I never had the Hyena tank as a child, but a couple of my friends did. It looked a much more sci-fi tank than the Z-Force battle tank. Now, thanks to 3D printing, I can have my very own miniature version!
The Hyena was a recoloured Cobra HISS tank from the GI Joe toy line, helpfully reproduced as STLs by Jabberwocky. I printed these 18% original size model in 4 parts: main hull, left & right tracks, turret. The hull was hollowed to save resin, with holes punched top & bottom to allow drainage while it printed.
The prints were washed thoroughly in isopropanol to ensure all the resin was rinsed out from inside. The drainage holes will be concealed by the tracks on the sides, and the hole in the top is within the turret ring, so won't be visible with the guns in place.
After assembly with gel superglue, the vehicles were spray primed and then base coated with Humbrol 60 matt scarlet. The underside and around the tracks was painted with Humbrol 29 matt dark earth.
Black detailing was added with Vallejo game colour black for the canopies (which comes out glossy) and Vallejo model colour black for the other parts (which is a proper matt black). Some dark grey drybrushing picked out the details.
Additional painting will be required, including a shading wash plus some of the vehicle markings, headlights etc.
I also need some gunners. I have some Peter Pig half track crew who might work if trimmed at the waist. Alternatively, I might be able to 3D print someone suitable. Having the gunner so exposed always seemed an odd idea, but I suppose Baron Ironblood sees his Red Shadows as completely expendable,
Being toys, the original vehicles were smaller than a real tank might be, as you can see in this comparison with a 1:100 T-55. Compared to my 15mm figures they might be a teensy bit on the small side too, though not by much. I think I will probably print some more, scaling them to 120% or 130% of the previous size should give them a better presence on the battlefield.
These original models will be handy for paint testing anyway. I'll need to work on getting a Z-Force battle tank ready for printing!
This is a most fortuitous post for me. I was planning on trying my new 3D printer by printing out some hyenas for my own 15mm Red Shadows. I will take note of you comments on the scaling you tried, and try a slightly larger scale from the off. Thank you.
ReplyDelete