Pedrail Landship - The first ever tank…...well, nearly. Gorby gets seriously scratchy again.

[Gorby 16,296]

23 minutes ago, Tolvcat said:

f you reversed both engines you could mate them to a single gearbox under the driver's turret (with two output shafts each side) and drive the tracks from from the middle rather than the ends. That would free up room to make two fighting compartments.

That would make sense wouldn't it...but the cross section shows the drive train separate. One of the early experiments was to have two creeping-track (caterpillar) tractors hitched back to back, which is probably why it's shown as it is.

I've just had a look at the Wippet exhaust and that belched out the toxic cloud quite near the crew compartment so perhaps I'm being too health-and-safety 21^st century about this, so I think I'll change to more your own and Steelpillows idea of pumping out the side from a stubby pipe.

I've added ventilation – from cross between the Whippet tank and the Saint Chamond.

 

Thanks for everyone input. 

[steelpillow 602]

Re. the power train, the two systems would be kept fully independent because one was bound to break down before the day was done. Clutch between each engine and its drive axle an essential ancillary!

[Kevin 5,369]

thats is some very nice scratch work

[Gorby 16,296]

What's this, 'take your baby nazi to work day'? This is ICM and Tamiya's take on 1/48 humans. The ICM figure (left) would be just under six foot tall (1824mm) and the Tamiya would be 5' 3” (1608mm).

It turns out that the tracks I've already made are a little bit too small to make this unfeasible object in 1/48, so I had to reduce the scale of this build a bit. As Jessie said, it'll be 'Box scale'. Actually, to be reasonably precise, 1/52.3561 scale – one of the lesser know scales but I'm sure it'll catch on . The Tamiya figure has had a growth spurt and is now 5' 9” (1754mm). Don't they grow up quick? Apparently, the average height of German males during WWI was about 5' 6”, so he's gone from a squirt to a bean-pole.

You might ask “Why are second world war German tank maintenance midgets building a British WWI tank?, to which I would reply “Stop asking awkward questions.” At the moment the British contingent are so off-colour that they can't pull themselves together, so I haven't got a lot of options.

The German team was given two options; help build the tank or take a swim in a vat of cellulose. Oddly enough they all volunteered to help. See, they were given a choice.

Just to let you know that I'm not entirely lax on the modelling front, I have made a start:

 

As it's a biggie I bought some 1.5mm plasticard specially to do the body to make it nice and rigid. 

Been a tiny tad busy at the mo so hopefully I might be able to do some actual updates soon.

[Col. 7,050]

3 hours ago, Gorby said:

What's this, 'take your baby nazi to work day'? This is ICM and Tamiya's take on 1/48 humans. The ICM figure (left) would be just under six foot tall (1824mm) and the Tamiya would be 5' 3” (1608mm).

He must have been a member of the Hitler Youth (Nursery Division).

[Gorby 16,296]

As usual, the builds a lot more advanced than you'd think from these posts. There's either time to play build or time to post about it and I've not been in the mood for waffling. Sooo, this was a couple of weeks ago. Those are the side-walls ready to be fitted. The ends are just scored….

...then extra thin sloshed in the score line so it goes weak at the knees…

...then just bend and glue into place.

 

Some work going on inside.

 

Because there's some open hatches and I need to have something which doesn't resemble a big empty warehouse.

 

You're not going to be able to see much, so as basic as I can get away with.

Don't mention the bod in the silver suit. He's embarrassed as he's wandered into the wrong build. I don't know...it's like some of these figures don't have the brains they were moulded with. 

Next up….the big bangy thing.

[Jessie_C 10,952]

4 minutes ago, Gorby said:

Don't mention the bod in the silver suit. He's embarrassed as he's wandered into the wrong build.

Oh, I thought that it was a protective thermal suit that he had to wear because the designer ended up attaching his seat directly above the engines. The helmet is obviously designed to prevent him from bashing his head on all the sharp corners inside.

[steelpillow 602]

2 hours ago, Gorby said:

it's like some of these figures don't have the brains they were moulded with. 

I know the feeling well.

Don't laugh you striplings, the only way you will avoid getting to my age is to die young.

[Col. 7,050]

6 hours ago, Jessie_C said:

Oh, I thought that it was a protective thermal suit that he had to wear because the designer ended up attaching his seat directly above the engines. The helmet is obviously designed to prevent him from bashing his head on all the sharp corners inside.

PPE - our last line of defence (according to company HSE) or a poor substitute for common sense (according to me).

[Jessie_C 10,952]

59 minutes ago, Col. said:

PPE - our last line of defence (according to company HSE) or a poor substitute for common sense (according to me).

Absolutely. The best line of defence is to engineer out the hazards. But since this was designed for war, that's probably not a reasonable goal. So if you can't engineer them out, you engineer them down to ALARP (As Low As Reasonably Practicable. My company loves this).

[Gorby 16,296]

On to the bangy bits.

For manky old paint brushes nearing the end of their life, there is life after death.

Mind you, getting there is likely to be a little traumatic cus I'm going to saw you up, rip out your hair and scoop out your insides. It's a difficult belief system to go along with but at least you can can kid yourself that it's all part of the mummification process. 

 

Lovingly and very carefully made the turret...

...then dropped it on the floor. Bent down to pick it up and it had completely disappeared! I've spent almost as long searching for it than it took to make. I checked everywhere on the floor – it's only a small room and two weeks later it still hasn't appeared. The one above is the second one. Something which should have taken no more than half an hour took about and hour and a half. The joys of scratch-building. 

Aaaanyway, finally got the bits together to do the upy downy thing.

 

Then needed to do the roundy roundy.

That's a stepped drill bit – which is worth it's weight in gold* for scratch-building as you can drill thin sheets/tubes etc.

* If it cost that much do you think I'd have bought it? Perhaps change that to 'Worth it's weight in whatever it's made of'. 

Best to keep these things as simple as poss.

 

The ends are quite a complicate shape...well they are now I foolishly followed @steelpillow suggestion to angle the corners. Looks better though.

[Mad Steve 19,875]

Excellent work Gorbs.

Like the idea with the old hairy stick for the guns.

I'm always amazed at how neat your plasticard work is. 

I like that drill bit thingie, that's going on the after christmas wish list  

[Gorby 16,296]

2 minutes ago, Mad Steve said:

I'm always amazed at how neat your plasticard work is. 

Benefit/curse of being an anal database keeper. 

 

[Gorby 16,296]

Now, onto the biddy bangy bits.

I made a tiny jig.

 

I was determined to do the fluting on the barrel of the guns and after trying other methods I came up with this.

 

Works well. This is just a test.

 

Wasn't easy to get as accurate as I wanted.

 

But I was pleased with the end result. Those ribs certainly give me pleasure. 

 

Originally I was going to do some sort of ball mount. Decided to go for a smaller version of the main turret.

The odd shaped bit on the right in the pic above got glued inside the back as well as the other odd bit here to keep the gun in place

Then times that turret by two. I also chaged my original plan to have them behind the driver/commander - now they are in front.

Foolishly I forgot to take a pic of the laboriously painted inside, before I riveted the lid on.

Shame really because it was thing of stunning beauty. Your life is sadder for not having seen it. I mean like WOW! – I decided to build a full interior, engines, gearboxes plus all the other technical gubbins. Even an eight seat table in the dining room complete with sideboard and fireplace. Never mind, eventually you may get over the sense of loss.

This is how far I've got. In the last week I've managed to get about four hours modelling time so this build may take some time.

 

Oh, I have got a photo of the inside. 

It's shiiter than I remember it. * 

 

* See Steve, it isn't always neat. If someone strains enough to see that mess though the tiny hatch, they must be sadder than I am. 

[Hutch6390 1,967]

6 minutes ago, Gorby said:

Oh, I have got a photo of the inside. 

Furniture's gone, mate - you've been burgled 

Seriously, this is very, very impressive, great work, Gorby!

 

[Gorby 16,296]

3 minutes ago, Hutch6390 said:

you've been burgled 

Are you surprised, it's Coventry. 

[DC3 3,589]

On 12/20/2022 at 9:28 PM, Col. said:

PPE - our last line of defence (according to company HSE) or a poor substitute for common sense (according to me).

I was once told by an HSE person that there was no such thing as common sense, I believed that in his world that was probably true

Edited December 25, 2022 by DC3

[Milan Mynar 1,442]

It looks like really great scratchbuilding. I like it.

[Mish 5,292]

You are one clever modeller. nice reuse of a paint brush

[Gorby 16,296]

Progress has been slow. There's various reasons for this, one of which is that I still don't feel 100%. The best I seem to be able to manage at the moment is more like 52.47%. That and the bug I had over Christmas is still lingering. Just when I think I'm getting better, the sodding thing pops back to take the pee. It's definitely the bug that keeps on bugging.

In the words of the mad one, I've been more in buildy-buildy mood than droning on you lot about it, so I'm well behind with the write-up. I'm going to have to speed this up a bit and cut out the waffle.

 

The next step was the long and laborious rivety skin bit using 0.25mm plastic, a rivetter, double-sided carpet tape and about a week.

 

Small hatches/ pistol ports made in the simplest way possible.

 

The open hatches need a framework around the opening and to make it easier to get the angle more accurate, it's time for another tiny jig.

 

I can't get it out of my head that these look like fuses.

That's Tamiya tape wrapped around both ends three times and super glued to make sure it's going nowhere.

Fuse cosy – every cold electrical device needs one.

Each one gets four stumpy legs to turn them into the main bits of the exhaust which will be sitting directly above where the engines would have gone.

 

Hopefully back soon for the next step.

[Gorby 16,296]

Easy way to straighten used wire. Cut into shortish lengths…

... and the use something heavy with a flat bum to roll on it.

 

Ideal for handles….

 

I spend more time than I'd care to admit, thinking about how they'd get into the monstrosity. Richards idea of only having hatches on the top rather than doors in the sides seems to be logical, but how would they have got up there? Ladders down the sides would be vulnerable to being knocked off and also they would likely get in the way of maintaining the tracks. Right or wrong I ended up with this.

 

Another one of the many things which I could have got way off, is ventilation. I assume that there would be some sort of ventilation, maybe not. I've gone for a biggish one over each engine and a smaller one on the tower. As the tower is open to the main cabin and is raised, the heat and fumes would have ended up filling the tower. As that would be where the officer is likely to be, I assume they'd want him to breath.

 

It's done now so there's no point in telling me how wrong I am. Other than if you just enjoy telling me how wrong I am.

Fair enough I can see the pleasure in that.

Aaaaannnnyyyway, all that gets me to this.

 

[steelpillow 602]

14 minutes ago, Gorby said:

I'm going to have to speed this up a bit and cut out the waffle.

Gosh! You're really not well, are you?

The model looks like it's in better shape now, though - keep up the good work!

And get well soon.

[Mad Steve 19,875]

That looks brilliant Gorbs 

[Jessie_C 10,952]

What they said. I can already see how utterly madly fantastic it's going to look when you finish.

[Gorby 16,296]

6 minutes ago, Jessie_C said:

 I can already see how utterly madly fantastic it's going to look when you finish.

Calm down, calm down.

I've just got to the 'screw-up' stage.

Most people call it 'painting'.