German Panther III |
By Anthony Froh
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The time is July 2054 on the open, rolling plains of the Ukraine. Russia and the Ukraine have been at war for 2 long bloody years. Early in 2030 NATO spread its protective arm over Ukraine to counteract the Russo-China Defense Treaty. NATO sent in small detachments of armored and mechanized units from Spain, France, Germany, and Britain. The U.S. was busy tying down the Chinese in South East Asia. The German 3rd Panzer Division equipped with it's new Panther III Hover Tanks took part in the NATO summer offensive that drove back the Chinese and Russian hordes. I've always been an avid armor modeler (I'm also an M1A1 Tank Commander in the U.S. Army) and was always curious about futuristic combat vehicles. It all started when my wife gave me a circular plastic Valentines Day candy container. The circular lid became the basis of the turret. I didn't want to buy another tank model to use for spares so I built the hull from sheet plastic. I wanted it to be futuristic but have the same basic shape of a tank. A plastic pencil lead holder formed the basis of the Pulse Canon. With a coaxial chemically powered small arms weapon. The top of the turret has dual 8 tube fire & forget missile that are launched vertically. These missiles can be used against ground and air targets out to 8 km. The small triangular shaped pieces are the Virtual Reality Sensors (pieces cut out of coffee cup lids) that enable the two-man crew to see the terrain and threats from every angle. There are no blind spots! The driving is done by Artificial Intelligence Computer that follows the commands of the crew and Head Quarters, the small round piece which can be seen on the front of the hull. This vehicle was painted wth "Testors" enamels. I wanted to give it the look of the Panzers of WW2 so I used Dark. Yellow, Dark. Brown, and Light. Olive Green. For the weathering I used oils and my own wash using "Future" floor polish and Black acrylic paint (it dries shiny but I cover it with Dullcoat after the decals are applied). The wash is excellent and does not leave stains and streaks when it dries. Click here for another view of the tank. |
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