"M5A3EPS Heavy Tank by Khurasan Miniatures - first look" Topic

That tank is huge. It's likely still got the same size or smaller crew than todays tanks, so what's filling all that space (besides ammo and power systems).

Full sealed-system extended-duration life support gear for one thing. Can't deploy to a non-Terrestrial hell world without being able to live buttoned-up for weeks at a time, and studies show 78% of anti-Federal insurrections occur on worlds with Marginal/Hostile ecosphere ratings.

Of course, that also includes rather more generous "bunk space" than 21st century AFVs. The mood-manipulation drugs in the rations and sublim messaging on the comm arrays only go so far toward letting a crew live in their vehicle for a month or more at a stretch.

What's funny there BWS is that you predicted what the EPS in the designation means without my even telling you -- extra planetary service. Also making it bigger is its much greater offensive and defensive capability, which comes at a cost.

"Stowage is easy to obtain through any number of sources."

To Emu2020: Please, do tell. Besides Battlefront and various 1/72 WW2 accessory kits, I've not found anything.

"The barrel does not require pinning, the contact areas are more than adequate for simple gluing to hold it securely for any normal usage."

To BSW: I respectfully disagree as I've tried getting the barrel to set without a pin using zapagap and it didn't work for me. Thus, I highly recommend a pin for that location at minumum to ensure that barrel sets and stays during play.

I think each person should definitely build their models the way they think best, absolutely. But for me pinning is not necessary to put the Siler's gun on.

Reading this thread just a few minutes ago, I thought "well maybe I just had a lot of luck the first time around," so I took a break from packing a big order for Normans, grabbed another turret and glued the plasma cannon on using normal Krazy Glue. I even set the timer on my smartphone, and four and a half minutes after starting, I was able to pick the turret up by the resin part and bang the gun on the table and it stayed put. And here is the image!

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So what's the deal – can we order these yet???

Very soon! First wave of federal army models will be released as soon as I get the castings of the infantry, which should be this week.

That tank is a beast, love it. Even if I wasn't going to grab the Federal Army these would certainly find a place in my forces!

-Will

Glad you like it, Will. I think a platoon of them against a Dictator would be a cool sci fi armoured battle.

And speaking of the Dictator, that's going to be released when the rest of the Mekanoid castings get to me, also within a week or two, but then spaced appropriately after the federal army release.

About time, I say. :)

Good news, looking forward to getting my hands on three of these, as well as all the Fed infantry.

John, glad to see your still up and running strong! This tank looks pretty freakin sweet, definitely going to add some of these to my collection.

@CMikeHardy – Old GlorySkytrex makes a pack of stowage. S&S has some 15mm stuff in with their 20mm & 28mm stuff. I am sure there are others out there.

I make a lot of my own.

-Eli

GRABULA IS BACK!!!!

Welcome back. Perhaps now is the right time to show a sneak peek of his amazing Panzerkarkwagen. This is the APC that the Karks use when they serve as mercenaries, and don't have access to the sophisticated Cnidarian grav vehicles.

Grabula sculpted this critter himself! I've had the castings for a few months now, time to get them out perhaps?

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I AM BACK!!!! lol, sorta! I head to Alaska tomorrow morning to report to the big army for the first time, should be interesting.

I'm hoping to get back to modelling here shortly, I have some cool ideas for some combat robots I want for 15mm and some more terrain I want to do.

Good to see the APC all painted up! I'll be ordering some orca soon and I'll have to order a couple of those so I can see what I can do about some paint jobs.

Jon,

In another topic the subject of multi-turret tanks and infantry support vehicles came up and I had the thought of a turret variant for this vehicle.

Replacing the long-barreled MBT turret with a turret sporting some snub-nozed CQB guns and a couple of mini turrets to give the vehicle that 360 degree death effect might make a nice variation on the theme and allow this same tank hull to get some extra mileage.

@Grabula – That's a cool mid-tech vehicle there. I'd love to see what you have in mind for the combat robots.

-Eli

"some snub-nozed CQB guns"

Yes please!

Or multi-missile launchers and point defense weapons (grenade launchers, mini-guns, etc…).

Replacing the long-barreled MBT turret with a turret sporting some snub-nozed CQB guns and a couple of mini turrets to give the vehicle that 360 degree death effect might make a nice variation on the theme and allow this same tank hull to get some extra mileage.

It has those in this version.

I understand that. What I meant was that the new turret could be designed to improve on those by changing the main armament to somethign a little more close quarters oriented.

Ah, you mean multiple main armanents? Hmmm, not sure what tactical purpose such a vehicle would serve. The only one I can think of now is that Russian upgunned APC (anyone remember its name?) which serves as a sort of tracked guntruck. Even that is not an AFV.

A heavily armoured AFV is at its most vulnerable when fighting in close quarters. It seeks out enemies at extreme ranges and destroys them with its main armament while protected by its own heavy armour. Close fighting vehicle designs were basically seen as unsatisfactory after WWII. You don't really see things like the Brumbar or early model StuGs today, let alone the Russian multi-turreted white elephants, which didn't really even work in the 1940s.

You're pulling tactical logic out after presenting us with a gigantic mammoth tank?

As for assault vehicle designed for close in operations, they are not as rare as you think. The Israelis have been adapting them for ages and we have been pushing vehicles deisgned for open fighting into the roll for decades now.

What I was envisioning was a vehicle that had a weapons load that was optimized for doing battle in tight quarters. Sure, it may not be the most realistic vehicle in the world, but neither is a giant bug walker thing, hover sleds crawling with killer dino men, or gigantic four-tracked tanks with mega-cannons (all of which I love).

-Eli

There's nothing tactically illogical about a bigger tank than we have now, in fact tanks have been getting bigger and heavier since WWII. So it makes sense to assume that tanks will continue to get bigger and stronger. That's just a continuity of development.

But a multiturreted MBT just sounds like retro WWI, almost like gothic/40k.

I try to make my lines with a consistent internal logic.  The Federal Army has as its primary design aesthetic a NF look.  Doing a zany T-35 cognate I think would not fit.

BTW, the Israelis develop close combat vehicles on obsolete afv chasses because of their military's role in LIC.  When they modify their current generation MBTs for LIC it's usually some very minor mod like an internally targeted MG -- they don't rip the turret off and mount three howitzer turrets on instead.  

Hey, you're going to do what you're going to do. I don't think you are getting my point here, but I didn't want to start an arguement or anything, so I'll let it go.

Nice tank as it is. Huge and totally out there, but cool.

-Eli

I think I get your point, I just don't think a vehicle like that fits within the line, and I'd rather spend the resources I'd have to invest in it in something else -- like a squad of urban warfare specialists.

"The only one I can think of now is that Russian upgunned APC (anyone remember its name?) which serves as a sort of tracked guntruck. Even that is not an AFV."

The Terminator:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMP-T

Y'know, you could get the terminator look going on if you combined Combat Wombat's Heavy Tracked IFV picture with pieces from GZG's picture Skysweeper turret and the Combat Wombat picture ATGM turret.
I dunno how hard marrying the two would be, but that'd come pretty close to the BMP-T…