Steam powered tank...

[korschtal]

I mentioned in my introduction that I'm trying to get my sons to do something practical and creative by trying to start some pulp games, and as part of the project I've been getting one of them involved in a project to make a highly improbable steam powered tank. This will be of limited use to the characters in a Pulp Alley scenario, but could provide motivation and potential plot points, and it is a good starting point to get the boys building something suitably bonkers for Pulp Alley. Start as you mean to go on, et c.

After some discussion we decided on something like this:



We started with a chassis, from a Hobby Boss 'Russian KV-1s Ehkranami tank' simply because it was the cheapest we could find:



After carefully photographing the extra cross bracing we got carried away and forgot to take any more pictures until we got to this stage:



We're making as much of the tank as possible from 'found things' (ie:junk) and to start this, the main part of the 'Boiler' was until recently the top of a milk carton. (and then briefly a mixing cup for an acrylic wash)



The 'fittings' scraps of plastic sheet and brass from my model railway workbench.

[Dave]

Very cool! You're off to a good start.

[rags]

The 'fittings' scraps of plastic sheet and brass from my model railway workbench.

Looking really good -- can't wait to see it in action. Also...how about some photos of your model railroad layout? I'm betting it's a beaut.
rags

[korschtal]

Many thanks for the kind words, I hope you aren't disappointed.

The 'fittings' scraps of plastic sheet and brass from my model railway workbench.

Looking really good -- can't wait to see it in action. Also...how about some photos of your model railroad layout? I'm betting it's a beaut.
rags

I'll get some pictures together. Unfortunately the most recent model had had to be abandoned because it managed to be too small to be practical (it was about 2'6" square) while being too awkward to fit into our tiny apartment. Because I build model railways in 1:55, ie almost exactly the same size as 28mm scale, I have to make most things from scratch, and you'll likely see some crossover...

Anyway, the tank stalled for a bit while we searched for a turret, until we found a bottle of ear wash, of all things, that was the perfect shape. A small amount of violence on the bottle revealed a number of useful parts. As the ear wash was utterly useless it's comforting to know we get something for the cost...

Meanwhile, Middle Son put forth the opinion that "We should have a seven barreled gun, that is hidden until we want to use it". He wanted a rotating carriage that swung out the side but I persuaded him that a sliding version will be easier to make:

Of course, at that point I didn't actually know how I was going to make either...

Anyway, Here's the planned ordinance, largely held on with the German version of Blu-Tak:

[rags]

Looking forward to seeing more of your work. I don't have a permanent layout, but I have a lot of MRR stuff in the closet. Mostly HO, but I also have some On30 cars from Bachmann:



This is nearly perfect for 28mm tabletops, since the HO track doesn't take up as much room as full-sized O scale, but the rolling stock looks right:



That shot is from a game Dave & Mila posted here on the forum.
rags

[korschtal]

Thanks Rage. I can see that for Pulp 0n30 would work very well. In 1:55 scale a European based metre gauge (3'3 5/8") track gauge train is about the same size as a US 0n30 model, one of two of the bruisers I've built are a bit bigger...

The steam powered tank is a diversion from a railway based project that is causing me headaches at the moment, based on a locomotive running on a German railway near Bonn.

http://www.vulkan-express.de/die-brohta ... omotive-d5

'Based on' is a very optimistic description, to be fair. There were several variations of this type of locomotive for different customers so whenever someone points out something that's not accurate I'll just claim it was another variation that they haven't come across...

Unfortunately I discovered recently that I'd gone and built it 15mm too long and had to cut it back:



It looks a bit better now.

[rags]

Now I really want a peek at your layout.
I see they're running some narrow gauge on that line, and some vintage steam. Once in a while, I've been able to see this beast operating on the tracks, or stopped at the station near my house,
usually with a couple of passenger cars:



If they're not expecting to see it, the look on peoples' faces when it thunders by is absolutely priceless.

[korschtal]

Now I really want a peek at your layout.

I am easily flattered, so here we are:

1:55 is an oddball scale in model railways with a handful of people making models, usually based on 12mm gauge track representing 2' (600mm) gauge prototypes. There's almost no trade support and you have to make most things yourself. This was an attraction for me as at heart I'm a storyteller, and as far as I'm concerned the more I can make, the better I can tell the story. I realised that if I use relatively inexpensive HO scale track and mechanisms in 1:55 scale, I could passably make Narrow Gauge models based on metre gauge (3'35/8") railways which were/are fairly common in Europe.

Cost is an important factor as I'm coming to the end of a long period of retraining due to ill health and we are (until May the first when I finally finish training and start work) on the German version of income support.

My 'main' project is called the 'Körschtalbahn' which will hopefully be a model of a German Metre gauge line as it could have been if development of narrow gauge railways had continued into the present day, with big diesel locomotives and fast railcars.

This project ic currently moving at the speed of a toroise on Prozac.

So far the main evidence is a railcar that I'm currently putting off painting until I work out exactly which shade of green it should be, seen here getting a coat of primer (I really must take another picture of this unit):




Because I keep getting stalled on that project, mostly because it's my 'baby' and I'm afraid of making a mistake, I started on another model in the same scale but using 9mm gauge (N gauge) track. This would have come out as about 500mm or somewhere in the region of 18" gauge in real life, a gauge used for small industrial railways and park pleasure railways, not a common carrier/freight and passenger line, but I ignored that inconvenient reality.

This model is set in a world where The economic crash of 2008 was the abrupt end of oil as a readily available resource. since then globalisation has one into reverse and transport has become increasingly difficult. The village in the model has joined with others locally to rebuild an industrial railway into a local transport line so produce can get to market and children can get to school.

I moved a bit faster on this one with a Krokodil locomotive emerging from the workbench about eighteen months ago:



This was followed by a railcar last year:



And I made some progress on a railway to run them on:





Unfortunately the model managed to to be too small to be practical (trains kept hitting each other an random bits of scenery) while being big and bulky to store in our tiny apartment, so I packed away the trains and buildings until time and circumstances allow me to make something that works, which was a pity as I rather liked the model.



In the meantime I'm working on a heave diesel for the Körschtalban again, which is my main interest. I'm working on a model 'Based on' Brohltalbahn locomotive number D5. 'Based on' being a very optimistic description. The model is seen here receiving drastic surgery after I realised it was 15mm too long due to me getting my sums wrong. Again:



Of course I'm now being distracted by making a steam powered tank and some leagues for Pulp Alley, but I'm sure I'll get back to the railway soon. I usually do.

I manage to write about the railway modelling most weeks on my blog at www.korschtal.wordpress.com

[korschtal]

Boiler area complete. I don't think there's and real excuse for having two chimneys unless some crazed professor has found a cunning way to improve steaming with them, but I prefer the look of a pair. The silver pipes are from a Chinese takeaway box.

This is about the level of most of my decisions, I'm afraid: engineering and realism can go hang if I think it looks about right.



Meanwhile at the dangerous end (assuming we can refer to that dodgy boiler as the 'safe' part) is mainly finished. In keeping with the use of as much junk as possible, the 'Vickersish' gun in the turret is is made from a bit of tube that came from the same bottle as the 'turret' with a bit of brass pushed inside. I know a Vickers should have the barrel lower down in the casing, but life is far too short.



Oh, and the 'panelling' has been started.

After careful thought I finally ordered a set of 1200 short dressmakers pins for rivets. Fitting these should be suitably mindless to get me through revising this week...

[rags]

Love your layout modules...looks like your doing a bookshelf system. Very nice for point-to-point prototype-style operations.
1200 pins for rivets? You must have mechanical hands -- my fingers are aching just from thinking about it.