Author Topic: Anti-Radiation Ball Tank (шаротанк с противорадиационной защи&#  (Read 4613 times)

Offline Frank3k

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I wasn't planning on starting a new build after my wheeled M113 and had even cleaned up my work area for a non-modeling project. As I was putting away the M151 Remote Weapons system that I didn't use in my build, I saw the Das Werk German Kugelpanzer. I don't build NAZI stuff anymore, but the Kugelpanzer comes with two kits for whiffing. The box was sitting on top of the ICM Chernobyl figure sets, in particular the Chernobyl #3 Rubble Cleaners and Chernobyl #4 Deactivators. This gave me the idea of a small manned vehicle to inspect a highly radiated area. The vehicle would have radiation shielding to protect the lucky pilot.

The Kugelpanzer Sharo-tank is a pretty quick build. Annoyingly, the tracks have a joint about 2/3s of the way across. I added a light in the front and an exhaust in the lower rear and a PE hinge for the "cockpit" I wasn't sure if the hatch is an entry into the vehicle or a cover for the engine section. I've seen some online drawings and now believe it's how the driver would enter the vehicle. For this build, the driver lifts up the front section (with the vision slit) to enter.

I used "Boris" with the Geiger Counter from Chernobyl #3 and "Artyom" with the decontamination sprayer from Chernobyl #4:





The figures are quick builds, but they need some detailing before painting. I added filters to Boris' mask; it looked dangerously basic otherwise. I still want to add some more details to the tank and decide if it's going to be self propelled with a combustion engine or if it will be electrically propelled with power provided via a cable. I'm also thinking of adding one or two scratch built manipulators.
« Last Edit: October 08, 2021, 11:30:50 AM by Frank3k »

Offline Buzzbomb

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You just had to do... it was calling you

Offline Kerick

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Open the pod bay doors Hal!!
Yeah some arms would look cool !

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Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Off to a good start on that "Ролик"(Roller).  I recall watching the one episode from the series FireFly trying to capture a view of the "Rollers" that were breaking through the wall of Mal's defended position.  It took several attempts but all I got was some CGI render of an object that was not so different from that Das Werk  Kugelpanzer in size and shape.  So it is great to see this as a what-if project. 
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline Frank3k

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As Kerick suggested... Arms!



Well, one arm with two pincers/cutters. The smaller arm has a camera, made from a flash covered ejector nub from a part:



I also added a small "mushroom cap" to act as an air intake.

@Jeff - I'm surprised at how popular this concept has been over the years, vs. actual hardware built.
« Last Edit: October 09, 2021, 08:05:00 AM by Frank3k »

Offline Buzzbomb

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Terrific look so far

Offline apophenia

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This is looking great and your additions are excellent  :smiley:

So, what you mean, though, about that parts join in the middle of the tracks. Whoever engineered this kit for Das Werk was having an off-day  :P
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Offline Frank3k

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They had three options:

1 - outer trackless hemisphere, tracks, body
2 - outer hemispheres with tracks buit-in, split body (panels cover the body, so the joint would disappear)
3 - be idiots and split the tracks, making it very difficult to hide the joint.

They went with #3. I'll just add "dirt" to the tracks, because that joint just won't go away easily.

Offline robunos

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I'll just add "dirt" to the tracks, because that joint just won't go away easily.


carbon (graphite) . . .   ;)


cheers,
Robin.
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Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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@Frank - what about placing individual track pads in to space between the tread projections?  Something that would reduce vehicle noise and improve handling on hard surfaces?  I thought of the ice cleats or grousers as often seen as external stowage on the M3/M5 Stuart and the M8 75mm HMC which then morphed to the track pad idea since that would obscure the offending feature almost entirely.  One of the AFV Club Academy M113 kits had individual track pads as part of the individual track link assembly process.  There might be other options hiding in your own spare parts bin that will perform just as well. 

-***Finally had my coffee and woke up.  Realized I was describing the Acedemy kit and not the AFV Club M113 kit. -- jjf   
« Last Edit: October 11, 2021, 04:02:11 AM by Jeffry Fontaine »
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline Frank3k

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That's a good idea, Jeff - I'll see if I have suitable pads (I may have some of the Bronco M3 "workable" tracks floating around) if not I can cut some from styrene or even print a few.


Offline Frank3k

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I printed some tank pads on my FDM printer in ABS. I set the print parameters to produce a quick (and crappy) set of pads - once separated, they look pretty well worn. I also painted the tank; I was going to go with red overall, but found this remote vehicle used in Chernobyl:



So I compromised and went with a Christmas ornament pattern:







I used Molotow chrome paint on the arm; the metal parts of the tracks still need work, but Jeff's suggestion to use rubber pads to cover my not-great gluing of the track halves worked, I think. The tank looks like it just came out of the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant and will be suitably weathered soon.

I may give the kit's other ball tank an overall red to see how it compares.

@Story - I have some of Stuart Semple's glow powders that I bought in a failed attempt to print resin objects that glow when hit by UV light. I may use some of the blue powder.
« Last Edit: October 12, 2021, 10:16:54 AM by Frank3k »

Offline Old Wombat

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Pads worked brilliantly, Frank! Well done! 8)


PS: Good suggestion, Jeff! :smiley:
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Wow!  That really did the trick with those track pads applied the telltale seam is almost invisible.  With a little weathering that should really disappear.  :smiley:
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline Frank3k

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Thanks guys, I'm still on the fence about the color(s). It may change as I weather it or add a stripe on the side as Rheged suggested on What-if. The pads worked well!

The design was interesting - I wasn't sure what would take longer; cutting them out of styrene sheet or designing and printing them on my FDM printer. I made a pad out of styrene and then calculated how long it would take to make 80+. Designing them in Rhino3D took 5 minutes and printing took 26. Cutting them out - even with a chopper - would have taken about as long but I would have to cut the strips, then chop the pads, while I could just start the print and work on the model (which is what I ended up doing).

Offline Old Wombat

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I still think black & yellow RadHaz symbols are the way to go. ;)
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline LemonJello

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This is all kinds of cool!

Offline Frank3k

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@Guy, the Rad Haz symbols would have to go on the body, because the sides rotate with the tracks.

Offline Old Wombat

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That's fine. They become a motion indicator, then, too! ;)
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Frank3k

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Some progress. I made some large black radiation symbols/motion tracker decals for the sides and body. I also added a third liquidator, who I'll call Vadims. I replaced the shovel head he was carrying with a wide squeegee and a longer pole. The concrete base is made from a dense, solid white polystyrene foam sheet. I carved the squares, chipped it and made a drain grate:



Story suggested using a UV glow powder for some glowing radiation effects. The images below show the UV glow powder (in a container) under the grate. The first one depicts the faint Cherenkov radiation glow inside the drain after giving the powder a brief shot of UV:




Same, with the lights turned off (only indirect sunlight):



Lights off, but with the UV LED shining right at the powder (from the side):



I may add some powder "washing off" into the drain, but I have to test how it works when mixed with a clear medium like Future.

I'll also add some equipment, possibly a spot lamp and some debris, but before that I'll paint the three figures and start weathering the ball tank.

Offline Old Wombat

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That's coming together brilliantly, Frank! 8)

Love the glow powder's effect! :D :smiley: :smiley:
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline LemonJello

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That's a neat effect. 

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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@Frank - That display base looks great.  The addition of the glowing powder will be like the frosting on the cake.  :smiley:
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline GTX_Admin

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Offline apophenia

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The display base does look great. But those radiation symbols/motion trackers also make the red/white scheme pop! Nice  :smiley:
Froglord: "... amphibious doom descends ... approach the alter and swear your allegiance to the swamp."

Offline Frank3k

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I think this one's finished. The base & battery holder are hot glued to foam blocks until I get a deep enough 5x7 picture frame.

The floodlight is one of the lights from the MPC Space: 1999 Nuclear Waste Area #2 kit that I bought just for parts (it was on clearance). The post is just a styrene rod and the base is a railway wheel from an old BA-20 kit. The pipe and wheel are from the Pegasus Chemical Plant (or Power Plant - I mixed and matched parts). I added the pipe clamp details.
With the cardboard backdrop that came with one of the figure kits:


The liquidator with the sprayer. I just noticed the dirty water drop on his raincoat. The cables/tubes are 30 AWG wirewrap wire:


The guy with the Geiger counter. I added a small panel meter and dials to the box, but they're not visible in this picture:


Top view with the room lights turned off. I didn't add the UV LED because daylight or LED room lights are enough to activate the florescent powder:


Top view with the floodlights on. The glow is still visible:


A couple of extra pictures:




The back story: Around 1997-2000, The Russians heard of American advances in the 'triggering' of a nuclear isomer of hafnium, 178m2Hf, via gamma ray emissions. The  energy released was much, much greater in magnitude than a chemical reaction, but still less than a nuclear fission reaction. The potential for small, devastating non-nuclear explosives and powerful jet and rocket engines was hard to ignore.

The Russians also discovered that the Americans were stymied by the high cost of extracting the hafnium isomer and to a lesser extent by the gamma ray triggering. Luckily for the Russians, they had already discovered a messy but inexpensive method of extracting the hafnium isomer using old, idle cyclotrons.

In 2002, production was well underway in a secret nuclear weapons laboratory deep in Siberia.

Few people - even skilled machinist - encounter hafnium metal and even fewer know (or forget) that fine particles of the element can spontaneously combust when exposed to air. A lack of training and lax security lead to a machining accident. The resultant fire - and possible small detonation - destroyed the labs containing the hafnium, the hafnium isomer as well as decades worth of nuclear waste stored in the same building. While the radiation was contained on-site, high levels of radiation made it impossible to enter the area.

A Russian engineer remembered seeing a late WWII German ball tank at the Kubinka Tank Museum and quickly drew up plans for a similar, electrically driven manned ball tank that could go in and attempt to recover as much of the hafnium isomer as possible. The small size of the tank as well as lead shielding provided protection for the driver. The tank had manipulator arms and a camera as well. After each mission into the building, the tank was washed down and checked for radiation before the driver exited the vehicle.

Unfortunately for the Russians, none of the hafnium isomer was recovered.

This was a fun project that went along quite well, with no major construction or painting issues (other that the water drop on the green guy).

Thanks for all the suggestions and encouraging comments!
« Last Edit: October 20, 2021, 07:40:26 AM by Frank3k »

Offline finsrin

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Knockout diorama   :icon_alabanza:     All elements work together well.   Like use of 1999 light with pole & stand. :smiley:

Story about Hafnium Isomer is informative.   Gotta be sooo careful handling it. :o
 

Offline Old Wombat

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That is brilliant, Frank! 8) :icon_alabanza:

Love the details & the water drop on the green guy is easily explained away as splash-back from the sprayer he's using to clean the ball tank. :smiley: ;)
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline GTX_Admin

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All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline Story

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Never stop Franking, Frank. You're inspiring all of us to up our game.

PS/This reminds me of an unbuilt resin 1/35th sewer / manhole / street section multilevel minidiorama base (can't remember the maker) I've got around somewhere.

I see that Vadims squeegeeing slush into the drain and visualize an under-level to a similar diorama, with irritated rats getting rained on.

https://www.jonsmith-modellbau.com/132-135-trench-rats/

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mantis-Miniatures-1-35-Animal-Set-10-Rats-Mice-Resin-Figure-Kit-35039/151053642

PPS - for those inspired to ride Frank's wake on this,
http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=844.msg94767#msg94767
« Last Edit: October 20, 2021, 10:20:28 PM by Story »

Offline Buzzbomb

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Frank, everything is awesome.

Great detail, terrific composition and use of materials.

Totally A++ :icon_alabanza:

Offline apophenia

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Frank, everything is awesome.

Great detail, terrific composition and use of materials.

Totally A++ :icon_alabanza:

Yup. Seriously WOW  :smiley: :smiley:  Great stuff Frank!
Froglord: "... amphibious doom descends ... approach the alter and swear your allegiance to the swamp."

Offline Frank3k

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Thanks, guys. It's always fun when a  kit "speaks to me" from a shelf in the model closet. First the Kugelpanzer kit, then the two Chernobyl kits wanted to be part of the action. I watched about a season's worth of Mystery Science Theater 3000 while building this.

@Story - good find - those rats may come in handy!