Scratch Building IG or SM Tanks?

CrimsonLion

New member
What would be the best way to get started Scratch Building Tanks for either Space Marines or IG? I'm Looking for any materials that could get me started. what's the best material for the sides, main gun, tracks, etc.

Any suggestions would be awesome.

CrimsonLion
 

me_in_japan

New member
I've used plasticard, but I've got a mate who has used regular cardboard to great success. It depends on what you want it for. If its just for gaming, either is fine. If you want to do a really detailed display piece then probably plasticard is your best bet. Whatever you do, bits from the actual GW kits or possibly other comapnies' models are vey handy for guns and other gubbins.

Ps - if it's your first time scratch building, stick with something simple - an SM rhino is a good one. Things like land raiders or leman russes are quite fiddly in places.
 

RuneBrush

New member
Agreed, a variety of different thickness plasticard works quite well although card will likely give you quicker results.

Out of curiosity, what's the incentive for scratch building tanks?
 

Einion

New member
Sheet plastics are the obvious starter point for any of this sort of scratchbuilding, but you'll also need rod and/or tube, epoxy putty (preferably one of the clay-like ones, not Kneadatite/GS) and a good selection of hand tools at the very least; a motor tool isn't vital but it would be a great boon here, for many different aspects of the build.

There is a ton of effort involved in this sort of thing, but it's not quite so daunting if you break the construction down into subassemblies.

The tracks would potentially be one of the most tedious parts of the process, since you need to mass produce the same part as quickly and easily (and ideally, cheaply) as possible. But the low-tech approach of making a press-mould should do fine for most simple track types... at least for one side of them - depends if you want track horns on the opposite face. The wheels may represent the hardest part to make to a high standard, particularly if you don't have a lathe.

Since you're obviously very new to the subject you would be best served doing an Internet-wide search to find as much as you can about scratcbuilding AFVs and other vehicles, to familiarise yourself with the various materials, production techniques and methods you may need to employ. There's a ton of free info out there without having to invest in a book, although a few of the published titles are well worth their money.

Einion
 

CrimsonLion

New member
Well I'm looking to include some Tainted Tanks and Lumbering behemoths to accompany my Chaos Cultist part of my Army, and buying GW IG Tanks seems not worht the money since i'm going to convert and "destroy" much of the tank anyway. It seems logical to perhaps scratch building a tank or two will be the better option both for my pocket book and the conversion portion of the project.

I'm also wondering if there are any templates that someone could use to trace out the Parts of the Tank, Like Blueprints. I have started collecting images and pictures of modern and WWII tanks, but I'm always looking for more. any Suggestions?

Crimson Lion
 

RuneBrush

New member
You'll likely not find many blueprints for GW tanks due to their IP rules etc. I'd be tempted to find a tank on eBay and dismantle that and create your own blueprints :)

In fairness buying nasty paint jobbed tanks cheap off eBay could be an alternative!
 

freakinacage

New member
If you want something large, it might be worth scrounging tank bits off people and using them to mod (along with plasticard) larger scale historical tanks.
 

Bloodhowl

New member
You can find templates for scratch building IG vehicles. Find ones you like, then print them out to size and use as templates for cutting the sheet styrene. Another option might be to do your design in autocad and then use the plans for your templates.

Here are two links I found with Google:

http://hivefleetdhampir.com/scratch-building-models/

http://40kpapercraft.weebly.com/why-paperhammer.html

Tips on scratch building:
http://www.starwarsmodels.com/techscratch.html

http://www.landships.freeservers.com/lang_on_scratchbuilding.htm
 
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CrimsonLion

New member
These are great. Thank you very much. I Have looked into the ebay idea too, Thanks for the suggestions. If i get one all made up, even if it really is bad, I'll post a picture.
 

nels0nmac

New member
GW did originally post a "how to make a baneblade tank" in a White Dwarf mag many years ago, somewhere around the #200 mark I think. Pretty sure it had templates that you could use. If you are interested I can see if I can find it again? PM me.
 

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
If you hunt around Tamiya 1/48 scale tank kits run about 20 - 25 quid.
Close enough in scale to not look out of place, and a Jagdtiger is a pretty nice piece to modify.
 

CrimsonLion

New member
Can you pick up those Tamiya tanks and other s at a typical hobby shop, or is there a specific store that i would have to go to?
 

nels0nmac

New member
Found the WD article .... took a bit of hunting though as I was a bit off the mark with the numbers. I thought it might have been from around 1992 - turns out it was Dec 1990 WD#132 - way back in the heady days when WD was only £1.50.
Anyway the construction looks a little different to todays version but not so far off that a little re-jigging wouldn't solve.
 
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