ackack
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12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjungend"
Posts: 317
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Post by ackack on Oct 31, 2010 18:46:22 GMT -5
so i am makeing plans for an airsoft tank i think i want to make it big enough for two people (driver and gunner) so it won't be full scale. I want suggestions on a tank. Don't give me ideas on tanks that have roun bodys only square. Im 14 years old and im not that good at building something that technical yet. I am very lucky because my uncle who lives with me is great with go cart motors so thats what I'm going to use. I am also not going to have a complacated turning system, its only going to consit of a few brakes and a few gas pedals. It will make it a lot easier to make and a lot cheaper. So just give me suggestions only american and german armor because thats what I reenact. When I begin I'll post pictures from start to finish. It will be a great piece for games and it could maybe give you guys ideas to build some
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kalbs
Master sergeant 
Posts: 1,142
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Post by kalbs on Oct 31, 2010 19:15:39 GMT -5
Try and build something with wheels first. Tracks are not cheap or easy to build or find. Ask Ersatzjack, he knows the pains involved. I assume you are building something 1/2 scale using a go-cart motor.
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Post by labrador on Oct 31, 2010 19:16:17 GMT -5
a universal (bren gun) carrier would be nice. that's flat sided all around. if you want someting enclosed, a US m2 light tank (the pre stuart) those were used in guadalcanal. but actually kalbs is right. perhaps an sdkfz 222 or a russian ba64. both slab sided and wheeled.
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Post by sarge12 on Oct 31, 2010 22:15:43 GMT -5
Do you have a welding torch?
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ackack
Private
12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjungend"
Posts: 317
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Post by ackack on Nov 1, 2010 14:00:40 GMT -5
i have a lot of tools and my uncle works with motors so he can get his hands on just about any kind and install it very easily and i saw this guy who makes them he has full instrutional videos so it will take me some time and money is not the easiest thing to get my hands on (im going to need to do more chores ) a i talked to a lot of my friends and they said i should make a panzer 4 i do reenact german so that would be a smart idea
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ackack
Private
12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjungend"
Posts: 317
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Post by ackack on Nov 1, 2010 14:03:37 GMT -5
oh to answer your question i do have a welding torch and i plan on making the frame out of steel and the body out of wood then have it shoot tennis balls and have a turret machine gun
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Post by blackwater on Nov 1, 2010 22:22:36 GMT -5
oh to answer your question i do have a welding torch and i plan on making the frame out of steel and the body out of wood then have it shoot tennis balls and have a turret machine gun make the frame aluminum. cheaper, lighter, easier to work with. imo. |
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elder90
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Post by elder90 on Nov 2, 2010 3:04:21 GMT -5
oh to answer your question i do have a welding torch and i plan on making the frame out of steel and the body out of wood then have it shoot tennis balls and have a turret machine gun make the frame aluminum. cheaper, lighter, easier to work with. imo. Amen "a universal (bren gun) carrier would be nice." Golf cart with walls basically. I am saving to make a APC for modern games I'm thinking an ATV engine with a new frame. My dad is like your uncle and my neighbor is a mechanic so I think I can pull something together. If I ever do get the money I will post pictures aswell |
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ackack
Private
12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjungend"
Posts: 317
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Post by ackack on Nov 2, 2010 7:32:37 GMT -5
aluminum is a great idea now any suggestions on the body i was thinking plywood but i did see some guys do it in sheet metal i think it would maybe give it more of that tank feeling and a lot of my materials will be comeing from a junkyard because it is cheap
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elder90
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Post by elder90 on Nov 2, 2010 9:20:45 GMT -5
Sheet metal just adds up in weight though. I guess it would work but if you do it out of plywood it would be cheap and easy and light. But it will fall apart in anything other than sun sine. The metal approach is a good idea, Ya it would be heavy and cost more but overall it will be nice and strong and last a very long time. Personally I will be making my APC out of metal
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ackack
Private
12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjungend"
Posts: 317
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Post by ackack on Nov 2, 2010 9:51:37 GMT -5
with a square body of a panzer 4 it will be easier because i wont have to bend the metal and i can then make the main gun out of a pvc pipe and use my m249 saw as an inside turret machine gun oh any suggestions on wat the main gun should shoot
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Post by sir veilance on Nov 2, 2010 18:56:52 GMT -5
Back in 1980 a friend of mine and I built an armored vehicle based on an Amphicat. I wish I had taken pictures of it. Here is what one looks like.  It had a gas pedal and two hand brakes for steering, as well as a reverse lever. It was amphibious too, although you needed a very gentle slope to get into and out of the water. We bolted on a light weight super structure, made out of plywood to keep the center of gravity low. The turret was a galvanized wash tub ;D You could get tracks for it as well. The tracks were a one piece rubber loop that you put on by deflating the tires and then re-inflating them. I see that they now make one that has eight wheels so an Sdkfz. 233 or 234 could be a possibility. |
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elder90
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Post by elder90 on Nov 2, 2010 23:44:36 GMT -5
I was going to make mine out of an Argo Cat but at 14000 a pop thats to much Id much rather get an old ATV and fix it than do that
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Post by kat1918 on Nov 3, 2010 3:15:21 GMT -5
Just my $0.2 but I would say a Hetzer would be about the easiest German armor to replicate.Fairly small and, shaped almost like a flat pyramid.
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ackack
Private
12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjungend"
Posts: 317
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Post by ackack on Nov 3, 2010 15:12:57 GMT -5
wow why didn't i think of a hetzer it dosn't have a lot of track wheels its small it dosn't have a round shape it dosn't have a turret but that is okay thanks kat i might actually do that I was also thinking a stug but a hetzer would be a lot easier
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ackack
Private
12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjungend"
Posts: 317
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Post by ackack on Nov 4, 2010 16:45:44 GMT -5
i still might want to do a panzer 4 because i like the turret idea and a turret machine gun
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Post by kat1918 on Nov 5, 2010 8:21:17 GMT -5
i still might want to do a panzer 4 because i like the turret idea and a turret machine gun A Tiger for me but,I'm thinking maybe doing a Hetzer first just to get my feet wet.Of course it will be awhile. |
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Post by sir veilance on Nov 5, 2010 8:24:44 GMT -5
Try and build something with wheels first. Tracks are not cheap or easy to build or find. Ask Ersatzjack, he knows the pains involved. Really guys......do like Kalbs said. Tracks are a pain in the ass. An armored car would be a much better place to start. A tanks main gun would only be fun to use if you have other tanks to fight or if you have a pillbox to knock out. An armored car with machine guns would be much more playable as most of the enemy you will encounter would be infantry anyway. Also you can make an armored car that is full size and still easily to transport/store it, but a tank is a different story. On the other hand, if you have a full machine shop, metal forging facilities and not to mention the engineering skills to design durable, tracks, drive sprockets and suspension, then please do build a tank, better yet build several!!! But cut your teeth on an armored car first, before you cut you cut teeth on a drive sprocket ;D |
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
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Post by 2nd Bat on Nov 5, 2010 13:34:59 GMT -5
Years ago my son and I built two Panther tanks (1/3 rd scale) The shape was virtually all flat, The frame placed them on four centered bycycle wheels and they were flintstone powered with two guys inside and one kid up in the turret. The turrets rotated. Outside of the inner frame I placed cut down Macdonalds pickle buckets to represent the tanks road wheels and treads surrounding these "wheels" The treads were actually about four inches off the ground but this didn't show in tall grass. With the Panthers I had track armor covering most of these (tracks) so the fact that they weren't functioning was relatively unapparent.
The walls of the tank and turret were all made using pressed board so as mentioned they weren't especially durable in the weather over time. I did coat the wood with Rhino liner spray bedliner spray which helped but eventually the elements prevailed. This also gave a more metalic finish to the wood which once painted actually looked pretty good.
In hindsight I wished I had selected a smaller vehicle to replicate as the 1/3rd scale Panther just doesn't work visually (although it still took up a garage space) The design concept was sound and a similar creation could be built around a golf cart or some such thing.
If you're going to go tank, go bigger as you need to have a crew of at least 3 to be combat capable. I would consider a Hetzer using the same sort of fake tracks concept and whatever you used for the surfaces the bed liner spray was worthwhile although another though it spray on foam simulating zimmerit paste while keeping the weight low.
These projects are a lot of work and very expensive but add a lot to an event. A firnd built a 3rd identical Panther and we held 3 annual WW2 paintball games locally which attracted huge turnouts. Virtually no one had reasonable impressions and in hindsite the whole things were hokey as hell but frankly we had a ball.
The flintstone approach was due to insurance restrictions at the paintball field. Even in the small scale these were quite heavy and once your supporting squad pushing from the rear were eliminated they lost mobility quickly!
Insurance and saftey are two critical concerns that have to be considered. Battlesim did events with actual armored vehicles as has the war department but there is a reason tankers call Infantry "squishies"
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Post by hairy apple on Nov 5, 2010 14:00:25 GMT -5
make the frame aluminum. cheaper, lighter, easier to work with. imo. Easier to work with? WAY harder! Unless you know what you are doing, aluminum sucks. Take your ride, whatever it be. ATV, golf cart, even a small car would work well. Take 1x1" steal stock square tube, weld together a frame in the shape of your tank and mount it to the car. Then use light duty sheet metal for the coverings. WAY, WAY lighter then plywood. It won't soak up water and rot either. Plus, you can just pop rivit it to the frame which would be a lot easier then trying to fasten plywood to metal. It sounds like a fun project, but it's going to be a bit of work and a lot more $$$$ then you think it's going to be. One thing I have to say, whatever you pick as your base, spend the money there. Make sure the mechanical parts of your base are good, it would be a waste to build a tank around a ATV or car that only had a few months left in it's engine. |
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ackack
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12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjungend"
Posts: 317
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Post by ackack on Nov 5, 2010 14:00:59 GMT -5
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Post by hairy apple on Nov 5, 2010 14:14:13 GMT -5
Those are Guy on a short bused but awesome at the same time. They really don't work well as atvs, or boats, like anything that tries to combine two things.. you get something that isn't great at either, but for some reason they are still SUPER cool. Someone in the camp ground next to us had one last year, and it made me laugh watching them trying to cross a creek and then not be able to find a way out of the other side or even get back up where they went it... it still looked like a ton of fun to play around in though. |
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ackack
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12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjungend"
Posts: 317
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Post by ackack on Nov 5, 2010 14:48:52 GMT -5
thats wat im making one for and the place i reenact yet is airsoft and the only part were it could be used is a flat wide open area and possibly a town
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elder90
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Post by elder90 on Nov 17, 2010 2:39:49 GMT -5
Those are Guy on a short bused but awesome at the same time. They really don't work well as atvs, or boats, like anything that tries to combine two things.. you get something that isn't great at either, but for some reason they are still SUPER cool. Someone in the camp ground next to us had one last year, and it made me laugh watching them trying to cross a creek and then not be able to find a way out of the other side or even get back up where they went it... it still looked like a ton of fun to play around in though. The new ones are better I think I have seen one go accross a creek then up a 45 degree angle (everything fell out but it still made it up it) |
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Post by sarge12 on Nov 25, 2010 20:36:44 GMT -5
Those are Guy on a short bused but awesome at the same time. They really don't work well as atvs, or boats, like anything that tries to combine two things.. you get something that isn't great at either, but for some reason they are still SUPER cool. Someone in the camp ground next to us had one last year, and it made me laugh watching them trying to cross a creek and then not be able to find a way out of the other side or even get back up where they went it... it still looked like a ton of fun to play around in though. The new ones are better I think I have seen one go accross a creek then up a 45 degree angle (everything fell out but it still made it up it) It's not just that but the early models of these Argo Cats had chains for each wheel instead of driving shafts. The chain driven ones where a mess to keep up with and maintain. |
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