In preparation for an upcoming Orcograd Armor project (more on this later) I wanted some Mini Tanks. I wanted them to be Soviet inspired so I did some digging and found a few ideas I liked. For inspiration I settled on the Russian BT-5 :
The BT-7:
and the T-60:
These are just for inspiration, mind you. I'm not going for copies. I also want to cast them. I'll need a bunch and they are awful fiddly to build each one. I'm going for a modular concept so that I can mix-n-match parts to give me variety. Then I can build more styles later and incorporate them into the existing scheme. I'm not doing a full documentation as the basics have already been covered. Here's where I'm at so far.
Hull construction: Starting with several shells with the same outside dimensions, that way the other components line up.
Where I have a slope, I just built it square, then trimmed it square when then angles are in place:
This is a lot easier then calculating anything.
The track units will be built in pairs with open mold casting in mind. I'm making them able to be reversed or inverted to get as many different profiles as possible. My goal here is to seal them up so they will be a one piece cast.
Here's a partway finished track. I'm covering the face as much as I can, then building the tracks themselves in the same manner as the larger Ork tanks; a thin strip of stock as a ribbon to glue the parts to.
A shot from the back. A smooth back plate will actually be the open part of the molds. More detail of the ribbon. Once then links are all in place I'll seal with plasticine clay. For the masters I find it's easier to work with than epoxy putty.
All I'm using for the links is cut up round rod and chopped up T-beam from Evergreen. Alternate as you glue and viola!
I'm not sure how much more detail I want to add to the links themselves, rivet and bolts, that sort of thing. It'll be tedious and look good, but it may cast funny.
mtk...
So, I've been following your blog for some time now, and it's a wonderful source of both inspiration and helpful tips. And I'd like to share some advice of my own.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I absolutely love your concept of orkifying soviet WWII vehicles. I don't know if you came upon them during your searches, but I think the T-26 and T-46 would make nice additions to your inspirations. I'm saying this, as the BT-5 and BT-7 have very similar hull shapes, with the major difference being the turret. The T-26 and T-46, on the other hand would provide you with one more distinct silhouette to mix and match with the others.
And while we're on the topic of late 30s soviet war machines, what about a T-35 battlewagon (or battlefortress, I guess it would work as well)? With 4 turrets and its massive size it definitely carries a lot of orky spirit.
Keep the great work up, can't wait to see the progress on those lil' buggers.