I think any change to a model, even adding the wiring and details to an engine can be called a conversion. What I have been working on lately. I tend to work very slowly these days. Too much going on in life.

[quote] I tend to work very slowly these days. Too much going on in life. [quote]

Copy that!

Hi Randall,

Saw your build over on the Sherman-shop site - no apologies for slowness needed! (Pity the first iteration with the DML hull went to the scrap-yard...) Still, doing no less than THREE of these Israeli beasts at one sitting is crazy-ambitious. Love that scratched engine deck!

Thank you, and I think it's just plain crazy! The way my lucks going Asuka will release an M50 just as I glue on the last part of the third tank! And I made the mistake of looking at a M19 hauling an M50 early version diorama, so I HAVE to put one of them on the trailer.

The DML build has been carefully packed away. The deck I built for it warped on me and I couldn't get it flat again, so that tank was cursed from the start. I've had real bad karma with DML Shermans.

Hi guys lots of nice work here! -- -ok, here's my little contribution - A while back, I came across the JCB HMEE - an armored backhoe, in fact, Mike, you might have shown in to me on another post of mine! as shown below:



Naturally leading to a "why not?" so, I gave it a go:









And there you have it! mostly scratch., but a few odds and ends from an HEMMT - fun build!

Cheers,

Nick

Nick, I remember your original thread. This is phenomenal workmanship!

First ever "what if" armor conversion some thirty years ago:

The venerable Pz. II kit from Tamiya turned into . . .



. . . an ammo supply carrier.


This is a "drop in" conversion and can still be altered to go either way!

That armored back hoe is nice. Madd Max for real.

Curious PZII, but some were used as ammo haulers if I remember correctly, so, why not?

Yes some Pz. II's were converted late in the war to ammo carriers but I doubt any of them looked like this. Oh well it was just a brain fart of a "what if".

Here's ma what if based on the Hobby Boss kit. The extendable radar mast was fun to build.







The result.



Scratch built accessories for zombie suppression.







The windows work.



Updating Academy's M4A3 105 Dozer Sherman.

Started with these.





Made molds and went here.





Rod and tube got me here.





More rod, tube, craft beads and patience yielded this.









All this.





Yielded this.

Ian, if you are not following this "Bladerunner Not" thread you should definitely give it a look:

http://armorama.com/forums/246554

Your Cadillac-Gage 4x4 vehicle would fit in perfectly!

That Pz. III of yours is outstanding!

The command PZIII is nice.

Won't that pak 40 rip the bed out of the truck? Do you have a picture of the entire bed and gun? Very interesting idea.

Thank you gents!

Mike, I have been following the "Blade Runner Not" diorama build. It is magnificent!

Here's a better shot of the gun. When you are building a what if, physics go out the window!





Here's the interior BTW.

I filled the seams on around 20 German WW2 Jerrycans. SMH.

Too true! Darn it, now I've got the urge to make a copycat truck!

This is just my own opinion and I am not trying to force it on anyone else's modeling work, however when I do a "what if" I feel the laws of physics, logic and engineering must still apply.

As an, at one time real life trade show and exhibit designer (retired,) I would always like to think that if I were to build one of my models in 1:1 scale I would want it to be fully functional and work as advertised.

Just one man's opinion on this particular topic.


p.s. I am NOT saying don't mount the PAK 40 into the pickup truck bed. What I AM saying is to show us how you would cut holes in the load bed floor* and extend welded C channels fore and aft down between the gun carriage and the truck frame. That is how they build serious roll bars into a pickup truck and so I think the PAK 40 could be anchored in such a way as to work properly in this application.

Probably should not set the truck in park when you fire the gun however! Let it roll to absorb some of the recoil and not chance breaking the parking prawl in the transmission. Oh, and you might want to move the gun mount more to the rear of the truck otherwise the spent shell casing could jam between the breach and the back armored window of the cab as it is ejected.

* Painting the cutting torch marks into the floor of the bed could be a nice touch as well.

I was thinking of removing the bed and making a flat bed.

Sherm, (hope you don't mind me calling you that?) I thought of a farm truck kind of flat bed too but I just like the idea of the gun fitting down into the truck bed like that. This is kind of a "shoot and scoot" application anyway so keeping the gun low and making it a bit harder to see before hand might not be a bad idea either.

Hey how about cutting out the rear fenders, making some crudely welded on fender flares and adding dualies to the rear axle?

Hadn't thought of that. And what gun to use? I was thinking of getting an AFV Club US 76mm. Not too many Pak 40's out here, but there are 76mm's. Or the Soviet 76mm.

Before you get too involved remember this. That's a Revell 1/25th scale truck with a Tamiya 1/35th scale PaK in the bed.

In the same scale, I think it would only work on a dual axle flatbed. That 75mm is bigger than you think.

I thought that gun looked small, more like a PAK38 (50mm) but it had the mussle brake of a PAK40 so I did not question it.

I would never mix the two scales together in one model but that is just me. So I guess I am outta here as far as this vehicle is concerned.

BTW when I said to cut the fenders and add duallies I meant four tires on one axle not eight tires on two axles.

Hmmmm...

I was thinking of using the 1/35 F250, or one of the newer big trucks like the M1078's.

The new Ford in 1/35th works for me! Then everything built onto the truck would be in the same scale. Might have to drop down to a PAK38 but do give the PAK40 a shot! (so to speak.)

Even as a small child it bothered me that my "Bag O' Soldiers" was in a different scale than the trucks and Jeeps sold in the same bag! Today I only model in 1/35th b/c if someone looks at my display everything is in the same relative size. I don't have to explain "now that T34 is in 1/72 scale but the Tiger is 1/35th."