Tapp Praying Mantis

[NARSES2]

   

I like the diary entry style. Works well! 

It does indeed   

[RAFF-35]

I just want to take a moment to thank the designers at Airfix, who put three of the most minute decals I have (barely) ever seen, microns away from each other despite having space to spread them out a bit over the rest of the decal sheet.

[RAFF-35]

I've finally finished! Here's the link to the Heracles build;

https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=55016.0

And here's another chunk of backstory....

11 February 1946
Outskirts of Hiji, Kyūshū
Dear Diary,
We've spent the last three days fighting our way through towns and villages, and this strange little vehicle seems to have been built specifically for places like this.
The infantry are advancing street by street. Every wall, every shopfront and every upstairs window might contain someone waiting to shoot at them. Most of the time Arthur and I creep ahead, using the Mantis to look over walls and around corners without exposing the whole vehicle.
It's exhausting work.
Half the town is rubble, and the streets are clogged with broken carts, collapsed roofs and abandoned belongings.
This morning was the worst yet.
We were supporting a platoon from the Yorkshire Light Infantry moving through a narrow street lined with stone walls. Arthur had the control chamber raised and was scanning ahead while I crawled forward in first gear.
The town was unnaturally quiet.
No rifle fire.
No shouting.
Just the sound of our engine and distant explosions  somewhere off in the distance.
Arthur suddenly tapped my shoulder.
"Movement."
I stopped immediately.
"Where?"
"End of the street."
I squinted through my periscope but couldn't see anything obvious.
At first Arthur thought it was a wheelbarrow.
Then the thing moved, the infantry spotted it at the same time we had.
Someone shouted and machine guns opened fire.
That was my first glimpse of what we later found out was called a Kamidaiko.
God knows who thought it up, it looked like a steel ball almost as tall as a man, rolling awkwardly down the street. A machine gun protruded from the front, firing wildly as it advanced.
For a second I thought it was some sort of toy or homemade contraption.
Then I realised there was a man inside it, and he was driving straight at us!
The infantry's Brens and Vickers guns hammered away immediately. Sparks flew from the vehicle's armour as bullets struck it from every direction.
Arthur joined in with both Brens from the Helmet turret. The noise was deafening.
The Kamidaiko kept coming.
Not quickly, not gracefully, just steadily. As though its driver knew exactly what was waiting for him and didn't care.
I remember feeling a cold sensation in my stomach.
The thing wasn't outright attacking us, it was trying to reach us.
Then one of the machine-gun teams scored a "lucky" hit.
The Kamidaiko vanished in a flash of white light.
I barely had time to blink.
The explosion was tremendous! A wave of dust and smoke raced down the street. Bricks, timber and pieces of metal flew through the air. The shockwave struck us like a slap from a giant hand.
The Mantis rocked violently.
For a moment I thought we'd been overturned.
A section of wall beside us collapsed completely.
Arthur was thrown against his harness and swore loudly enough to make a sergeant blush.
Then everything went quiet. But I realised I was still alive, the stone wall between us and the blast must've absorbed most of the explosion.
Without it, I doubt either of us would be here now.
When the dust settled there wasn't much left of the Kamidaiko.
The infantry moved forward cautiously, expecting more but there weren't any. Not today.

Later, one of the officers explained what we'd seen.
Apparently these machines are intended as mobile suicide bombs. A single driver guides the vehicle towards our troops or armour before detonating it at close range.
I can't stop thinking about the man inside, I mean he must have known exactly how his day was going to end.
Arthur says we're lucky the thing exploded when it did.
Obviously he's right, as ever.
If it had reached the crossroads where we were positioned, I can't say if I would still be writing my diary entries now.
This evening we've parked Stan inside the courtyard of a damaged schoolhouse. The infantry are digging in for the night while artillery rumbles away in the distance.
The war keeps finding new ways to surprise us.
I only hope we've already met the worst of them.
— Joseph

[RAFF-35]

More photos....

[Old Wombat]

It's about now that I'd be thinking of ways to fit an Oerlikon or a Hispano 20mm with AP/SAP ammunition into Stan's turret. 

Looks good, squire! 

[PR19_Kit]

A REALLY splendid backstory, I LOVE it. 

Them model's pretty neat too.;