A creation of GW's Forge World sub-brand circa 2010, Grot Tanks are beloved by modellers like myself. From a gameplay perspective, they were a vehicle equivalent to Killa Kans, with a similar mix of annoying, disposable and dakka. While not having a melee option or speed, they did have an invulnerable save, so if you really wanted spam Grotzookas, these were your GOTO guys. Scratch builders and kitbashers meanwhile find a fun excuse to make vaguely adorable tanks for their Gretchin Revolutionary force. They are awesome.
Now, I wasn't planning to do a squadron of these, I've actually already done that ages ago. Rather, this was a stepping stone to other projects which would require tank treads. I was starting small. I also wanted to try some new craft paints which I got on discount, also with an eye toward future projects. As usual, this would be usable as a gaming piece, but this was an experiment above all. I started by making treads in plastic, before using blue stuff to make moulds and mass produce them. This involved much trail and error, refinement, and a shift from green stuff to milliput. Silicon moulds would probably be a better idea for this, or a least a lego frame but one thing at a time. Once I had about 30 I was happy with, I started planning the wheel base. I decided to use a pound shop toy, although this proved to be too small for the treads, so I added the wheels from another toy. I did try to make things easier for myself though, by wrapping the axels with foil the tracks could be placed on top. It was a good guide line, even as the treads turned out to be of varying thicknesses, and in need of some serious gap filling. The actual hull, weapons and detailing were mostly a matter of kit bashing and offcuts, as I wanted to keep things relatively simple. Painting commenced with a black undercoat, as I was out of brown, and a selection of Pébéo Studio Acrylics paints. These don't seem to be intended for model work, but they worked well enough. Numbers 28, 49, 351 & 355 if you're interested.
As this was fundamentally a learning experience, I have criticisms I could make of the end result. The tracks I produced were a bit crude and the detail kinda got lost. My overuse of home-made, mud effect paint probably didn't help, but given the subject matter it isn't bad. I'd also want to move back to a brown undercoat, and tone down that silver a bit before application next time. All this having been said, it's great as a proof of concept, and I learned something.
Work in Progress Pictures
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