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The only MBT tank I've actually seen the interior of was the M60 and that had a centralized gun on the mantlet.



The command Coppola was set far enough back to not be interfered with by the gun breech. I don't suppose that a projectile firing gun in a turret would have a recoil and I am given to understand that 40K tanks fired rockets through the main guns anyway which opens another can of worms regarding what to do with the exhaust.

Welcome to the world of 'Fantasy' gaming

keep up the good work

Looking absolutely amazing now we can see that in place. Congrats!

Thanks,

Pushing The Limit:

Wrapping the tubes is a good way to increase the diameter and/or wall thickness of Evergreen tubing and in this case 1/2 inch tubing is the largest available and I need almost 5/8ths. First I split and filled two lengths of 1/2 inch tubing but for the final breech reinforcement I needed a 0.040 inch step so I cold rolled a sheet of 1,0 MM styrene. One millimeter styrene is about the limit that I can cold roll, i.e. without resorting to a heat gun; I fastened the initial edge in the image below and allowed to dry overnight.

http://i.imgur.com/1GVDQs3.jpg


This morning with the glue completely dry I prepared to file the glued edge on a bevel so the thickness is maintained when I glue the rest of the layer to the cylinder.

http://i.imgur.com/pagDVxi.jpg


Employing a "Farmer's file to make the bevel, I'm now ready to glue the tailing to the breech:

http://i.imgur.com/HYayINB.jpg


More to follow.......

Can I get an, "Auto-Appendus Interuptus?"

[Applause]

Thanks for the auto append interrupt,

Not All Beer and Skittles:

What I had intended was a demo of how to wrap and glue the tailing around the barrel but instead I am forced to show what to do when things go awry. Cold wrapping styrene is limited to 1,0 mm at best but this industrial quality styrene is not as forgiving as the more expensive 'Evergreen' brand material. I also made the mistake of using full strength cement instead of the old stuff that is less potent. As soon as I began wrapping the cement ate through the 0.040" sheeting and it developed a running crack and I had to make an impromptu clamp to repair the gaff.

http://i.imgur.com/afja7yp.jpg


All's well that ends well and I managed to save the work and finish the wrap without further incident albeit not quite the demo I had in mind.

http://i.imgur.com/D7LnlrF.jpg


Hence the title of this post.....


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Can I get an Auto append interrupt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TYVM

It's very important to see when things don't go to plan. You can always learn more from things that go wrong then from things that always work.

Good job, and very informative.

Split and Fill:

I received a few questions about what I meant by split and fill:

Take a length of half inch tubing and split it lengthwise at one place on the circumference. The right side of the image above the scale shows what I mean..........

http://i.imgur.com/OeqARUL.jpg


Slide the split half inch tube over an intact half inch base tube to add a 0.030" layer to the base tube. Naturally there will be a gap to fill as the cut will be spread about 0.188" which is then filled with either a strip of 0.030 styrene 0.188 inches wide or a segment of yet another piece of half inch tubing.

http://i.imgur.com/Dn24SWq.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/gnLylbb.jpg


Meanwhile the Howitzer proceeds at a snail's pace............

Looking good! Keep up the good work

Thanks,

Callow Youth:

Back in the days when I was a callow youth I did so covet a FW Baneblade and to that end I started this scratchbuilt version. I also attempted to convert an Armorcast Baneblade (Note that it still sports the original Armorcast tank treads) model into the more aesthetically pleasing and highly detailed version of the Forgeworld model with the result seen below:

http://i.imgur.com/qZtg7eo.jpg


The large caliber mortar on that model was my first attempt and building from scratch and I was extremely proud of that singular accomplishment.

http://i.imgur.com/vAEkTlM.jpg


In those days I used straight pins for rivets and I wasn't all that comfortable at making thin cuts in styrene.

http://i.imgur.com/TkQhyT5.jpg


Today I take such work routinely in stride without a second thought which goes to show that by continually pushing the envelope you will be amazed what you can accomplish.

Go ahead and surprise yourself............


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Auto-append interrupt please.

Here you go

Thanks,

Poetic License:

Might I be excused for a bit of poetic license for whilst the flavor of the Demolisher cannon is still intact, the oversized dimensions required a bit more detail.

http://i.imgur.com/RDXTwow.jpg


The photos reveals that my work isn't very symmetrical but it will do.

http://i.imgur.com/7les40Y.jpg


Onward to the trunnion mount...........


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Another Auto Append Please.........

Great stuff!

Thanks,

Truncated Trunnion Mounts:

Or as I call it, "An exercise in perseverance."

http://i.imgur.com/2xbwdq8.jpg


I started with five 1,0 MM discs (Same as the one pictured here) and glued them together with the plastic cement (red labeled tube above the disc.

When dried I rough sanded the edge of the stack round.

I then penciled a smaller circle so I had a line I could sand down to taking care not to cut into the larger diameter outer disc edge.

Progressing from rough sandpaper, to file, to diamond emery file, until the bevel is smooth; perhaps 10 to 15 minutes of filing.

I then gave the edge a coat of Tamiya Extra Thin Cement and set aside to dry.

Another Anti-Auto-Append

Thanks for the auto append,

I :Heart: My Demolisher Cannon

The basic Demolisher Cannon is done and all that's left to do is the peripheral detail

http://i.imgur.com/ci0DW3x.jpg


I like the fact that it can be elevated............

http://i.imgur.com/2KEo1zB.jpg


Next the sponsons.

Nice work on the demolisher! Looking good so far

And after this so so so many rivets

Time to scream?

Thx for the dread "Auto Append" interrupt.....

BTW rivets are never a problem if you enjoy tedium.

Sponsons:

First order of business is the sponsons and turrets are too small. When I first set up this model I had nothing but my unpracticed eye to rely on and my best guess was correct as far as an original Baneblade sponson housing and turret but woefully inadequate for the oversized beast this has become.

http://i.imgur.com/pKTlc4e.jpg


My newest sized turret figures to 22 MM in height and 25 MM in diameter.

Never the less, the rotation mechanism remains the same starting with a fixed dowel secured with an axle screw, a piece of PVC tubing for the rotation sleeve and a styrene veneer for a base material to adhere the detail.

http://i.imgur.com/VWhmWZZ.jpg

Reminds me of the Maus.

That's why I names it "Die Wühlmaus."

Renovations:

Try as I might I cannot accept "Good enough" when it comes to these projects. All the while I was building I kept rationalizing in my mind that smaller sponsons would indicate a more advanced iteration of the tank & etc.

Well "Not!"

http://i.imgur.com/QuQaoSp.jpg


The big anachronistic Baneblade sponsons are part of the charm of these models and the FW model's placement is spot on IMHO the new plastic Baneblade sponsons seem positioned wrong to me but that I suppose is to give the builder more options on the placement.

http://i.imgur.com/j5onOlk.jpg


Above and below shows the relative size and shape of the FW model vis-à-vis mine.

http://i.imgur.com/5Up2U3E.jpg

Cooling Exhaust Vents:

The muzzle brakes or cooling exhaust ports at the mouth of the cannon; 16 precise drilled holes about the periphery.

Somehow I managed this all those years ago but for the life of me I cannot remember how I did it?

http://i.imgur.com/PqhyXfS.jpg


So I'm inventing a new procedure cutting a drilling the holes into 0.020 styrene sheeting.

http://i.imgur.com/yfnZL2B.jpg


We'll see how this works out...........

Anti Append incoming!

Thx,

Two Methods:

Drilling the holes in the muzzle ring is exacting work and if you use a pin drill bit there is a tendency that either the bit will break or it will walk to the edge and ruin the work.

http://i.imgur.com/ITkzkj5.jpg


In my previous post I showed my first inclination on making these holes; i.e. marking the positions and drilling the holes with the tip of a # 11 Xacto knife blade used as an auger. This fulfills two purposes in that it give a very fine point pilot hole plus the stability of a much wider bit so there is less tendency for the tip to snap off. After augering the hole on the marked side I flipped the work and reamed the obverse side as well to give a more straight sided appearing hole.

The second method I came up with (The barrel on the left side of the picture) I marked and cut out the overlay disc and tack glued to a section of half inch 'Evergreen' tubing, drilled pilot holes with the Xacto blade as before, inserted a length of 7/16 inch tubing and trimmed the outer edge of the disc with a curved emery file. I then cut out the bore diameter from the disc and flied smooth with a curved needle file.

When completely shaped I sliced off the disc from the half inch tube and sanded the residual glue from the obverse side and reamed as before.

I then glued the finished work to the barrel muzzle.

Either way is equally simple and the result seems acceptable.

Keep at it man! Maybe some ablative panels will bulk them up a bit?

Also - auto-append; I banish thee to hades!!

Thanks for the auto append killer...........

Keeping It Simple:

I have a miniature drill index and it's around here somewhere but I rarely these days have a use for it.

I find the #11 Xacto blade provides for almost all my fine drill hole needs. especially when as in this case you are working on a disc barely a half inch in diameter.

http://i.imgur.com/xeDufhM.jpg


As stated above the fine point acts as an adequate pilot hole drill and the tapered tip enlarges the requisite hole to any reasonable diameter.

http://i.imgur.com/usQGkXU.jpg


After that you can utilize the same blade to carve out larger holes as I shall be doing when I finish the bore on this, the Demolisher cannon.

The added beauty of using this blade is with a fine file it can be resharpened.

That's a clever use for the blade! I hadn't thought of that before. Do you find that the tip snaps on your blades at all? Mine feel very delicate and ping away.

Every time you clap, an auto-append gains it's wings. Or something.

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
......Do you find that the tip snaps on your blades at all? Mine feel very delicate and ping away.............

I am constantly breaking the tips off of my #11 Xacto Blades mainly because I use them so much but not usually for their intended purpose.

The tips are eminently resharpen-able in a few seconds with either a fine 'Farmers file' and or a 'Carborundum stone' although once the blade edge is dulled it's more expedient to just replace it.

I have an old 'Farmers file' for just that purpose.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Can I get an "interruption" please?

I think my record for breaking the tip was about thirty seconds, I bonked the end on my desk after fitting a new blade.

Thanks,

Preliminaries Dispensed with:

Okay so with the preliminaries dispensed with we can get to the actual plotting and boring of these holes finding the center, erecting the perpendicular axis by employing the arc and straightedge and compass technique and subdividing by eye the quarters into 16 more or less equal divisions which is the number of cooling ports in the typical Baneblade muzzle.

http://i.imgur.com/n8VbksL.jpg


Below we see the 0.020 inch thick disc glued to the end of the muzzle slightly oversized to allow for the frail nature of the constructed holed disc.

http://i.imgur.com/vnbzSVJ.jpg


Below the finished rim sanded and accented with graphite to show the relief of the 16 muzzle ports.

http://i.imgur.com/eiObdYw.jpg


And finally the main armament in place on the hull displaying a nice added touch to the overall basic detail of the model.

http://i.imgur.com/VWON0zj.jpg