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Post by loyalist on Mar 14, 2016 15:53:25 GMT
I've started work on some new BEF weapon systems after finishing the Constructor and Red Martian conversions. These are all based on Madmorgan's concepts.
The premise for two of them is that the British obtained samples of the Tesla electric gun and produced their own version with input from Faraday. (The rule book mentions on page 138 that the BEF doesn't have electric artillery but is seeking samples for evaluation.)
1) Faraday Electric Field Gun The parts for this conversion were a Heavy Field Gun purchased as a single item and an Ironclad Miniatures 28mm Faraday Electric Gun. The Faraday gun is a perfect fit to the trunions for the Heavy Field Gun but the gun mount height was reduced in height by 4mm. The AD wheels were replaced with smaller diameter Faraday gun carriage wheels. The axle holes are very close to the diameter of the Heavy Field Gun axles. All that was necessary was to drill them out with a pin vice and a 3/64" bit, which took less than a minute each. The Faraday gun is mounted on the heavy field gun carriage and I'm figuring out how to detail it.
I've cast a resin copy of a coil gun's checked deck plating. Few crew are needed because there's nothing to load so I'm going to have a gun captain, 2 crewmen to operate the training mechanism and 1 to 'push the button'. I used only 5 crew figures for one of my 2 pdr coil guns and left out the battery captains from 2 BEF medium field gun batteries so have spares for the electric field gun.
2) Rupert Tank This will use a Mark IV Monitor tank chassis without sponsons and with HMGs in the forward secondary gun positions. I'm making hatches from styrene to cover the rectangular hole in each side that's behind the sponsons. (Maybe those were to attach the fuel tanks on the M IV flame tank.) This kit, like a second from the same retailer, was missing it's smoke stack. I've made a mould from another Mk IV's stack to cast replacements.
3) Montgomery Tank This uses the same tank hull as the Rupert, but the Mk IV turret will be replaced by an open gun mount. For the 32 pdr ATG I'm using the Heavy Field Gun from the Faraday Field Gun conversion. The gun barrel will be extended ~1" with a narrow brass tube.
4) Cromwell SPG Howitzer Again using the same Mk IV hull this one replaces the turret with a huge 26" howitzer. This will be the most challenging conversion because I don't have anything readily available for the howitzer. However, I scratchbuilt two copies of Forge World 40K Thunderer siege tanks after realizing they had combined a Leman Russ tank hull and tracks with with the top hull of a Chimera APC, and used the heavy gun from a Vanquisher tank. I think the Vanquisher's cannon bore is close to 1/4" so it will make a suitable howitzer and is often available from bits sellers.
Photos to follow.
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Post by Quendil on Mar 14, 2016 15:59:13 GMT
Looking forward to seeing those
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Post by madmorgan on Mar 14, 2016 16:57:45 GMT
So am I - love you picking up the Spartan/BEF special weapons battalion stuff I did! Btw, Spartan is offering, for about $40, till the end of the month a 'subscription' discount card - 15% off on All of their products. The original figures from the Dystopian Legion 32mm line just became much more affordable for those us not 'modeling gifted' as you are loyalist. TY again for breathing life into our modeling side of the hobby. At this point we've got a bunch of folks showing us their skills and I'm sure part of it is the inspirations you have started. Cheers!
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Post by loyalist on Apr 11, 2016 13:33:24 GMT
Update:
1) Electric Field Gun: Nearly complete. I was able to buy a single AD heavy field gun and installed the barrel from a 28mm Ironclad Miniatures Faraday Electric Gun in it - a perfect fit. A hole was drilled in the underside of the barrel for a thin insulated wire (from a broken N gauge signal light tower) that goes through a resin copy of a Coil Gun's deck. The deck fitting the wire goes through is a plug from the end of a 40K lascannon wiring bundle. I used the wheels from the Ironclad Miniatures gun, because they look more like WWI era steel wheels. In retrospect I should have replaced all of the wheels on my Coil Guns and Heavy Field Guns with the IM gun carriage wheels.
I built a cabin that represents the housing for a large capacitor, and possibly a seat within for the guy who fires the gun, using the louvered panels from the back of a Mk III superstructure. There are two panels per side, one at the rear and an access hatch at the front using a door from the same tank part. The cabin sits at the rear of the Coil Gun deck, with the hatch opening onto the deck. I need to find something electrical looking to go on the roof of the cabin - my attempts to copy the top of the gizmo from the Coil Gun in resin failed.
For crew I scavenged the figure turning a wheel from one of my Coil Guns, and used 2 BEF Field Artillery crew figures because each set came with 10. I used 3 figures per gun so had 2 to spare. I took one unit commander and one of the figures with arm outstretched and palm upward. I think 3 figures is enough because there are no projectiles to load in the electric gun. I have two figures turning the elevation and traversing wheels and the command figure directing them. There could be a 4th crewman seated in the small cabin, who has some protection and fires the gun. Due to the strong electrical field I assume everyone else runs clear before the gun is fired.
All that's left to do is to find or make something to go on the cabin roof, then paint the model.
2) Rupert tank: The expected Patton tank I bought turned out to be a Monitor turret with the Patton figure and the Patton tank's 5" gun. The exposed shells on the left side of the Monitor turret were filed off and a louvered panel from the Mk III tank cabin was glued in the space. It was a perfect fit. (I may do this to all of my monitor turrets because it makes no sense to have exposed ammo!) The projecting end of the 7.5" gun's breech was very carefully trimmed off, leaving the plate and its large bolts. Fortunately the grey resin is relatively soft.
I made 3 HMGs from the plastic HMG turrets that come with the MK II/III kits but used the larger barrels from the separate HMGs in the kits. Two are installed at the front of the tank and one in the turret HMG position. This week I'll make the side doors that will cover the recesses in the sides on the tank. They'll look like the doors on the never released Command Tank.
I found several spare white metal domes for British N Gauge steam engine boilers and added those to the boilers on my Mk IVs. They look fine because the MK IV boilers are about the same diameter as an British N Gauge steam engine's. A friend gave me several OO gauge Great Western Railway funnels but they were a little too big compared to the tank boilers.
Other than the side doors, all that's left to do is install an Ironclad Miniatures Faraday Electric Gun barrel. The order was placed last week so I hope to finish converting the tank by the end of the month.
Photos to follow.
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Post by loyalist on Apr 14, 2016 13:22:10 GMT
There will be a delay in finishing the Rupert tank conversion. A second order arrived from Ironclad Miniatures yesterday but like the first one it was screwed up. The first order, shipped by UPS in January, had nearly half of the resin models smashed (for which I have still not been compensated); nothing in the second order was smashed (it came by Royal Mail) but the contents were wrong or missing. I ordered 2 Faraday Electric Guns and got none, and 9 x 20mm heavy weapons field positions for 40mm bases (for my HMGs), but instead got 9 x Anti-tank positions. So I have no Faraday gun barrel to install in the Rupert tank.
I've asked for the correct order to be shipped ASAP.
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Post by madmorgan on Apr 15, 2016 10:52:52 GMT
Hmmm, sad that Ironclad is having some sort of 'warehouse' problem. Hope they get things straight right away - we needs our precissso...err Faraway guns!
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Post by loyalist on Apr 15, 2016 16:37:12 GMT
After being up until 2 AM for the previous two nights doing income tax stuff I got back to the BEF projects last night. The Faraday electric field gun's construction is complete. I tried a variety of 40K parts for insulators to go on top of the capacitor/control cabin on the field gun. They didn't look too bad but then I checked out some spare Imperial tank coil gun barrels and there was the solution.
I cut off the end of the gun barrel that glues into the turret, then the coil section. The coil has a thin flange along one side. That was removed and the grooves in the 'insulators' were continued around the coil by careful cutting with a razor saw. The cut ends of the coil section were shaped into smooth and nearly flat domes with a Swiss file. The rectangular section with 4 small thingies on one side was designated the top of the coil/insulator and a 1mm hole was drilled in the opposite side.
The cut off back end of the coil gun barrel was about 4mm long. A 1mm hole was drilled through it lengthwise and then it was filed down to 3mm long. It is now the base on which the horizontally mounted insulator sits, connected by a 1mm steel rod and glued to the cabin roof. Looks good and matches the style of the Faraday gun barrel, even though the model parts were made by two different companies.
I was going to take photos this morning before work but Kim had taken the camera out with her. I'll take some after work if I'm home before dark.
Still waiting for IM to respond, send me the Faraday guns I bought so I can finish the Rupert tank, and the 9 HMG field positions.
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Post by loyalist on Apr 16, 2016 1:19:55 GMT
Large Electric Field Gun - based on Morgan's idea. Components: AD Large Field Gun carriage (gun supports lowered 4mm) with Ironclad Miniatures Faraday Electric Gun wheels and Faraday Electric Gun, resin copy of a Coil Gun's deck, cabin made from parts of the Mk II tank kit and a few pieces of styrene, insulator on top made from parts of an Imperial tank's coil gun. Right side with good view of the insulator on the deck made from the end plug of a 40K Imperial Guard Lascannon cable bundle. The small insulated wire passing through it to the gun is from a broken N Gauge signal light tower. The styrene deck under the cabin is 1.5mm thick to match the resin deck's thickness. The resin deck is 1mm higher than the plate the ammo crane would be mounted on if this was a large field gun. The cabin is on a piece of 1mm styrene with strips of 0.5mm styrene underneath where it overhangs the mounting plate for the crane. The metal part supporting the insulator on top of the cabin is the end of an Imperial tank coil gun barrel that's glued into the turret. The cabin houses a capacitor that stores current to fire the gun, and possibly a seat for a crewman who fires the gun. Everyone else runs clear before firing due to the strong electric field generated.
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Post by loyalist on Apr 16, 2016 1:44:51 GMT
Rupert Tank in progress - another Madmorgan concept. Initial mods to a Mk IV Monitor: Exposed shells on left side of turret filed off and louvered panel from a MK II tank kit fitted. Presumably there's something electrical inside the compartment. Spare boiler dome from an N Gauge (British: 1/148 scale) locomotive kit added. My other Monitors received a different type of dome. Note resin chimney copy - 2 of 4 Mk IV kits lacked chimneys. More turret mods: Brass radio antenna. The protruding breech of the Monitor's 7.5" gun was very carefully removed. The Rupert carries HMGs instead of 4" guns and lacks sponsons. HMGs were made from the plastic HMG turrets but with the larger HMG barrels added. The next step is to make styrene side doors that will look like those on the never-released MK IV command tank. I'd hoped to install the barrel from an Ironclad Miniatures Faraday gun and complete the model this weekend, but the guns I bought were missing from the order. No response from IM after 2 days so I don't know when they will be sent.
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Post by madmorgan on Apr 16, 2016 9:19:29 GMT
I'm overwhelmed to see some of my ideas coming to life under you twos skilled hands. Amazingly good stuff and use of various company's materials. I salute you both!! As an aside, how do they determine which crew members fires the Faraway??? Very Dangerous Job. Promotions Available. LoL.
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Post by mikedski on Apr 16, 2016 9:39:06 GMT
I found that the superstructure back door panel from a Mark III tank will fit over the side sponson well. Just cut the panel in half just to have the door portion. Will be a little smaller than the one pictured for the mobile HQ tank.
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Post by madmorgan on Apr 16, 2016 9:47:45 GMT
Cool. You are an inspiration to us all you two!
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Post by loyalist on Apr 16, 2016 10:25:09 GMT
I'm overwhelmed to see some of my ideas coming to life under you twos skilled hands. Amazingly good stuff and use of various company's materials. I salute you both!! As an aside, how do they determine which crew members fires the Faraway??? Very Dangerous Job. Promotions Available. LoL. The cabin is a little small to hold a capacitor and a crewman. If it did have a crewman inside it would presumably be well insulated! I'm thinking of making a control cabin on a limber from which the gun would be fired remotely after it's aimed and the crew dashes clear. I'm also going to put a Faraday gun on an Imperial tank, using a resin copy of the gun mount for the BEF Wicket tank. It will have a limber with a similar capacitor cabin to the Rupert's and the same stats as a Tesla tank except for the speed. It has to remain stationary to charge the gun, so the slightly higher speed isn't much advantage but goes with the specs of the British tank hull.
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Post by loyalist on Apr 16, 2016 10:26:31 GMT
I found that the superstructure back door panel from a Mark III tank will fit over the side sponson well. Just cut the panel in half just to have the door portion. Will be a little smaller than the one pictured for the mobile HQ tank. Thanks, I've got a few doors left over from the cabin for the electric field gun so will try them and see how they look.
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Post by Quendil on Apr 16, 2016 10:50:22 GMT
Looking really good. You are not having much look with orders from UK companies are you
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