Post a Comment On: Fawcett Avenue Conscripts

As Dallas continues to expand the FutureKom armed forces, it is time to get some armour into the lineup for their opponents - now to be known as the "Guun Schwarm" (I would have put the little umlau over the "u" if I could figure out how...). I'm using GW's Steel Legion figures for troops, but the Guun Schwarm will need tanks to overcome the power of FutureKom.

To try and keep a counter-point to the soviet look and feel of the FutureKom, I thought I would start with the German Panther tank - a 1/50 model from Solido. This would be modified to try and provide a sci-fi look and feel, almost to GW standards - i.e.with an absurd main weapon.


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The first step was to use a hacksaw to cut the gun and cupola off. Cutting the cupola away was a major pain, but it was one of those things that, once you start, you can't really leave half-done, so I kept at it and finally shaved it away. I then used a Dremel tool to try and balance the surface off a bit after the hack job.

I also cut the gun barrel away. After all, the long barrel 75mm gun looks reasonable, and we're going for sci-fi here.

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Using chunks of plastic tube, the Panther was upgraded to a 120mm gun, a calibre I felt would be suitable for the "period" we're going for. I then turned to the very useful GW tank and heavy weapon sprues. I added a co-axial 20mm cannon (GW autocannon), hull mounted heavy MG (using the GW heavy bolter) and the GW cupola with an MG and search light.


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Smoke launchers were placed on the turret, as was a searchlight - a couple of gun sight bits were also dropped on to the turret which I hope that, when painted, will give this a sci-fi look.

Unfortunately, the exhaust pipes at the back were a casualty of the poor hacksaw job - I figured screw them, and just went on without them. I glued a length of piano wire to serve as an antenna, and also cut the end off of a GW lasgun bit and mounted that on the back turret hatch of the Panther to provide a kind of light anti-infantry rear-defence weapon.

The very first Panther Mk 2050 is now waiting to be painted...


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In the end, I have a rather heretical product - a glorious Panther tank, hacked for the purpose of playing a Sci-Fi game! Oh my - what would the up-tight "serious" WW2 gamers make of something like this - using GW components no less! The horror....

Stay tuned for further updates - I hope to have this sucker painted very soon.