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Not done any miniatures stuff in quite some weeks. Finally got around to finishing assembly on one command (Punisher) tank.

Hull weapon, sponsons, and antenna are magnetized. Sat dish is not, and neither is the turret (would rather build whole turrets to swap out than magnetize them honesty).



In addition to the hat-wearing crewman (Hats = someone important), the communications bits make it look more "commander-y" than just an ordinary tank.

Observations:

1) "Demolisher" hull type is a bit nicer than the default one. I really don't like the Imperial Skull icon on the back of the current standard Russ hull, so this not having one saves effort on removal.

2) The small magnet recommended in the B&CS magnetization guide is just barely good enough for the job; it holds, but not very well.

3) For whatever reason, my magnetized sponsons never want to fit flush against the hull. Not sure what gives.

4) Front sponson warped or something during dry, and went undetected - looks a bit lopsided and the fit is off. Also the leaked glue roughed it up a bit. This is liable to get smoothed down but may also be rendered as rust or something.

5) Still waiting on the accessory sprues I ordered to get in so I can add track guards.

6) Need to add a heavy stubber...

Still haven't invested in good lighting / photography gear so I'm afraid those shots are the best I can do right now.

 Infantryman wrote:

2) The small magnet recommended in the B&CS magnetization guide is just barely good enough for the job; it holds, but not very well.

3) For whatever reason, my magnetized sponsons never want to fit flush against the hull. Not sure what gives.

Assuming you're referring to http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/297605-tutorial-magnetisation/#entry3825791 it does seem understrength IMO. They seem to be using 3.5mm worth for a whole sponson; in comparison I'm using 4-4.7mm (basically a stack of 5-6 1/8x1/32") to hold guns on Sentinels.
You can try stacking more magnets on to provide an extra boost.
Something to also keep in mind is magnets quickly lose force over distance, so if you're not mounting both sides in direct contact this drop in strength needs to be accounted for.

Look over all contact points closely, it could be extra glue residue, a burr/sprue nub/mold line that wasn't completely removed, misaligned sponson assembly, etc. These sorts of things always seem to cause disproportionate trouble on magnetized parts

vizier wrote:

 Infantryman wrote:

2) The small magnet recommended in the B&CS magnetization guide is just barely good enough for the job; it holds, but not very well.

3) For whatever reason, my magnetized sponsons never want to fit flush against the hull. Not sure what gives.

Assuming you're referring to http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/297605-tutorial-magnetisation/#entry3825791 it does seem understrength IMO. They seem to be using 3.5mm worth for a whole sponson; in comparison I'm using 4-4.7mm (basically a stack of 5-6 1/8x1/32") to hold guns on Sentinels.
You can try stacking more magnets on to provide an extra boost.
Something to also keep in mind is magnets quickly lose force over distance, so if you're not mounting both sides in direct contact this drop in strength needs to be accounted for.

Look over all contact points closely, it could be extra glue residue, a burr/sprue nub/mold line that wasn't completely removed, misaligned sponson assembly, etc. These sorts of things always seem to cause disproportionate trouble on magnetized parts

That's the one! I'm thinking about adding a second magnet, though that might cause it to align poorly. Naturally I didn't pick up on it being an issue until *after* I did like 3 or 4 this way.

I did run some files around the contact bits, redid the cutout for the struts, etc - it might be alignment issues but I can't be sure where. It seems almost like the sponsons shrunk a bit, so the edge of the hull side door is holding it up. Time hasn't been great for modeling lately but I'll get to it eventually.

Overall, do you think it portrays "Command" effectively? Next one is liable to be a Plasma tank, possibly using the larger sat dish off the Manticore in some way. And a bigger hat, of course. Would have been nice if there was a Junior Command Tank and Senior Command Tank the same as we do with infantry... (and I wish we had "Command" versions of Chimeras and suchlike as well!)

I think it does the job of communicating a Command tank well, with the officer sticking out the hatch to give it that open command perspective.

If you want to go further, look for ways to embellish the tank - crosses, skulls, other insignia or bits to add to make it a little more identified over the others.

I've kinda gone further than that, and my development of my Guard Armored Regiment at large has a specialized variant for the lead tank of each squadron for each variant, often with a special turret, modified hull, other such things.

Thanks!

Been thinking about insignia and whatnot. Currently only the command tank keeps the Laurel-and-Skull icon on the...box thing on the rear. Not sure what else I'd add, though - Purity Seals are more of a Marine thing I think. We'll see what I can come up with!

No worries, man.. like I said, it's all up to you how much you want the command tank to stand out overall.