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I started this over at Whatif: The Miniart 1/35 Sharotank, Soviet ball tank that I'm going to build as a US between the wars "advanced tank":
(https://i.imgur.com/MxlPjgH.jpeg)
The kit is well engineered, but the The Modelling News build (http://"https://www.themodellingnews.com/2018/11/in-box-construction-guide-pt-i-miniarts.html") is an essential reference. One problem noted in that review is that that the crew seats are far too small. I'll scratchbuild larger seats and reduce the crew to four or even three, if I can't fit them all in the hull.
Here's the "seat issue":
Seat from the Tamiya Quad Tractor, vs the kit seat:
(https://i.imgur.com/Kq32rpp.jpeg)
Our friend Nigel from the same kit in his seat:
(https://i.imgur.com/DX1wo0a.jpeg)
It looks like a child's seat. "Take your kids to war":
(https://i.imgur.com/dmCEikZ.jpeg)
Here's a page on ball tanks (https://www.tankarchives.ca/2019/05/in-search-of-perfect-sphere.html) And for some enjoyable retro reading, The Popular Mechanics issue for July 1936 had a ball tank on the cover and a short article on page 37. Read it here (https://archive.org/details/1935-to-1939-popular-science/1936-07%20Popular%20Science/mode/2up)
(https://ia902204.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/27/items/1935-to-1939-popular-science/1936-07%20Popular%20Science_jp2.zip&file=1936-07%20Popular%20Science_jp2/1936-07%20Popular%20Science_0000.jp2&id=1935-to-1939-popular-science&scale=1&rotate=0)
Miniart seems to have put some thought into how this ball tank would be designed and operated; there are four brake pads that somehow slow down one side of the tank, allowing it to slowly turn.
The two side rails are not easy to put together and align. I had to superglue some top and bottom posts first, just to stabilize and square the assembly, then go around and glue the remaining posts. But that was a minor annoyance and it's been an enjoyable build so far.
Here's the central ring (in progress) with the bare seats I scratch built and two of the seat supports from the kit:
(https://i.imgur.com/To6olr5.jpeg)
The drive wheel assembly is in Atom olive drab, an acrylic paint made by Ammo. It's hand painted, but looks airbrushed. Great paint!
I used ProCreate 2 part putty to make the seat cushions. This putty works well and stays somewhat soft after curing, so it can be worked for a bit. Once it's fully dry, I'll add some texture and paint:
(https://i.imgur.com/jHjvYqn.jpeg)
Next step will be adding the weapons. Two 30mm cannons (I'll upgrade them to the 37mm US standard) and two machine guns seems excessive. The spatted side wheels look flimsy and useless other than for balance, so I'll have to think of something else.
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These are interesting - seen a few different builds in the last 2 years. Would be nice to see a factory scene with one as a skeleton & another closed up being painted. :smiley:
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Seating for five? YGBSM! That would have been a severely cramped vehicle even with two seats. The Tamiya Quad seats are also a bit on the small side when compared to other seats in same scale but definitely not as tiny as the kit seats. I like the details provided by the internal frame to give you an idea of what it would have looked like inside with the engine and drive system but I cannot imagine anywhere near five people stuffed inside with all of that. Oh, wait, it's Russian/Soviet so no thought or consideration is given for crew comfort or safety. Yeah, now it all makes more sense. :smiley:
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Jeff - The Quad seat is small, so I enlarged it by about 1.5 mm on all sides. It's still a bit small. The kit seats hang off the round connectors on some of the bars, which means they're dangling next to a hot engine. The ball also doesn't seem to have any suspension at all - so unless the seats are on bungie cords, it's going to be a bone jarring drive over anything but a paved road. They'll feel every pebble!
The ball needs a driver, but I'm thinking just one 37mm gun and two crew for that - similar to the "Tumbleweed" tank of the PM article.
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I only had a short build period today. I put together the 30mm, now 37mm gun. Lots of tiny, tiny parts but surprisingly easy to put together. The barrel isn't attached:
(https://i.imgur.com/VJr03uV.jpeg)
Miniart has these odd brake pads in the lower front and rear, where they would contact the main wheel. I'm not clear how well they would work to turn the tank:
(https://i.imgur.com/Nl0ZG7E.jpeg)
Here's Nigel in the driver's location (just tacked on). The outer shell won't fit without bumping into Nigel's feet, so I'm going to move the seat back 3-5mm:
(https://i.imgur.com/YjdJnvN.jpeg)
Here's all I got done today. gun assembled, fuel tanks and radiator, plus some details on the main ring. The large dark metallic gray boxes are the fuel tanks. The gun is painted in Atom Olive Drab:
(https://i.imgur.com/6qC09kz.jpeg)
I'm thinking of adding the 37mm gun to the right hemisphere, with a gunner and loader. The upper hole will either be blanked off or used as a ventilation hole. The left side will have the driver and the TC, with a .30 or .50 cal on the rear ball mount. Same with the upper hole. Maybe it can be a periscope or range finder for the TC. Another option is to swap the gun and driver sides, giving the loader a MG for the rear of the tank.
I'm also thinking of modifying the trusses and support in the middle (which are used mainly to hold the undersized seats) to allow crew members to move from one side of the tank to the other, without having to crawl over a hot engine.
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How about if you sculpt Nigel’s backside and carve out the seat. Perhaps that will buy some room for his legs. Just my $0.02.
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I felt that the hemispheres looked too smooth, so I experimented adding a casting texture to a styrene rectangle. I mixed some putty with acetone and stippled it on with a stiff brush. In another section, I tried some unthinned primer paint. Finally, I tried it with some thinned Tamiya surfacer. Of the three, the thinned (with denatured alcohol) Tamiya surfacer worked the best. Stippling the hemispheres and the hatches was pretty easy and relaxing work - paint a sector with a layer of surfacer, stipple it, repeat.
Next, I worked on the 37mm gun. Since the gun was originally at the top of the ball, it was difficult to get the ball joint for the gun to point straight forward in it's new forward facing location. So instead, I repurposed one of the machine gun ball joints:
(https://i.imgur.com/pLckNQ0.jpeg)
You can see the text strip next to the tank in these pictures.
I also added the driver's sad looking view slit (I may need to fix that) and the second rear facing MG ball joint to the driver's hemisphere:
(https://i.imgur.com/65ga3T2.jpeg)
Tomorrow, more interior mods. I added the foot pedals to the driver's side. With the seat's intended location, the driver would be sitting with his knees up to to his chin. I'll move the seat back by a few mm.
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Neat progress, Frank! :smiley:
With the seat's intended location, the driver would be sitting with his knees up to to his chin.
Definitely Soviet/Russian! ;)
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That's so funky, it'll be a shame to close it up
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I like that stipple technique. I’ll have to remember that.
This build is giving me ideas. Dangerous!
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The hatches are pretty big, so much of the interior is visible.
Ken - it was surprisingly easy to do the stippling and kinda relaxing!
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... it was surprisingly easy to do the stippling and kinda relaxing!
I can see how that stipple work could be therapeutic ... but the effect is also highly believable :smiley:
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I'm almost done with the interior. I removed some of the horizontal bracing to make a space for the crew to move from one side of the vehicle to the other. I added some vertical bracing as well, which (maybe not surprisingly) added quite a bit of stability to the assembly. I also made a wooden floor so the crew can scoot from one side to the other without having to crawl over a hot engine. The seats are just tacked on in this picture:
(https://i.imgur.com/pG4bq0i.jpeg)
I realized that the ball tank - with no obvious source of ventilation - would quickly fill with a noxious atmosphere of CO2 and Carbon Monoxide from the engine and gases from the gun firing. Since I moved the gun to the front, the upper gun port was no longer needed. I made a fume extractor/fan assembly out of one of the wheels for the door locks, a trimmed drive wheel from an anonymous tank and I believe the fume extractor from the Tamiya M41 kit. A crew member would turn the wheel to raise the extractor and turn it on. Interior view:
(https://i.imgur.com/B2PQTRe.jpeg)
Exterior view with extractor raised. I painted the exterior with Olive Drab:
(https://i.imgur.com/GPw2xqU.jpeg)
I still have to finish the main interior and fix nicks and scratches on the white paint and add the gun and ammo to the right hemisphere.
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Nice touch with the fume extractor. Now what about seat belts? Just kidding! :smiley:
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I'm loving all your little enhancements, I have one of these in the stash too so I'll be taking notes. Speaking of which, I remember seeing in another build of this kit that there is an indent below the square vent were the exhaust should go, they drilled a hole and added a pipe. The exterior lamp on the left side is also missing the bracket to hold it in place so you need to scratch built a new one.
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This a very fascinating project. Lots of ideas to consider.
Keep up the great work!
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I'm loving all your little enhancements, I have one of these in the stash too so I'll be taking notes. Speaking of which, I remember seeing in another build of this kit that there is an indent below the square vent were the exhaust should go, they drilled a hole and added a pipe. The exterior lamp on the left side is also missing the bracket to hold it in place so you need to scratch built a new one.
The exhaust pipe almost looks like a small molding defect and I can imagine modellers putting some putty on it and sanding it smooth without realizing. Same for the tiny scratch where the headlamp goes,
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Coming along nicely, Frank. I knew there were a surprising number of these kits out there, but the Miniart kit was a surprise.
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So unusual. Is an OOB kitbash :smiley:
Looking fine, thanks for pictures.
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More inspiration
(https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ca/b5/b6/cab5b6766e3f2a7eaadf9fd2f5422000.jpg)
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We need a model of this baby!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rvA7hDh_vhY
Gotta love the Dynasphere!
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(https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ca/b5/b6/cab5b6766e3f2a7eaadf9fd2f5422000.jpg)
I started designing a 3D printed model of the US Tumbleweed ball tank a few years ago but didn't get that far, I might finish it some day tho...
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I want to try it, since the artwork in the Popular Mechanics article is pretty good.
The page at Tank Archives on spherical tanks (https://www.tankarchives.ca/2019/05/in-search-of-perfect-sphere.html) has the paptent, which should be good for dimensions.
This Armorama build (https://archive.armorama.com/features/4825/index.htm) from 2007 is fantastic, although it's more of a oblate spheroid:
(https://photos.kitmaker.net/feature/4825/header.jpg)
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I think I'm almost done pimping the interior. I made a movable periscope for the tank commander, but like all things ball tank... it will be of limited utility. Here are the two hemisphere interiors. The black wires are for the fuel lines, which will get glued to the engine... somewhere. The brass on the 37mm rounds is more gold than brass, but it's what I ended up with:
(https://i.imgur.com/oxJ5Tqv.jpeg)
This is the driver/TC side. There's a green wire from the driver's seat to the brakes. I scratchbuilt a battery (on a shelf to the upper left) and cabled it up as well:
(https://i.imgur.com/TFY6veW.jpeg)
37mm gunner and loader side. I added the diamond plate floor just to give the loader something to stand on. His seat also blocks direct access to the exposed, unprotected radiator fan, which will be right behind him.
(https://i.imgur.com/HIV6lXo.jpeg)
This vehicle would have been ridiculous in practice. Rolling down a hill uncontrolled would have been only one of the many problems with this design.
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This vehicle would have been ridiculous in practice. Rolling down a hill uncontrolled would have been only one of the many problems with this design.
I can imagine it coming down a hill to fast so the driver applies the brakes but they lock up and then the whole tank just starts rolling wit the crew spinning around inside ;D
(https://i.makeagif.com/media/8-17-2015/cxy4l2.gif)
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Some of those bounces must have really hurt...
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As a build, this is great, really like the added bits. Waiting to see how it looks together, not that we will see much I would imagine
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Getting close. Today's adventure was fixing the outrigger wheels, jokes that they are. One known problem with this kit is that the wheel halves don't fit into the spats. I solved it by cutting off the upper half of the outer section, since it isn't load bearing.
The modified wheel is above the sprue, the red dashed line indicates where to make the cut on the unmodified wheel:
(https://i.imgur.com/ybsldum.jpeg)
I also painted the big tire and realized I also had to extend the olive drab down the frame a bit. I've since done a better job painting the OD. I glued a front and rear half and they click onto the frame. They'll need some cyanoacrylate to hold in place, though:
(https://i.imgur.com/LHxfMJe.jpeg)
Some videos of a real monowheel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvA7hDh_vhY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvA7hDh_vhY)
This kid seems to enjoy going over horseshit. Which illustrates an issue with these open frame wheels:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvA7hDh_vhY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvA7hDh_vhY)
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She's looking great, Frank! 8) :smiley:
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Really nice work
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99% done - just have to take pictures in sunlight.
Doors open:
(https://i.imgur.com/bjScaSH.jpeg)
I had to sand down the bottom of the tire because the ball tank has a tendency to roll forward (where it gets stopped by the 37mm barrel) or back, where the side wheels keep it from rolling back. It still rocks back and forth, but not as badly.
Inventor's mark:
(https://i.imgur.com/gX6kOqO.jpeg)
I slapped together a quick figure of the inventor. I used one of the figures from the Miniart Auto Travelers 1930 - 40s (http://"https://www.scalemates.com/kits/miniart-38017-auto-travelers--1189583") re-positioned the right arm, and added a new right hand and head from random figure parts I had in my spares box.
(https://i.imgur.com/f88oXaG.jpeg)
Backstory:
Aaron D. Tuit was in the US Army during WWI and experienced trench warfare at Meuse-Argonne. Horrified by the experience, he envisioned a device that could easily roll over barbed wire and trenches. After the war and hoping to put those memories behind him, he became a businessman, owning a small but successful foundry in Kansas.
In the mid 1930s, the US Army was seeking to modernize their tank forces. This rekindled Mr. Tuit's desire to build his ball tank and also to support his business. With a contract from the Army, he was finally able to bring the Tuit Ball Tank to reality.
The ball tank was powered by a 201-cubic-inch straight four engine from a Ford AA truck. The main weapon was the new 37mm borrowed from the Army, with a .30 machine gun for rear protection.
After testing in the factory parking lot, the design looked promising. The Army had the ball tank transported to the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, where the many flaws in the design became apparent. Army testing officers noted the following shortcomings:
1 -The driver has very poor and limited visibility from his single vision slit and only of objects and obstacles directly ahead on the left side of the tank.
2- The 37 mm gun has a limited range of motion and can only effectively engage targets on the left forward quadrant of the tank. Targets on the right side are only visible when they're beyond effective range.
3- The 37mm loader has a difficult time reaching the ammunition and loading it into the gun. The most effective solution was to have the loader remove the round from the rack but have the gunner load the weapon. Gunner and loader could switch tasks due to fatigue, but this requires training two gunners.
4- There is very little space for the gunner when aiming and firing the gun. Some gunners were injured by the recoil.
5- The tank Commander is on the driver side of the tank, with a periscope that only provides very limited view of targets on the left side of the tank. The tank commander must stand to look through the periscope, which precludes effective target acquisition while the tank is moving.
6- A field modification was attempted, by swapping the fume extractor and tank commander periscope positions. This allowed the tank commander slightly more effective targeting and range calculations, but he also had to act as loader. The fume extractor was found to be ineffective in its new position and the tank filled with both engine and gun fumes, requiring that the tank be operated with the armored doors open. This was not considered to be an ideal situation in combat.
7- During trials, volunteer troops had no difficulty approaching the tank from the rear right, even knocking on the tank's hull before retreating. The .30 cal machine gun on the left side was considered somewhat effective, but again, with a very limited field of fire.
8- The tank is not able to ford streams deeper than three feet. In addition, the main wheel is not sealed by gaskets, allowing water to collect at the bottom of the tank and fall from the top of the tank as it attempts to cross the stream.
9- The two side wheels prevent the tank from rolling side to side, but are of limited effectiveness in keeping the tank from rocking back and forth, either while driving or firing the main gun. Crews expressed concerned that the tank might roll uncontrollably, much like a pet gerbil in a small ball ("gerbilling")
10- The tank was not tested on steep inclines. It is capable of climbing small hills, but on the last test run, it rolled forward on the down slope. The crew believes "Gerbilling" was prevented by the 37mm slamming into the ground and acting as a brake.
11- Directional control is achieved by applying brakes to the left or right side of the main tire. This results in a slow and wide turning radius.
Heart broken by the Army's rejection of his tank, Mr. Tuit returned to Kansas and focused on his business, leaving the Ball tank behind.
When asked about removing or scraping the Ball tank, officers at Aberdeen said that they would get Aaron D. Tuit ...
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Love it ! :smiley: I see you have a Round Tuit as well ;)
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Very good! 8)
Build & story match perfectly. ;D :smiley:
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Classic! Mr. Tuit had good intentions. He wasn’t alone. There were all kinds of crazy ideas once WW 2 became obvious.
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Great job :smiley:
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Too many folks expect whiff builds to reflect be the perfect AFV - the best gun, best armour, best manoeuvrability, etc, but life just isn’t like that. History is full of AFV that just didn’t make the grade - and to be honest, they are the most fun to build.
Your ball tank is a great example of when things don’t work out - poor old Aaron!
A wonderful build and great backstory. Bravo Sir, bravo!! :icon_alabanza: :icon_alabanza:
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Frank, that is an excellent back story to go with your Ball Tank. I was a bit surprised to see it in OD Green with a white star but it works out well especially with your figure standing next to the vehicle.
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:smiley:
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(https://i.imgur.com/LHxfMJe.jpeg)
It would be tempting to model something like this - open - but as a civilian vehicle of some type.
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It would be tempting to model something like this - open - but as a civilian vehicle of some type.
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Heart broken by the Army's rejection of his tank, Mr. Tuit returned to Kansas and focused on his business, leaving the Ball tank behind.
When asked about removing or scraping the Ball tank, officers at Aberdeen said that they would get Aaron D. Tuit ...
Perfect story, perfectly US Army conclusion. ;D
"It's on post .... somewhere. Does that look like a zero or an O in the catalog number?"
(https://media.tenor.com/OdeLj5CYn4MAAAAM/raiders-lost.gif)
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I can imagine it coming down a hill to fast so the driver applies the brakes but they lock up and then the whole tank just starts rolling wit the crew spinning around inside ;D
... vomit spraying everywhere inside.
VOMIT COMET would be great interior graffitti.
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Greg - I was temped to leave the sides off. It would definitely expose the driver and passengers to the "fresh air"
(https://i.imgur.com/RZANJsA.jpeg)
I like this one because I re-positioned the tank and figure and it looks like one of the outrigger wheels is falling off the base. I didn't notice it until I processed the image. The tank is actually balanced on a small pebble, which illustrates the problem with this idea:
(https://i.imgur.com/HE9RSUF.jpeg)
Front:
(https://i.imgur.com/pbISor9.jpeg)
Rear. I forgot to add dust/dirt to the gun side hatch:
(https://i.imgur.com/3Fvl1bS.jpeg)
Left/driver's side:
(https://i.imgur.com/u3sl8yB.jpeg)
Right/gun side:
(https://i.imgur.com/FRcIxE3.jpeg)
Thanks for all the comments! This was a fun build.
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With the rest of the crew.. marvellous work. Well done all around.
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You know, all the various ball tank builds should be dumped into one PDF 8 1/2 x 112 mockumentary, "BALL TANKS IN ACTION".
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Thanks, Brian.
You know, all the various ball tank builds should be dumped into one PDF 8 1/2 x 112 mockumentary, "BALL TANKS IN ACTION".
Rolling down hills, getting stuck in craters ("it's a fixed fortification!") turned into pools or large salad bowls. The famous battle where a ball tank lost control and crashed through the enemy line - thinking it was a movable, giant American version of the "bouncing Betty", the Germans fled from their trenches and fortifications. Then there was the ill-fated attempt to parachute the ball tanks behind enemy lines by rolling then off the rear ramp of a Flying Boxcar.
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You know, all the various ball tank builds should be dumped into one PDF 8 1/2 x 112 mockumentary, "BALL TANKS IN ACTION".
Now that’s a Good Idea!!
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Subtitled "An Extraordinarily Bad Idea"
(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTg_RanYMePwOmVxyYg8jOTSsJb5kv7YSrBvA&s)
Here ya go - new build.
The history of the vehicle is practically unknown other than the fact that at least one example was exported to the Empire of Japan and used by the Kwantung Army. :icon_nif:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kugelpanzer
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turned into pools or large salad bowls.
Don't forget the California motorcycle club that bought an unfinished and demilitarized (armor removed) one from a Fort Ord surplus sale in 1947.
(https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screen-Shot-2024-02-29-at-11.04.41-AM-e1709222744504.png)
Then there was the ill-fated attempt to parachute the ball tanks behind enemy lines by rolling then off the rear ramp of a Flying Boxcar.
Historical precedent - the Soviets experimented with dropping BMDs with their crews inside.
Шлепок!
(https://i.gifer.com/PUT.gif)
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Another variation on the theme
https://www.therpf.com/forums/threads/%E2%80%9Catomic-tank-%E2%80%9Cscratchbuild-1-35-scale.337472/ (https://www.therpf.com/forums/threads/%E2%80%9Catomic-tank-%E2%80%9Cscratchbuild-1-35-scale.337472/)