M8A3 Kirchner MBT

[kjev]

I took a break from some of the bigger projects I've been finishing up, and decided to build this little tank.





I decided to build this straight from the printer, and I learned...I can't. I can't build anything just like the instructions say. Everything I make ends up tweaked, adjusted, customized, fiddled with, improved (which may be a matter of opinion), or added to.

But I tried, this time, I really, really, really did.

In actuality, the only things I did "non-standard" were to reinforce the insides with cardboard, pin the gun barrels in place with a bamboo skewer and a toothpick, make a pin-and-socket "joint" under the turret, then add a cardboard disk under the turret so it could rotate.





This was because I got ahead of myself and decided the turret was going to rotate before I added the driver's hatch, and put the turret pin and socket in the wrong place. I should have put it about a quarter of an inch closer to the rear of the tank.

But even with all the over-engineering, it took me about a day and a half from start to finish. Well-designed model, and a lot of fun to build.

Here is my new tank with G'nea Pyg the Tau Test Dummy, and a Jotun that is in the middle of being painted.



Chris, thanks for the years of hard work you've put into these!

[Vermin King]

Oo, the Jotun with extra detail looks really sweet.

I can't seem to do any 'straight' builds any more, either.

Thanks for the share

[squirmydad]

I love the extra layers on the Jotun.
I inherited a Type 88 from Armorbimbo years ago where he did the same thing, without the paint though, and the impression of "mass" is really effective.

[kjev]

The Jotun actually started out with the idea of printing it in black and white, and coloring it with a felt-tip marker (because I was REALLY broke at the time). I colored it, looked at it, and hated it. I was also adding magnets in most of the joints, and the more I looked at it, the more I wanted to detail it, both to get rid if the hideous yellow marker, and because it just deserved it.

It's getting close to completion (after a few years in storage), and when it's ready, I'll put pictures up as well. There is an album for it in my Photobucket library. I believe it's called "Jotun," or something really original like that.

My next project is a recolored Prowler. I like the tan color scheme, and Chris was kind enough to talk me through changing the Prowler's color scheme to match the rest of my builds. I emailed him a copy of the finished scheme, but I'm not sure if I used the right address or not.

[Vermin King]

From the Chez Ebbles site:

Contact Information
•Email: [e-mail]
•Twitter: @thehumanhatrack
•Google+: +Christopher Roe

[kjev]

Thanks! I got a very nice thank you note from him today. He'd just been busy. But I'll keep his info handy.

[hackbarth]

For turrets I simply stick a magnet on each piece. That makes an articulation that you can spin forever without getting slack or damaging the joint. And you can mix and match parts:

cardboard-warriors.proboards.com/post/68587/thread