic shrouded propellers/impellers. But these have to be scratched...

Said and done, I found a pair of leftover engine fairings from a Matchbox Marauder to start with, and from that I improvided two small seven-blade propellers. The consist of tailored drop tanks/oil canisters from a Revell G.91, and the blades are simple styrene profile bits. Tedious job, though. A simple ruler helped with the proper alignment of the blades, since each had to be glued to the spinner individually, with an appropriate drying period.

(Fang of the Sun) Dougram +++ 1:72 Eastland AHT-81 'Chelydra' Hovercraft Tank (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

(Fang of the Sun) Dougram +++ 1:72 Eastland AHT-81 'Chelydra' Hovercraft Tank (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

(Fang of the Sun) Dougram +++ 1:72 Eastland AHT-81 'Chelydra' Hovercraft Tank (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The result ain't bad, though, and most will be hard to spot, anyway. Then, here's a look at what's left from the original Instead turret:

(Fang of the Sun) Dougram +++ 1:72 Eastland AHT-81 'Chelydra' Hovercraft Tank (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


I guess that I will not be able to mount the rocket pods, but that is not a big loss (the mounts are missing) and the resulting bulky turret would not match well with a nimble hovercraft.

[Dizzyfugu]

More updates from the fans; tail view with the leftover Marauder parts:

(Fang of the Sun) Dougram +++ 1:72 Eastland AHT-81 'Chelydra' Hovercraft Tank (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

First, the drive nacelles, mounted (hopefully) in the middle of the shrouds:

(Fang of the Sun) Dougram +++ 1:72 Eastland AHT-81 'Chelydra' Hovercraft Tank (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Then the delicate job of mounting the parts to the hull started - initial step was a "bridge", one of the vectored thrust rudders from an Italeri MiG-37 (which was also used for the drive nacelles):

(Fang of the Sun) Dougram +++ 1:72 Eastland AHT-81 'Chelydra' Hovercraft Tank (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

...and with the scrathed pusher propellers inside, thing look like this:

(Fang of the Sun) Dougram +++ 1:72 Eastland AHT-81 'Chelydra' Hovercraft Tank (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Next the construction to actually mount this module to the hovercraft's rear. Size and dimensions should match up well. 

[Dizzyfugu]

More news from the rear section. The fans received support struts, cut out from a Matchbox AH-1 Cobro rotor:

(Fang of the Sun) Dougram +++ 1:72 Eastland AHT-81 'Chelydra' Hovercraft Tank (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

(Fang of the Sun) Dougram +++ 1:72 Eastland AHT-81 'Chelydra' Hovercraft Tank (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Next the details, like rudders - these are parts from Matchbox SA.365 Dauphin rotor blades...

(Fang of the Sun) Dougram +++ 1:72 Eastland AHT-81 'Chelydra' Hovercraft Tank (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

At the front end a bumper (coated wire) was added, as well as some maneuvering nozzles.

(Fang of the Sun) Dougram +++ 1:72 Eastland AHT-81 'Chelydra' Hovercraft Tank (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

More bumpers were added to the fans' end, and the turret received some more details, too:

(Fang of the Sun) Dougram +++ 1:72 Eastland AHT-81 'Chelydra' Hovercraft Tank (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

At the moment I am waiting for a metal gun barrel, and I am making up my mind concerning the paint scheme. I want to keep it in style with the Dougram universe, which rather calls for a uniform livery, and my current favorites are either a light olive green-grey or a dark petrol blue.

[Weaver]

Nice one! It's looking very promising: as an old Ogre/GEV fan (pardon the pun) I've got a soft spot for hover tanks.

The 8x8 looked familiar to me: that's because Revell put out a bunch of these models in the early 1980s under the name Robotech:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotech_Defenders

I had a couple of sets: the 1192 Strike Force and the 1193 Assault Set. Long gone now, unfortunately.

[Dizzyfugu]

Both kits (or the remains thereof) come from that era, too. Luckily I could not part with the kits and even the spare parts!

[Weaver]

These two 'Native Dancer' buggy/jeeps look like fun, and they'd be applicable to many other sci-fi background too. Sadly, they seem to be either unobtainium or horrifically expensive today:





From here: https://hlj.com/product/MAX01025

My immediate thought is that you could make your own using an Airfix/JB 1/76th Saladin as a base, scaleorama'd to 1/72nd with a body built from scratch using plasticard (it's all flat panels).

[philp]

I also have the two pack of the "Native Dancers".  Just not happy with the smoothness of the tires.

I built the 48th scale version many moons ago with some slight mods.



I like your fans but figured I would base mine more on the Hammer's Slammers idea with multiple banks of fans underneath that can be maneuvered to give forward motion and even help stopping.

[Dizzyfugu]

I like your fans but figured I would base mine more on the Hammer's Slammers idea with multiple banks of fans underneath that can be maneuvered to give forward motion and even help stopping.

I see what you mean. My propulsion arrangement is not bullet-proof (e. g. it's fishy where the air for the lift engines would be taken in - even though the original Ground Search hovercraft is not clear about this, either...), rather the result of the parts at hand and the available space. For rotating fans, there's not enough space - unless I'd have modified the rear section considerably, and the turret had to go somewhere, too. My fixed fans are very conservative, but you also have to keep in mind that the Dougram universe is more or less based on Seventies technology. 

Nice Native Dancers. I never had the kit set, primarily due to their 1:48 scale - even concerning mecha I am rather stuck to 1:72 or 1:100. That's also the reason why the 1:48 hovercraft never received much love, but now it has found a good use.

[philp]

The twin pack are in 72nd scale which is why I snatched a set.

I do like the look of the twin props.  The GEV in OGRE also uses twin jets mounted that way.