This ain't no pansy GW armor, son

[chaos0xomega]

EDIT: The design has changed dramatically, see the later pages of this thread for a more up-to-date image, including turret designs.

Alright, so I am personally very unhappy with the design of the Leman Russ and Chimera, for numerous reasons, which I won't discuss here, and I know for a fact that many other IG players feel a similar way about this. So, me being the enterprising sonofabitch that I am, decided to fix the problem. It's currently a WIP (obviously), but I'm trying to combine some of the elements of the current GW/FW IG tanks with some of the elements and features of real world vehicles. So far, so good (I think).

My end goal is to have a tank that can be assembled as any of the Leman Russ variants (including the now defunct conqueror, and the annihilator which was curiously absent from the new codex), that I can hopefully sell for under 30 USD(I think I can make it), and not get sued (I see no reason why what I have so far could possibly result in a lawsuit).

Currently the model is about 7 inches long (so, about the size of a wave serpent, I find this acceptable) 4inches wide, and IIRC about 2 inches high.

I haven't started the turret yet, but I'm going for a slightly more "oversized" turret look, similar to that found on many modern tanks, although I'm going to try not to exaggerate that to much.

If you want to see more detailed pics of certain parts let me know. I'm going to try to update this blog at least once a week until its complete. Also, suggestions, comments, etc. would be more than welcome. As I'm currently a rather poor college student, I'd like to sell them, which means an item that appeals to the masses (and I'm not in this to make bushels of cash, I'd be happy makin' a couple bucks profit per unit sold, if it means making more money through volume of sales)


And before you ask, yes the round things on the sides and front are where the sponsons/hull weapon are mounted.

[doghouse]

That's looking really good mate. The ports for the sponson weapons and hull mount are really nice.

[Shadow Fall]

I have my doubts... like every hard arsed serious rule obeying slave out there about the whole lawsuit thing... ie: being related to, or having familiar parts to any of the GW range and it would be a real downer if this fell a victim to same sorta thing as many others... but... (big BUT)

...I like your idea so im not gonna spoil yo day with a load of law rubbish and just watch this log progress because i think that you hav hit gold mine in the sense of realism... so ill follow and enjoy, it looks real good at the moment so keep it up

SF

[chaos0xomega]

Thanks, I wanted to give it a bit of the archaic feel that seems to define the imperium in the fluff, but not so much in the mini's, while giving it a bit of an upgrade. (Part of the problem with sponsons is that they are chunks of metal sticking out of the sides of your tank, making it difficult to maneuver through tight areas, so if you bring them into the hull of the tank... thats not an issue any longer...)

as for the lawsuit, I have borrowed a few elements from GW, but VERY few, and I haven't done any more than what GW itself has done. If it does come down to a lawsuit, I'm ready to face them in court (fortunately enough my stepdad happens to be a lawyer, although he doesn't have a specialty in IP law, he has some knowledge in the subject, and knows some people)....

Really, the only thing they could get me on are the weapons, but for the most part thats not a threat to me, autocannon turrets are just bofors to me, and vanquisher/conqueror/standard/demolisher cannons are just... cannons with varying lengths of barrel. Might be kinda hard with some of the more specialized weapons...

And interestingly enough, that image is already obsolete, lol. I fixed the top fueldrum holder things, so that id didn't look like part of the hull was disappearing into the fuel drum.

[Lame Duck]

As with another simliar thread.

What you obviously mean is here is a tank you're working on, it just occured to you that we might be interested because it's the same scale as GW vehicles.

[DapperAnarchist]

If you only make the body, and it just happens to match the size of the Russ turret and sponson weapons...

[Explodingboy]

A tiny bit too squashed looking for my liking, otherwise a very interesting project that I'll definitely keep an eye on.

Look forward to seeing it all develop.

[doghouse]

As long as you sell it as a generic sci-fi tank you should be ok as it looks nothing like a Russ.
You'll probably appeal to a larger market as well and avoid an expensive court case.

[chaos0xomega]

Yes, yes, what lame duck said, lol.

Dapper, unfortunately I can't do this, as I do not own a single GW IG tank (and I have no intention of buying any save for the Macharius... maybe one day...), and therefore lack the measurements and the understanding of how all the pieces fit together. I thought about trying to make a system for the hull/sponson weapons to fit together with the GW bits, but thats too complex an issue for me to figure out in a manner I'd be happy with.

Explodingboy, too each their own. This is defintely a more truescale style project. Although I find it funny that you consider this squashed looking and not the actual russ/chimera lol

Doghouse, I've been planning on starting my own game company for quite some time. I'm going to sell it as a "Fourth Reich Main Battle Tank" I'm thinking of calling it the "Rhino" (in keeping with the German naming conventions and the fact that its my favorite terrestrial mammal).

[can't_decide]

For those squeamish about the legality of this, check Morts stuff. He is doing some amazing stuff, along the same lines. As long as you don't copy GW stuff, you shouldn't have an issue. A lot of those things are discussed there, since as far as IG armor is concerned GW takes a lot of real life things, and sells them. Just don't make a turret with a GW look alike plasma cannon. If it's all original, it should not be a problem.
Good work by the way. I do have to agree it seems a bit short, but the detail is great. How are you planning to produce them?

[chaos0xomega]

short? really? I was thinking 7" was too long...

As for production, once I was done with the cad files I was going to break the files down into individual pieces to cast(I.E. I would do a form of mold-tooling through CAD), try to get it down to thinner pieces to cut down costs but thick enough to give the model some support, etc. And then its off to to the rapid prototypers. Once I get the prototypes, I would do some touching up, mold it in silicone rubber, and produce resin casts.

Unless... I somehow acquire enough startup capital to get my own injection molding operation going (I'm going to try to research wargames factorysbusiness model to see how they do it, as I really do want to keep the cost of these as low as possible).

Of course, being an engineering student, and (as of right now) having commitments to the Air Force, I might not have the time/cash to do all that, so I may simply end up selling the designs to wargames factory or elsewhere straight away, although I would very much prefer not to.

[DapperAnarchist]

My reason for suggesting having it fit the Russ turret/sponsons was that then you don't have to impinge on GW weapon design IP.

[can't_decide]

I don't mean length, I mean height. Not seeing it in comparison to the height of a guardsman, it does seem kinda short. 7" is a good length.

[chaos0xomega]

ahh, that kind of height. Well, its somewhere between 1-3/4" and 2" in height. I'll try to get an approximated guardsmen model going later so you can compare it. I figure the turret will add another 1-1/2 to the overall height. To help you get a better idea though, the big hole/turret mount up top is 1.5" across (slightly smaller than a 40mm base), the track/track guard is about 1" tall, and the fuel barrel diameter is about 3/5 of an inch. Those are just off the top of my head, I'll see if I can find something more substantial for you.

And I understand dapper, it was something that I was considering when I first started, but I wasn't able to figure out a way that I could design such a system, I suppose the turret part would be easy enough, just make a hole the size of the turret connection, but the turret would look so damn small in comparison to the rest of the tank that would just be silly.

[chaos0xomega]

So, I put a few hours of work in (it probably shouldn't have taken that long to do it, but I'm an indecisive git...). And this is what I got now:



I reshaped the fuel drum holders, I think it fits better now, I ditched the exhausts, going to have to have another go at it, I felt they were too big, too crude, too simple... too much like gun barrels...

AND, I reshaped the engine area. Originally I intended to have a bunch of exposed filters and engine workings, etc., but damnit, I'm building a heavy metal monster here! I think I like the new shape better, now I just have to replate the "upper deck" of the main body to include the extra area, and I have to put all sorts of cooling/exhaust vents on it.

Thoughts? comments? should I revert to the older look?

[can't_decide]

Liking the fuel drum holders. Having some vents on the new engine cover will help with the big flat area too. I have to as though, are you going to add view ports for the hull and sponson mounts? You have probably thought about it, I just noticed there isn't anything for them to sight a target with as is.

[Mabus]

Hmm, I'm interseted to see how this turns out.

[chaos0xomega]

yeah, I've been considering the viewport for the hull/sponson weapons. Still not sure which direction Im going to go, but there definitely will be some sort of targeting system. Right now I'm considering a 'Periscope' style system on top of the weapon mounts themselves, or a viewport-type thing on/next to the weapon itself.

Speaking of flat areas... if you have any suggestions for tank features etc. that I can implement to help break up some of the stuff, please let me know (pics would be most helpful too). adding all those rivets did a lot to help, but I feel that it could stand to get some more details.

Oh, and don't bother mentioning the ladder, I'm going to add that in towards the end...

[can't_decide]

Stowage, hooks, tow cables, all need places to go, so you can't cover it all up. Also leaving room for insignia is a good thing, and access hatches would obviously be needed for repair work. Personally I'd go with the periscope type viewports, but you might want to work out your turret before you get those going, since they could get in the way, depending on how big your turret ends up.

[The Wildchild]

All i can say is...you're a SolidWorks god!

I have to use that ************ annoying program as part of my uni course and hope to someday be of your skill level!

What line of work are you in?