I will admit that I am just as prone to passing fads as much as anyone else. The 10th edition buzz has carried me through a large number of modelling projects, and increased my interested in related Facebook groups. One fad within this fad is the recent discovery of new proxy models and or kitbash fodder for Grot Tanks. Such things are usually of much interest to Ork players, as finding cheaper alternatives to official models, especially those by the Forge world sub-brand, is of use when you have to build 3 million of them. Oh, and Orks don't mass produce their kit anyway. The thing about this is, I like Grot Tanks. I don't necessarily need easy conversion fodder, I've built entire tanks from scratch, but sometimes it's nice to have a good foundation. So I rolled the dice on the item, and following an inexplicably trouble-free Yodel delivery, I got them in hand.
The toys in question were a pack of pull-back Tanks in what I assume to be Chinese packaging. They feature die-cast in their construction, and the listing gave their scale as 1/64. This puts them in the rough bracket as my Gaslands projects, although the styling is more akin to the Tank Alliance set or World War Toons. That meant a quartet of WW2 vehicles with exaggerated/cutesy proportions. Unmodified these are too big for Gaslands I feel, and some quick research indicated that these were a touch small versus the Forgeworld originals. A comparison with an Ammo Runt model however indicated the size was close enough, so I decided to replace one turret completely, build them up, and put them on some cheap 60mm bases.
While the methods I used for this project are much the same as my recent works, i.e. rust to hell and back, I did try a few different things. First off, I took a swing at scratchbuilding rokkits, something I've struggled with in the past. Obsessive perfectionism is kind of a bugger when you struggle to cut straight, but after a certain amount of trial & error, I produced some passable ones. We're talking a lot of tubes and green stuff, and in the process I chanced upon a method for an RPG or panzer faust style of rokkits. The tips of cheap felt tip pens, minus the felt, have a good shape, you just need to put a cone on the thick end. I can see that working well for Tankbustas and such. I also experimented in adding texture otherwise smooth panels with Mod Podge. I stippled the glue on, and while it's probably too subtle for the pictures, it shows promise for future projects.
Other things I did? Well I didn't just want them to look the Grots had discovered a buggy STC system that only made historical artefacts. This meant switching the turrets, putting a toothy ram upfront, exhausts out back, and assorted plates wherever they fit. These where mostly scrap plastic and bit box affairs, although some resin bits were from Ramshackle Games. I then proceeded to do the metals, the blue, and to weather them within an inch of their life.
These came pretty well. I’m very happy with them.
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