Steam Landship

[buzzbomb]

So just back from our club Modellers Retreat Build weekend. As always, dedicated building time gets a lot done. A couple of builds are relevant to Whiffer world and another, being a Centurion based Stridsvagen 104, teetering on the edge as it just an out of the box build at the moment while some thinking time is done.

But on topic is exploring a steam powered Landship using the Hobbyboss St Chamond, which was aquired for just such a purpose.


Not much deviation from the out of the box build, until the very end, which after a sit and stare session led to deciding to actually go the What If path.
So first up a couple of Stacks, to get the creative process underway


For me, the current gun fits in my Steam(punk) ish timeline, so that can stay. However the various machine guns are being replaced with something that looks a bit more gatling like.

As a bit of info, the construction for the majority of the time spent to get to this stage for this kit was on the suspension and running gear, which is quite complicated, and I have to say appears to be quite complete as to what the real thing was like. Not that you ever see it unless you display it turned upside down, which would make a pretty specco diorama.


Then some work to create a flywheel housing that will drive some gearbox gizmo, then off to the chaindrive.


Time for a bit of scale-o-rama maybe, a 1/35 figure and 1/48. So 1/48 it is. Instant bigness


I suppose I need to glue some gears on it to call it Steampunk   

[kerick]

A giant exposed chain drive for the enemy to shoot off and stall your vehicle!
I would suggest a large air intake to go with the smoke stacks. And lots of brass parts. And some guy in a huge hat and a woman in a barely there dress.

[PR19_Kit]

........ and a woman in a barely there dress.

Now you're talking.       

[zenrat]

Did you consider making it 1/72?

Don't forget that every figure must be wearing goggles on their hat.  It's a Steampunk requirement.  You are not truely Steampunk without goggles on your hat.

[NARSES2]

Oh I like where this is going 

[killnoizer]

I WANT something similar 

Very good, yes.

[Rheged]

I will be following this with considerable interest!

   I have a somewhat surreal image of this mighty machine as if at  1:144 scale , with stokers labouring away to raise steam for a mighty triple expansion engine  reciprocating furiously  away  and causing mind numbing vibrations throughout the device.

[Weaver]

Please don't stick some gears on it just for the sake of it. If there's a credible-but-improbable reason for them to be there then fine, but not for cheap style points.

The 1/48th scaleorama looks perfect to me. One of the issues with scaleoramaring tanks is wheel size. Very large tracked vehicles tend to have larger numbers of normal-sized wheels, rather than a normal number of very big wheels. The reason is obvious: why would you force the crew to manhandle a 10ft diameter steel wheel that can crush them like a fly if it falls, when they can handle three 3ft ones (that also give more ground contact area) instead. The Saint-Chamond looks perfect for this, because most of it's wheels are perfectly manageable in 1/48th and even the big drive sprocket is still shorther than a crewman.

May I suggest some wire mesh "coolie hats" on top of the funnels to stop boarders from dropping grenades down them?

Maybe too late now, but a steam-engine style external piston and con-rod system driving the sprocket would be fun.

[buzzbomb]

Please don't stick some gears on it just for the sake of it. If there's a credible-but-improbable reason for them to be there then fine, but not for cheap style points.

The 1/48th scaleorama looks perfect to me. One of the issues with scaleoramaring tanks is wheel size. Very large tracked vehicles tend to have larger numbers of normal-sized wheels, rather than a normal number of very big wheels. The reason is obvious: why would you force the crew to manhandle a 10ft diameter steel wheel that can crush them like a fly if it falls, when they can handle three 3ft ones (that also give more ground contact area) instead. The Saint-Chamond looks perfect for this, because most of it's wheels are perfectly manageable in 1/48th and even the big drive sprocket is still shorther than a crewman.

Agreed, your reasoning is pretty much the same as mine, wheels sometime shout that the scale-o-rama is sort of not right. Coolie hat suggestion has gone to engineering committee for consideration 

Thanks for the interest and support.

So this session got some things done, overall shot
I am going to go with some front wheels to give a point of difference, so that will be built up next session. These are from the Takom Mk1 Tank, which I am using the spare bits as a quarry for this.
First up.. the anti Infantry fence experiment was dismal style failure. Only white glued on so no damage. Off that stuff comes. Some of it may get a re-run in a more ornate, filligree role maybe
I did fail to resist the urge to "glue some gears on it and call it Steampunk", they are there, but to my eye pretty much blend right in.


Gatlingish Machine Gun experiment of rod around a piece of hex section goes alright as far as I am concerned. More of those to get done. Also a bit of exterior bizzo, the axle mount for the flywheel. Double hate the fence experiment


Main effort was getting some steamy, engine business going. So rivetted up the flywheel housing, added a whistle, what steam tank does not need a whistle 
Whizzed up the whirly ball thing you sometime see on traction engines. Also some handwheels to lower the stacks for getting under stuff/transport.. who knows.  Cables still be added for that. Various other HO/OO railway  bits and bobs I have. Put on some stay cables for the stacks as well.



So there we have it so far.

[steelpillow]

I would suggest a large air intake to go with the smoke stacks. And lots of brass parts. And some guy in a huge hat and a woman in a barely there dress.

My preference would be a big-boned mother in a huge hat and a some muscly toy boy in a barely there jockstrap.

[steelpillow]

Whizzed up the whirly ball thing you sometime see on traction engines.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. That is the speed governor. As the balls whirl faster, they fly outward and hinge upward, closing the steam supply valve. Adjustipickling the valve setting is your throttle control.

Glorious magical beast in any event. Were it mine, I'd be thinking some sort of elbowed crane gantry with a claw-grabbing jaws type thing on the end.

[Weaver]

Love the steam whistle.  

That could be genuinely useful for signalling between tanks in the absence of radio. You might imagine several of these attacking in thick fog and using steam whistle signals to coordinate. The enemy would be sitting in their trenches, getting more and more nervous, unable to see anything, just hearing the low thumping of steam engines, the clank of tracks and the occasional whistle...

[steelpillow]

The enemy would be sitting in their trenches, getting more and more nervous, unable to see anything, just hearing the low thumping of steam engines, the clank of tracks and the occasional whistle...

Love it!!!

Meanwhile a couple of scouts are sent out to set up decoy whistles, which sound off regularly for up to two hours, depending on the filling of the firebox.

[zenrat]

Whizzed up the whirly ball thing you sometime see on traction engines.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. That is the speed governor. As the balls whirl faster, they fly outward and hinge upward, closing the steam supply valve. Adjustipickling the valve setting is your throttle control.

Glorious magical beast in any event. Were it mine, I'd be thinking some sort of elbowed crane gantry with a claw-grabbing jaws type thing on the end.

Beat me to it.

I like the fence.  But i'd lean it outwards.

[NARSES2]

Could the Gatling be steam driven ?