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 Camkierhi wrote:
I like it, only suggestion I can come up with is make a hatch cover on the main cylinder near the back so Klawsy can clear jams! It adds detail that isn't there. If you know what I mean.

Thanks.
Yes, it will look like there is access and a way for the ammo' to get in from the inside, I have a plan.

Really awesome tank, will keep tabs on it.

I've been watching this daily for what seems like an age now! ....Ah.... the memories! and now i gotta chime in and just reiterate how great it's all working together! :-) looks suitably bada$$ and the sponsons are very well thought out, i'm really looking forward to seeing it finished now with all the superb hard work you've put in! it's shaping up to be another DrH special!

Yes, this is all getting more fantastic by the day..but you are creating painting problems for yourself by the day also, but I'm sure you'll amaze us all in that department as well though

Sageheart wrote:Really awesome tank, will keep tabs on it.

Thank you and welcome to my little corner of madness.

nerdfest09 wrote:I've been watching this daily for what seems like an age now! ....Ah.... the memories!

Yeah, I like to take my time. Every little bit of every model is as important as the whole. That's why I don't enter many competitions, I know I wouldn't finish in time or I'd have to rush.

and now i gotta chime in and just reiterate how great it's all working together! :-) looks suitably bada$$ and the sponsons are very well thought out, i'm really looking forward to seeing it finished now with all the superb hard work you've put in! it's shaping up to be another DrH special!

Thanks Nerdy. I am aiming at making this tank look like it means business and that that business is mean...

Little by little this tank is moving towards completion. Once I have the sponsons built, I will finish off the interior, give it a lick of paint and then the whole will start to come together (literally). I should start thinking about what colour to do the inside and it's occupants (I have an idea for the driver and a folder full of inspiration for the gunner).

Always good to get feedback of any kind.

dsteingass wrote:Yes, this is all getting more fantastic by the day..but you are creating painting problems for yourself by the day also, but I'm sure you'll amaze us all in that department as well though

Thanks Dave. I have always enjoyed problem solving...
Yeah, it's approaching the time in the model build that I start worrying if my painting will live up to the modelling. I'm sure it'll be fine, the WS turned out ok...

So, construction of the sponson structure has begun...

This should give you an idea of the shape and size of it. I'm a little concerned that it looks a bit big, but then looking at other GW tanks with various sponsons on has eased my mind a little. I think it's just that GW tanks are quite short and tend to look high and wide. Hopefully, clever painting and the planned "dozer blade" will ease this issue.

I plan on building out at the top and bottom to meet the doorway with the gun sitting roughly where it is here.
I'll build the main structure of it, mount the gun, fill the interior and paint it, before attaching it to the tank (where I also need to remember to fill the edges of the door).

Until next time...

I like those, it looks like there is ACTUALLY room for gunners in those

Thanks Dave. The gunner will, at least, be able to get in for maintenance and reloading.

And progress:

Using card washers (as you may find in electrical goods) that have a hole that is just the right size for the smaller diameter cylinders you will have saved from pieces of sprue.
Find the centre of your circles, glue the sprue pegs to the plasticard top and bottom (because they are both polystyrene) and the washers to the top and bottom of the gun mount (because neither are polystyrene).
A bit of sanding to get the right length of the pegs and to ensure the washers are flat. Job done.

The friction is enough that it will even hold the gun up against gravity. But is also easy to move.

I can now build the box.

Ah, and then the closing and adding on. cvloser to done. be interesting to see the paint scheme.

 shasolenzabi wrote:
Ah, and then the closing and adding on. cvloser to done. be interesting to see the paint scheme.

Indeed. Even I don't know what the scheme will be at this stage...

And even more progress:
This shows you the cunning plan I had for the inside once I had disposed of the rear half of the gun.

Lots of dry-fitting of things to be done and careful sanding to get all the plates to fit. The internal walls are glued in, but nothing else yet.
I think I'll need to break out the hair-dryer to bend some bits for above and below the gun opening in the near future, will get the rest together first though.

Neat Sponson. Really like the trip barrel any ideas for a camera or something?

 cormadepanda wrote:
Neat Sponson. Really like the trip barrel any ideas for a camera or something?

Thanks comrade.
You mean for targeting? I do intend to add some. I haven't settled on a design yet, but I think they will be fixed (with overlapping fields of view) rather than the moving ones you get with the stock sponsons.

The body of the sponson for the TFG gun is complete-ish. There's a few more less structural additions to do and I need to adorn the inside with the ammo drum/feed and the hatch.

Still many rough edges too.
You can now see it fully in scale with the rest of the tank, the range of movement (from forward and up to out and down), the inside space and what is visible of it when attached to the tank.

I'm thinking a light colour for the interior of the tank, like I used for the inside of the WS (it may even become a common thing for my vehicles). This will make the dark corners, like the sponson interior, more visible and will allow me to "highlight" features by making them dark or boldly coloured.

whoa, this sponson would make a landraider envious...
I recently got some of these rare earth magnets from theo in a lil parcel....once of these days I would like to make a movable sponson for a nice tank too...

 Viktor von Domm wrote:
whoa, this sponson would make a landraider envious...

lol. I take it that means I have managed a suitable level of rugged and take-no-prisoners with it.

I'll just have to do something better when I come to make a landraider...

I recently got some of these rare earth magnets from theo in a lil parcel....once of these days I would like to make a movable sponson for a nice tank too...

What a nice man. Do it, go on, go on, go on, ...
I have shown that it is possible without magnets and the amount of sanding I had to do to the washers to make it all fit together nicely wouldn't have been possible with magnets (although, had I built it better, I wouldn't have needed to sand them... damn sub-millimetre tolerances).

shaso has done greatly with moveable sponsons with just PC on his tanks too... it is doable...friction and a good thought through guidance is what is needed... so many different roads to roma^^

Excellent work, looks very realistic, which is totally not in keeping with GW, but fits your work perfectly.

And I very much admire your methods, although they are tough going the results speak for them selves. I personally use a lot of styrene tube to get my fit's nice and tight, and very occasionally magnets. You manufacture from what you have (mostly sprue) and produce some of the most accurate work around. My hat is off to you sir.

Viktor von Domm wrote:shaso has done greatly with moveable sponsons with just PC on his tanks too... it is doable...friction and a good thought through guidance is what is needed... so many different roads to roma^^

Indeed, and LT knocked one out in PVC pipe. The possibilities are endless.

Camkierhi wrote:Excellent work, looks very realistic, which is totally not in keeping with GW, but fits your work perfectly.

lol. Yeah, I'm on a mission to show that it is possible to model believable realism into GW designs and scale.

And I very much admire your methods, although they are tough going the results speak for them selves. I personally use a lot of styrene tube to get my fit's nice and tight, and very occasionally magnets. You manufacture from what you have (mostly sprue) and produce some of the most accurate work around. My hat is off to you sir.

Thanks.
At the moment My time is cheap and plentiful and why spend money when I have a plentiful supply of free things (and "free" is my favourite word).
I am considering splashing out on some varied shapes of polystyrene (as you will have noticed the inclusion of plasticard in this model) to supplement my junk collection.

Oh, and here's what the inside now looks like with ammo drum (bit of pen lid with some conveniently sized plastic discs and a bit of sprue), ammo feed (a strange sandwich bag tie thing that I think came off a bought loaf) and the access hatch (plastic rectangle, putty rivets and a copper handle).

I think that should do...

I think that should do...

yeah....almost....probably...
the guy that makes wonders happen for interior design from scratch and is sounding as if not fully satisfied....

looks super!!!

 Viktor von Domm wrote:

I think that should do...

yeah....almost....probably...
the guy that makes wonders happen for interior design from scratch and is sounding as if not fully satisfied....

looks super!!!

Ha Ha, well I could have added some wires and cables... and maybe a control panel... but considering that you're really not going to see much of anything in there, I shouldn't get too carried away and should focus on things that will be visible...

Thanks


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, and the sandwich tie thing is off coffee refills not a loaf.

All the attention to detail is fantastic. I envy your patience with this project.

 Theophony wrote:
All the attention to detail is fantastic. I envy your patience with this project.

Thanks Theo.
With all the attention to detail and the difficulties I create for myself, finishing just this piece of the whole model feels as good as a fully completed model.
I'm quite chuffed with how it's worked out (even if it is a little large).

I like big sponsons and I cannot lie..

 dsteingass wrote:
I like big sponsons and I cannot lie..

You other brothers can't deny
That when a tank rolls in with an itty, bitty gun
Dr. H is gunna have some fun

Lol. You two.

I've been filling the gap in the doorways today and therefore determining the positioning of the sponson.
This means that there isn't much exciting to show.

However, in other news, I have something that I hope will stir some interest if not excitement:
I am planning (it's not going to happen soon type of planning) the production of a wooden hut kit.

This will be highly customisable and you will be supplied with the bare skeleton parts of the construction (sections of wall etc...) and enough planks of "wood" to cover it. You will be able to make your hut any way you like, be it in good repair or damaged and rotten etc...

Thing is, I've come to the roof, I've got the shape and skeleton structure... but I don't know what to cover it with (tiles, metal sheet, whatever...).
So what do you out there think is the best type of roofing that can be cast-able (as a sheet or two, or as sections), that people will want on a hut?

Worth it

I would offer two types, a mix match like orky, and a nice tiled finish, that could be used in any era.

I'm a purist by heart... so I vote for pure wooden hut... if someone wants something else as roof...he can add whatever he want... but for any game system a pure wooden hut would always be a fitting building...

Thanks guys. Good suggestions.

Now, the tank has a few outstanding jobs that can be done in pretty much any order before moving on to painting the interior.
The outside of the built sponson needs details, some of the minor ones can be done later, but others (such as the strips to cover the top and bottom of the mount) need doing.

The hatch above the driver needs it's hinges.

The gaps in the doorways need finishing with a little putty work. (this'll be next once some glue has dried).

And, the other sponson needs building...

...and that means...

...fluff... and research...
The Electron Cannon:
The science bit (the individual bits of this are real science, but the combination is not possible IRL, possibly):


I need to decide upon a design for the cannon (and while I'm at it, consider how to build the sponson around it, rather than shoehorn an already made gun into it). I was originally going to use the Las Cannon that comes in the kit with a few alterations, but I may as well scratch-build it and be free in the design.

I'm off to have a google, feel free to pop in with ideas for the design. The only limitation I can think of at the moment is that the barrel will be a thin, hollow tube (as well as it having to fit in a sponson )

Time for a wee update on the Electron Cannon.
Here's what it's looking like at the moment:

I might shorten the barrel a bit now I can see it next to the tank, don't really want it reaching the front.
I also have a little surprise built in to this, but I won't show just yet...

Thoughts?

the muzzle looks fitting...I agree, for a sponson weapon the length of the barrel should never be too long ... otherwise the tank looks like it is spreading it´s wings to be ready to fly
as for the barrel itself... hmmm.... I think there needs to be something that says special weapon some more... dunno how tho... as it loks like it is a complete pen ball set so I assume you still have the spring... maybe use that around the barrel as some means for cooling the barrel from the outside... from the fluff I expect this a kinda plasma effect and risk related weapon system... so cooling is always nice^^


from the fluff description I have/ want to add it sounds a bit as if you are creating yourself a deathstar unit here...fluffwise it will be interesting... gameplay would need to sooth the effects probably a bit ?