The Prototype - abusing a Sherman

[Klaus not Santa]

Hi all,

Here's my start for the Spring contest.
Usually I'm working on Warhammer 40K stuff, with a trend to steampunk and armor. But for this one I'll leave my comfort zone a bit

My idea is to create a scene with a very distinct Third Reich/Iron Sky flair and a sprinkle of WH40K. I envision an underground research facility, looking a bit like an old U-Boot bunker, a "prototype" in the center, with soldiers and researchers around it, while a group of officers take the "dog-and-pony-show"

In this early sketch you can see that I intended to use a bare-skeleton Pollux walker (without the weapons and armor) with an open cockpit, so one can see the "wired-in" pilot, and a whole bunch of people around it.


In addition to my usual WH40K soldiers I decided to use some 1:48 Tamiya WWII German soldiers for this scene. They are a mis-purchase, as they usually don't fit the WH40K figures.
But for this I can mix the two, as the prototype is either built on a special planet, where the inhabitants are slimmer, or if on Dencara, these guys are from a different race with a different build, while the "real soldiers" are of the sturdy, bulky type.
Fluff for the win



But the more I thought about it the less I liked the idea to use another Pollux-pattern walker. And looking through my closet (I'm a real "messy" when it comes to hobby parts) I came across these Sherman and Lee boxes I purchased on e-Bay - solely for the purpose of salvaging the road wheels.


So why not build a prototype based on a Sherman?
This way I have the option to enter in the armor, Sci-fy, and diorama categories (if I can afford it that is).


Decision made, I opted for this Sherman hull.


I quickly shaved off the deck, to make room for some modifications.


Since the prototype will be mostly without hatches (open) I also added some side walls to the lower hull.


Then I cut out the new openings for the turret and the crew hatches.
The rear central hatch is for the commander, left for the loader, right for the gunner.


Then I worked on the gun.
Since it's still a prototype, most of the armor and covers are missing and many pieces be visible.


So I added a movable breech - the breech opens downwards, so there will be a auto loader from inside the vehicle.



This is how the gun looks in comparison to the hull.


Next I worked on the actual gun mount


and it's position on the vehicle.


To compensate for the recoil I added a set of rails on which the gun mount can move - I'm not sure if I'll add visible dampeners....


I'm still undecided if I mount the rails forward like this


or rather rearwards (gun mount aligns with the front of the turret base, or the rails align with the rear)


The whole gun mount on the vehicle.
As you can see I aim for a low silhouette and great depression (so the gun can fire from the backside of a hill).


I also added some modifications to the rear - with a section of the engine being visible.


Most likely I will also keep the actual engine deck open, so a section of the engine may be visible.
But I'll decide on this later, so no details added yet.


Finally I added most of the running gear last night.
This will be pretty much out of the box.


I also added a WH40K Imperial Guard driver (sans the head so far).


And this is how the vehicle looks so far.


What do you think?
I have no name for this baby yet, but I think I will break with the Greek Deity tradition and use a more mundane naming approach.
Any suggestions?
I hope you like today's update and I look forward to your comments and feedback.
Cheers

Klaus

 

[Junkie]

Cool project - great scratch building.

 

[Tailor]

Smashing idea and nice walk-through the scratch work!

 

[noname]

I agree, cool idea and nice bit of scratch building.

 

[warped_one]

very nice build so far

 

[Klaus not Santa]

Thank you guys!

very little progress as time is still fleeting, but an update nevertheless.
I added some recoil dampeners and a breech mechanism to the gun.


And I built a "sight" for the gunner. Since it is a prototype still in research and testing, the sight box is open, as a technician can access it.


Next I looked into a more independent sight for the commander, using the design I used on the POLEMOS Urban Attack Vehicle.



Here you can see the mounted gunner sight.



But what about the commander sight?


Is that looking OK? Or should I find a better position?

Any ideas?

Since I want to add an auto-loader mechanism that may be visible I created some ammunition.


For this I put a section of plastic card rod into my drill


And then run it first across a rasp


and then over some sandpaper.


And with a little practice I get these nice shells


With the idea to cast some more....




After the first test cast for the ammo was successful I added some "Dencara-style" lights to the former Sherman,


added some details to the engine and added first rivets.


And this is how the little low profile tank hunter looks as of today.


So what do you think, anything major still missing?
What about the commander sight?
I look forward to your C&C.
Cheers
Klaus

 

[noname]

Wow, that's a huge update. Everything looks great.

 

[Junkie]

This is looking really cool. Not sure what's missing really...looks pretty sick.

 

[The Chaos]

Looks very good

 

[JohnSimmons]

Very cool

 

[danb]

Great idea with the ammo the casts came out really well

Dan B

 

[Klaus not Santa]

Hi all,
thanks for your feedback. Seems my little trick for the shells is considered valuable

Since the last update I worked on the auto-loading mechanism. It makes no sense to have such a low profile gun arrangement, if you can't get any shells in, right?
So here is the lifting mechanism, that will push the shell up into the breech.


With a shell in the lower position,


and a bit up - since it's not glued in position it kept sliding down while shooting the photo


Since I don't want a loader to slam a round into the lift as each round is fired (which would also require the turret to come back to the 12 o'clock position for each reload) I designed a small 4-shot magazine.


There should be two magazines - one on each side - to allow for two standard ammunition's.



And here you can see the "Kampfmittelanlage SKORPION"


Or rather the "Versuchswaffenträger XI mit Kampfmittelanlage SKORPION und Kampfraumverbesserung ODIN"


Sounds "official" enough, doesn't it?


Next I assembled all the little tools and gadgets that were included in the Tamiya "WWII German Tank Crew Field Maintenance Set" 1:48.
Lots of ammo crates, a table, a ladder, some tool boxes, and some tools.


And then I started to assemble them into the scene.


Remember, that I'm trying to get a " Third Reich/Iron Sky flair and a sprinkle of WH40K. I envision an underground research facility, looking a bit like an old U-Boot bunker, a "prototype" in the center, with soldiers and researchers around it, while a group of officers take the "dog-and-pony-show". "

The tank will be on an elevated part of the facility - most likely with some tracks running on the ground and lots of concrete.


The right end of the scene will be closed by a huge blast door, sealing the facility from the environment (but a little man-door on the side).


And to give it some feeling of thickness I added some support beams.


Maybe I'll add a running crane to these support beams.


Since the Styrofoam doesn't really represent concrete any good, I casted some plates to simulate pre-casted concrete sections.


I like the concrete effect.


So, this is as far as I got.


What do you think?
I look forward to your C&C.
Cheers
Klaus

 

[Jelly]

Very cool...

I suppose that you intend to represent more or less a Death Korps of Krieg environment, more or less??

I find it 100% OK
GW!
Cheers
Jelly

 

[Quaralane]

Definitely liking how this one is going

 

[cargoman5126]

That sir is some great scratchbuilding...Luv the subject and the ammo is sweet... Great work sir...

 

[Klaus not Santa]

Thank you guys!
You help me a lot.

Sorry for the longer silence, but the last two weeks were rather eventful.
I have some problems sleeping, actually haven't slept without pills for weeks, and the pills make me very drowsy. Plus lots of migraine - and the pills give me pimples
So I've been to MRT, but everything OK there, so it is "only" psycho-somatic...or as the doc said "on the fast lane to burnout"
So he considered me unfit for work, and I'm on medical leave for at least two weeks.

I can already feel some improvement, and yesterday was my 49th (!!! I'm OLD) birthday. I celebrated with my wife and I was able to enjoy the food and drink
Since I will also have a two week vacation lined up directly after Eastern, I will be off work for 4 weeks total. Right now it feels like this will do the trick and get me back into working order

Well, with that much time on my hands I DID get some stuff done. Not as much as I would normally have, but I'm quite pleased.

I wasn't quite satisfied with the concrete I created, so I created a new set of concrete.


The structure is a lot better, and also the "boarded" style looks more realistic.


So I created new molds and poured new sets of concrete sections.


Looks better I think


I also built a rolling door for the wall in the rear.


Plus a running crane.


Then I built the large blast door for the right wall.


The scene is slowly coming together.


The running gear for the crane



Then I added signal lights for the blast door,


and side door,


as well as a fluorescent light for one of the work areas.


Then I built several detail items like this large console.


All the little gadgets in position


One final item I wanted to add were lights


So I created rear wall mountings, using the corners of old sprues.


and simple plastic card lamps


I think it fits the atmosphere...


Then I added the turret to the crane



And the final scene


I'm very pleased with it.
The scene looks pretty much how I wanted it.
Now the actual figures need some attention, lots of mold line cleaning, some sculpting and details.
So, what do you think?
I look forward to your C&C.
Cheers
Klaus

 

[Junkie]

Phenomenal amount of work here. Great ideas and execution. To me the electronic panels looks a bit out of scale, a bit big, but if those are large scopes and such it will make sense.

This will look great under paint.

 

[Grendels]

Looking good, tells a good story.

 

[Klaus not Santa]

Phenomenal amount of work here. Great ideas and execution. To me the electronic panels looks a bit out of scale, a bit big, but if those are large scopes and such it will make sense.

This will look great under paint.

Thanks.
Yes, that's the curse of the "hero scale" for WH40K. But I used these in other WH40K displays and in the end they work out fine. I hope I make this happen here, in the kind of scale mix here too.

Again, thank you for your kind words and support.
I feel like I'm making some progress, but experienced some set-backs too.
Last week a good and dear friend, Christian Koppmeyer, died at 52 (https://www.facebook.com/groups/advancedsquadleader/10153999329070029/?notif_t=like) .
So quite some up and down.

But I started painting the diorama.
First evening the concrete received a blue-grey base color.


And I added some yellow warning lines.


The next evening I was able to add details to the warning lights and the small num-pad on the side of the man-door.


In my vision of this scene I always envisioned a large Imperial logo on the wall.
So I started to paint this on the rear wall.


And the name of the facility.


But together with the sliding door....

not so good

So the next evening I gave it another try and ended up with this.

I like this much better.
So I added another warning slogan (Caution. Gate opens and closes automatically) to the front wall.


Another evenings work was the painting of the sliding door.
Weathered and with some German labeling. (The pencil lines are no longer visible )

It reads:
"Versuchsanlage Rheingold" -Test facility Rhinegold
and
"Sonder-Forschungsabteilung von Sonnenberg" - Special research facility "von Sonnenberg"


Next was the gate.
Again weathered and with labels.


And mounted into the diorama.


The running track and the power cable for the crane got its base color.



And finally I started to paint the first items.


Well, this is as far as I got.
I hope you like it.
I look forward to your C&C.
Cheers
Klaus

 

[Biskup]

Man this is big.