Mig Eater Posted July 21, 2023 Share Posted July 21, 2023 (edited) My second project for the GB, After making the Czech TNH 57/900 I'm still in the mood for some obscure paper designs & came across this while looking for ideas/references. The 16T Panzer "Laupen" was a 1950's Swiss project to design a new light tank based on the Hetzer/G-13 hull. The upper hull was redesigned & fitted with a cast turret equipped with a 90mm gun, the engine was also replaced with a more powerful diesel powerplant. Development of tank didn't get very far & the Swiss decided to buy the AMX-13 from France instead. There are no model kits of this very obscure tank available so I'll being designing & 3D printing the whole thing. I've started with making the basic shapes for the hull & turret, I'll work on getting the basic suspension & wheel parts done next. Then its adding all the smaller details, some of which I'll have to be a bit creative with as the blueprints doesn't have much detail. Edited August 3, 2023 by Mig Eater 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 Welcome again to the GB. love the build choice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted July 23, 2023 Author Share Posted July 23, 2023 I'm making some progress with the Laupen's 3D model 😀 I made the suspension mounts, I used the Hezter as the main reference but because the Laupen's rear hull is a different shape from the Hetzer I had to modify the design of the rear idle mounts to make them fit. I already had the wheels & sprockets from a previous project & I found a 3D model of the Hetzer's tracks online, so it didn't take that long to finish the running gear in the end. I also hollowed out the hull, added a base for the turret ring & scribed some panel lines/weld seams on the top of the hull. There are a few more panel lines to add to the hull & then I'll probably work on sculpting the machine gun ports & cupola on the turret. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted July 24, 2023 Share Posted July 24, 2023 Looks a bit like the result of a Sherman being crossed with a Panther. I see they also used the Hetzer design of sloping the chassis sides to make a bit more space and allow a larger turret ring. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted July 25, 2023 Author Share Posted July 25, 2023 (edited) I've finished the working on the major parts of the turret & hollowed it out. I hate making complex curved parts like this & I'm not 100% happy with how it turned out, After I've printed the parts I'll probably add a bit of putty around the machine gun ports & main gun mount & sculpt it a bit to smooth out the transitions into the main turret surface. I also made the main gun, I though about making the barrel movable but I'm feeling lazy so the barrel/mantle will just slot into a hole in the front of the turret. For the cupola the diagram shows the layout of the view ports but not the hatch mechanism, I decided to make something similar to the Panther tank's cupola hatch as the view port layout reminding me of the Panther 😋 I still need to add a hatch on the rear of the turret, a view port for the driver & the fenders to the front & rear. After that the largest part left is engine deck, which is blank in the diagram 😵 so I'll have to take my best guess to fill it in. PS: Finally added some proper lighting & shadows to the model 😅 Edited July 25, 2023 by Mig Eater 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted July 31, 2023 Author Share Posted July 31, 2023 Work on the 3D model is nearing completion, I added the fenders, view port & hatch for the driver, crew hatch to the rear of the turret & detailed the engine deck with hatches, cooling grill & exhausts. I also redid gun mount on the front of the turret so it blends into the turret's shape a lot better now. I could start printing the parts but I feel like there is something missing from the tank, then again sometimes you need to know when to stop on a project like this 😋 Any thoughts or suggestions? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 2 hours ago, Mig Eater said: then again sometimes you need to know when to stop on a project like this 😋 Any thoughts or suggestions? I find starting another project always helps with that 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted July 31, 2023 Author Share Posted July 31, 2023 (edited) I'm already researching my third build for the GB 😋 I was going to start working on it while the parts for this build are printing tho. Edited July 31, 2023 by Mig Eater Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted August 3, 2023 Author Share Posted August 3, 2023 Well turns out there was a lot missing from the tank after all 😋 Side skirts (I'm going to scratch build them from metal sheet but added them to the 3D model anyway) Loaders view port (so he can fire the machine gun!) Radio antenna Smoke grenade launchers Turret lifting points Headlamps Brake lights Tool box Fuel cap Spare tracks After looking at photos of the Swiss Panzer 58/61 tank I decided to change the driver & cupola hatches to a split hinge design too. I'm now happy with the design but before I can start printing the parts I need to organize the model a bit & also add some locating holes/pegs to a few parts to make it easier to put together after printing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senux Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 extremely crazy style of modeling 😁👏 how do you get the dimensions? do you have blueprints or measuring a details from any kit of Pz38(t)?? How much interpretation is there involved? Which software you used for CADing? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted August 3, 2023 Author Share Posted August 3, 2023 I used the blueprints up in the first post to make the basic shape of the hull & turret, I then used blueprints/measurements of the Hetzer to make the running gear. After that I had to be more creative to fill in the rest of the details, using other TNH/38(t) & Swiss tanks as references/inspiration. I'm using Autodesk 3DS Max to make the 3D model. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted August 4, 2023 Author Share Posted August 4, 2023 Here is a breakdown of the tank into its separate parts. There are a total of 38 stl files but I need to print multiple copies of most of them, a rough count comes to 75 parts for the tank & another 615 parts for the tracks! 😆 I've started printing the main hull which will take about 10 hours, so hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to post some photos of the physical model instead of just 3D renders. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted August 6, 2023 Author Share Posted August 6, 2023 (edited) I've finished printing the parts (except for the tracks), everything printed first time without any issues, which I think is a first for me normally at least one thing fails during printing or something brakes when removing the supports 😅 I still need to sand down the nubs leftover from the printing supports, I'll probably need to sand the locating holes/pegs a bit to get some parts to fit too, after that it should be pretty quick job to put it all together. The lighting were I am at the moment sucks & the white colour of resin isn't helping with photography. It's hard to see but all the small details on the engine deck & wheels etc printed fine, some paint & a dark wash will make them a lot clearer. Edited August 6, 2023 by Mig Eater 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef N. Posted August 6, 2023 Share Posted August 6, 2023 Oooh, that looks very good.👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senux Posted August 7, 2023 Share Posted August 7, 2023 19 hours ago, Mig Eater said: I've finished printing the parts (except for the tracks), everything printed interesting type of modelling! Other world than our "classic" type modelling. Anyway a big work input you did. Looking to see the end result. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanC Posted August 7, 2023 Share Posted August 7, 2023 For me, this is Star Trek modelling! 🙂 Fascinating to see all the work that's going into it, and now some of the tangible results. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted August 7, 2023 Share Posted August 7, 2023 That looks great. I hadn’t realized you were modelling it in 1:35th. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted August 12, 2023 Author Share Posted August 12, 2023 (edited) Slowly making progress with the build 🙂 I rescribed the weld/panel lines to make them a bit deeper (note to self, should make them deeper on the 3D model too). Something I was undecided about when I was making the 3D model was if I should add a weld seam between the front & side armour plates or were to put it, once I had the physical model in my hands tho I decided to scribe a weld seam along the sides. The welds seams were then filled with green stuff putty & a weld bead pattern added with a custom made tool. Lastly I used some Mr. Surfacer to fill in some unwanted marks & also add some texture to the hull, turret & gun mantlet. One of the handles on the engine deck broke off while I was handling the model 😵 luckily some CA glue quickly fixed it, otherwise I would have had to replace it with some metal wire & if I had to replace one then I would have replaced all of them to make them match. With that all the prep work need for the model is done, so I can finally start the building part of the project now 😋 Edited August 12, 2023 by Mig Eater 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted August 13, 2023 Author Share Posted August 13, 2023 I added the rest of the parts to the hull & turret, starting to look like an actually tank now 😋 I haven't added the side skirts yet as I want to test fit the track first, which is the next thing on the to do list. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senux Posted August 13, 2023 Share Posted August 13, 2023 very cool looking overall concept. First you draw , then print and you are done!!!! It is not like most of us - old-school 😄 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted August 13, 2023 Author Share Posted August 13, 2023 (edited) The actual building isn't that different from a normal model kit. You still need to do all the usual stuff like removing the parts from the sprue/supports, sanding down connection points, test fitting the parts, filling gaps & adjusting stuff if needed etc. The main difference is you have to design & print the parts yourself instead of just buying them in a box 😋 Edited August 13, 2023 by Mig Eater 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted August 14, 2023 Share Posted August 14, 2023 (edited) Out of interest what CAD software and printer are you using. Edited August 14, 2023 by Marklo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted August 14, 2023 Share Posted August 14, 2023 13 hours ago, senux said: It is not like most of us - old-school I’m about to kick off my three scratch builds and yet will be seriously old school. for contrast 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted August 14, 2023 Author Share Posted August 14, 2023 20 minutes ago, Marklo said: Out of interest what CAD software and printer are you using. I'm using 3DS Max to make the 3D models & a Anycubic Mono X printer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted August 17, 2023 Author Share Posted August 17, 2023 So I spent several days working on the tracks... I found a 3D model of a Hetzer track link online awhile ago, which I though was great as it saves me the time of having to model one myself. However this 3D model proved to not work very well when printed at 1/35 scale (I think it was originally scaled to 1/16), the links were too fragile & about 50% of them broke when cleaning up the holes for the track pins. To make a complete set I would have had to print hundreds of track links & hope that enough of them survive. To save my sanity I decided to give up on making workable tracks 😩 Luckily I could still use the same 3D model tho, I just needed to fill in the holes for the track pins & then I could print the tracks in two long (upper & lower) sections pre shaped to fit around the wheels & sprockets. This was so much easier, taking only an hour to print & then fitted onto the tank in minutes. Last things left to add are some brass rod for the machine gun barrels, wire for the radio antenna & some spare tracks to the front of the hull (I have about 100 spare track links 😆 I could use) 2 days working on individual links... An hour to print two complete sets of tracks. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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