Latest project: New Grav-Tank

[wbnc]

I have been working to get a better grip on Using blender. I wanted to try my hand at vehicles, with a fairly advanced look. I also tried my hand at creating models that are not a single object, with the ability to re-position parts for action shots.

The textures, and projectiles are still a bit rough..but getting better.

I haven't stated this out except for a rough idea of it's basic abilities. I am waiting for the new edition vehicle rules to do more than rough notes on new ships, and vehicles.

any tips, feedback, or critiques are welcome...

crew:
Pilot
Commander
Gunner
Systems Operator.

Power source: Fusion power core.
Weapons:
Main gun: Heavy Plasma cannon, or 25mm Hypervelocity Mag-Rail cannon.
Secondary Armament: 4 shot anti-tank guided missiles. 12 round carried internally.
Additional Armament: twin fixed gun/missile pods. 2xpods 1 25mm Gatling cannon, 6 hyper-velocity unguided kinetic kill rockets. each

Armor: laminar composite armor.
Defense systems: Electronic warfare and countermeasures system, electromagnetic/thermal dazzle, and distraction system. chaff flare/smoke grenade dispenser.
Max speed: High Subsonic
Max Altitude: unlimited.
Max endurance: 96 hours. (life support limit, power systems 2 weeks)

Life support: full NBC seals, hazard seals, vacuum, and pressure seals.
Sensors: artificial aperture phased radar, thermal detection and imaging system. Wide spectrum visual/low-light UV
communication: Encrypted channel hopping, pulse transmission voice and data link, satellite communications link, tight beam laser.

A mainline armored fighting vehicle the Shrike is designed t serve in the role of a Main Battle tank, as well as being suitable as fast reaction gunship. The Shrike has a wide variety of abilities both offensive and defensive. couple with it's high degree of mobility, it can operate in both low level nap of earth mode, and high altitude free flight for rapid deployment, and orbital insertion operations. It acts as the heavy offensive force of an armored regiment, and a potent defensive force protecting strong points against enemy armor forming the armored fist of the unit it is assigned to.

while heavier tanks, exist, the shrike is often used to rapidly maneuver, and flank heavy armor units striking at high speed, then retreating to draw off enemy gunships, and tanks to weaken and confuse enemy defenders. It has lighter armor and weapons than Main Battle tanks, but it's agility, speed, and defensive systems make the Shrike a potent addition to heavy armor units, and an effective strike/assault raiding vehicle.

The shrikes armor is heavily sloped, and angled to deflect incoming fire. additional armor shields fitted with reactive aror and spaced plates protect vital systems from missiles and other anti-vehicle weapons. The crew is sealed inside the hull fed information by small cameras dotted around the hull with multiple overlapping system to give a wide range of visibility despite the lack of windows or direct vision blocks. flush mounted hatches for the crew, and other features reduce the vehicles profile, make scoring a direct hit on a solid surface more difficult.

deployed in units of six to eight tanks the Shrike operates with scouting vehicles, command tanks, and infantry carriers. While its secondary weapons have limited mobility, the tank can rapidly spin and angle itself to bring the weapons into engagement position. the high angle turret mounted main gun can be elevated to allow the tank to go hull down, with even a minimal amount of terrain elevation. when teamed up with infantry the Shrike can fire missiles over obstructions, or at extreme range, using man portable laser designaters, and satellite directed fire systems. This flexibility allows the Shrike to provide lethal fire support and devastate other armor units.

Notes
Created with blender. The main hull, gun turret, gun pods, and missiles are separate units so i can pose and rearrange and re-position them. a slight improvement over my usual habit of creating models as a solid single object.It take a while to get the components lined up and takes a bit more attention to detail. But I hope that eventually I can make more models that could be used for animations. I will have to work on the exhaust, and projectile objects to get them looking right.

 

[phavoc]

Very nice. Far better than what I can draw... chickens scratch better than I!

Since you are making a tank, I would think that your side weapon sponsoons would be closer to the body, both from a flight perspective and because it's a tank. If you look at a modern MBT you'll see the things that jut out, like the external machine guns, and crew gear (and on Soviet tanks the extra fuel drums) are all nice to have, but aren't essential to the main function of the tank.

Often the things external get shot up, either by other tanks or things like artillery. Anything you can do to keep those things armored up and more protected means they can conceivably last longer in combat.

What are the air brake-things on the outside of the hull around the edges? What is their function?

 

[-Daniel-]

Overall I like where this is going. Nice design and feel.

My one feedback would be think about increasing the size of the main turret/gun. If you didn't tell me you were going for tank and just asked me what it was, I would have guessed IFV. The size of the body compared to the turret makes me see IFV. But this is my opinion and not a "fact" per say.

So I say keep going and I look forward to seeing more from you. 8)

 

[dragoner]

Looks cool.

Some observations: Plasma Guns have barrels? The mount, if moved forward a bit could depress more without the hull getting in the way.

 

[phavoc]

Looks cool.

Some observations: Plasma Guns have barrels? The mount, if moved forward a bit could depress more without the hull getting in the way.

I thought same thing, then saw that a 25mm Magrail cannon is an option. I assume the illustration is for that one. Though the cannon seems oversized for such a small caliber round. Not having anything real to go by, the size of the cannon would seem more akin to something with a larger caliber, say 75-100mm. I guess you could go either way, saying the cannon barrel contains the magnetic accelerator and the barrel is also armored for protection.

 

[wbnc]

Very nice. Far better than what I can draw... chickens scratch better than I!

Since you are making a tank, I would think that your side weapon sponsoons would be closer to the body, both from a flight perspective and because it's a tank. If you look at a modern MBT you'll see the things that jut out, like the external machine guns, and crew gear (and on Soviet tanks the extra fuel drums) are all nice to have, but aren't essential to the main function of the tank.

Often the things external get shot up, either by other tanks or things like artillery. Anything you can do to keep those things armored up and more protected means they can conceivably last longer in combat.

What are the air brake-things on the outside of the hull around the edges? What is their function?

You would recoil in horror if you saw the graveyard of the unworthy..a little portion of my hard drive dedicated to those sad failures that will never see the light of day.

The outboard pods are detachable, and can be dropped all together...hmm should point that out in the write up....also when trying to position them I ran into the problem of the main gun being blocked..I had to extend the winglets to allow the gun to traverse freely..which is why the pods are positioned where they are.

the turret can also raise and lower a bit to allow for the tank to hide behind cover and then lower closer to the hull for high speed movement....note to self.. add some detail to better show that....

the winglets themselves are there as a mounting point for various packages..at least that's what I had planned...either offensive,defensive, or utility/systems packages can be mounted.

The shields around the edge are armor plate, fitted with reactive armor packets. There is also a brush bar/ram plate on the front that is there to push aside light obstacles and add extra armor to the front as well. I based the idea off the armored skirts mounted on several real life AFV/tanks.


just s a side note.

The pods aren't really vital to the role of MBT, but I envisioned this as a fast highly maneuverable vehicle rather than a skimmer type. It can fly and execute ridiculously agile maneuvers.( hence the crewman being called a pilot, rather than driver)

so I sort of saw it acting like a gunship at times, with the ability to lay down area saturation fire, with it's Gatling guns, as well as fire off those extra missiles in the pod to engage targets as it executes a high speed attack run....

I could have put them in heavier fixed positions on the main hull, or turret..but it would make it look a bit bulkier and not as fast....( artistic consideration as well as practical.)

Overall I like where this is going. Nice design and feel.

My one feedback would be think about increasing the size of the main turret/gun. If you didn't tell me you were going for tank and just asked me what it was, I would have guessed IFV. The size of the body compared to the turret makes me see IFV. But this is my opinion and not a "fact" per say.

So I say keep going and I look forward to seeing more from you. 8)

I appreciate the compliment.

The size of the turret, and location are one of the issues I have been working over. i went with a small turret to give it a light/fast look..and it's part of the design idea..it's not a heavy weight slugger. It has enough firepower to damage heavy armor, and enough speed to get in and out very quickly...I will put a heavier turret version on the too do list...( another note to self.)

planned versions:
Heavy turret version
Assault gun/tank hunter..fixed gun ( jadgpanzer/Hetzer style.)
missile carrier: ( larger box type missile battery MRLS type.)

Looks cool.

Some observations: Plasma Guns have barrels? The mount, if moved forward a bit could depress more without the hull getting in the way.

Thanks.
plasma guns....Umm yeah I think they have barrels...well this one does I would imagine most of the "gun tube" on the tank would be taken up by the guts of the plasma cannon..with a fairly short tube to direct, channel and accelerate the plasma "bolt"

I put it on the back for aesthetic reasons....and of course that part of the hull has the most room for hardware due to the sharp angle of the forward hull. I made allowances for the turret to raise and lower to overcome the problem of the hull getting in the way..probably not needed considering the vehicle can roll, and pitch it's entire hull to allow the gunner to get the tube lined up on target.

thanks for the feedback. It helps when working on ideas to have an outside opinion.

Looks cool.

Some observations: Plasma Guns have barrels? The mount, if moved forward a bit could depress more without the hull getting in the way.

I thought same thing, then saw that a 25mm Magrail cannon is an option. I assume the illustration is for that one. Though the cannon seems oversized for such a small caliber round. Not having anything real to go by, the size of the cannon would seem more akin to something with a larger caliber, say 75-100mm. I guess you could go either way, saying the cannon barrel contains the magnetic accelerator and the barrel is also armored for protection.

the cannon/plasma gun is inside an armored housing/pod. since the turret is fairly small, and exposed I wanted the gun to be protected by that outer casing. (more notes I need to add to write up) I may even add a 90-105 main gun to the mix... useful for artillery support...

the bulge at the rear of the gun is the ready magazine for the mag-rail.to reload the gun tips up and a fresh magazine is inserted by an automated system in the rear hull.

The bulge also holds part of the plasma cannon when in place..

I intended for them to look identical so that an observer would have a hard time figuring out which tank had a mag-rail, and which one packed a plasma gun...at least until it fired.

the bulge at the front is part of the muzzle brake/blast attenuation system for the weapon. it helps to keep the gun from dazzling the tanks optics...watch the videos of a test railgun firing those babies have an impressive muzzle blast for an electric gun...

 

[wbnc]

Double post incoming...sorry bout that.

dropped wings, relocated secondary weapons to turret...I am surprised at the difference it makes in the look....

 

[-Daniel-]

Oh I like that much better. 8)

 

[wbnc]

Oh I like that much better. 8)

Soooo do I 8)

Guess I should not get hung up on my own brilliance.... LOL, dropping the wings makes it look much sleeker,cleaner, and more compact.

here is the heavier turret version compared to the lighter turret, and a viewof all three side by side

 

[phavoc]

If those are meant to be guided, or somewhat 'smart' missiles, think about making them into vertical or angled launch cannisters embedded down more in the hull. If they are VLS (and no reason why they shouldn't be), then you can mount them in a vertical position with part of the launching box extended from the hull. This still allows your tank to have access to them, plus you would now be able to swing your turret in a 360 motion (a plus when you are zipping along and need to keep your gun on the enemy). You could mention that the gun is computer stablized to keep it on target at X degrees up/down. If you like to add that sort of detail.

There's really no reason to not put a regular turret of sorts on top and stuff it with ammo, or just to make it look more tanky. I have found that the old Renegade: Legion vehicle and ship books bring all kinds of ideas to mind when making things like this.

Do you plan on making the chassis a standard, for say an air defense variant (gun and/or missile), an indirect fire support with mortars or rockets, or even a light artillery vehicle with a mass driver? Not sure how easy it is to make those kinds of mods with blender. But you'd really only need one image to go with the concept of a family of vehicles.

 

[wbnc]

If those are meant to be guided, or somewhat 'smart' missiles, think about making them into vertical or angled launch cannisters embedded down more in the hull. If they are VLS (and no reason why they shouldn't be), then you can mount them in a vertical position with part of the launching box extended from the hull. This still allows your tank to have access to them, plus you would now be able to swing your turret in a 360 motion (a plus when you are zipping along and need to keep your gun on the enemy). You could mention that the gun is computer stablized to keep it on target at X degrees up/down. If you like to add that sort of detail.

There's really no reason to not put a regular turret of sorts on top and stuff it with ammo, or just to make it look more tanky. I have found that the old Renegade: Legion vehicle and ship books bring all kinds of ideas to mind when making things like this.

Do you plan on making the chassis a standard, for say an air defense variant (gun and/or missile), an indirect fire support with mortars or rockets, or even a light artillery vehicle with a mass driver? Not sure how easy it is to make those kinds of mods with blender. But you'd really only need one image to go with the concept of a family of vehicles.

The missiles are guided, and I have thought bout the vertical launch system. The only problem is that the hull is kind of cramped as it is.The length of the missile would mean that the launch cell would force me to increase the vertical hieght of the tank.

Hmm forgot to mention gun stabilization.....pretty much standard for modern tanks.

I am working on several variations while i listen to audio books right now.

and yesssss renegade legion is visually fun the designs were nifty.

 

[dragoner]

I like the one with the weapons all on the turret (bottom row, middle), that's sweet, probably good for optics as well, but I think it looks great.

 

[phavoc]

The missiles are guided, and I have thought bout the vertical launch system. The only problem is that the hull is kind of cramped as it is.The length of the missile would mean that the launch cell would force me to increase the vertical hieght of the tank.

Hmm forgot to mention gun stabilization.....pretty much standard for modern tanks.

I am working on several variations while i listen to audio books right now.

and yesssss renegade legion is visually fun the designs were nifty.

That really depends on two things - scale and the missile itself. It's hard to tell the scale from the images - we need a driver poking his head out or a crew member standing next to it. That's at least the view from just looking at the images.

The other thing about the missiles is going to be one of range. If the idea is the missiles are relatively short-ranged, say ten or 20 klicks, you could easily make them shorter, squater and fatter and fit them vertically, perhaps with just four launch cells on each side instead of six or eight. That's perfectly reasonable and justifiable. If you ever watched Robotech you'll see some examples of missiles packed into very small areas, LOTS of them, but they are relatively short-ranged.

And, speaking of launchers and stuff, does your tank have any external defenses, such as anti-laser aerosols, smoke or decoy launchers? Sometimes a tank needs a cloud of 52nd century smoke to duck out with.

 

[wbnc]

That really depends on two things - scale and the missile itself. It's hard to tell the scale from the images - we need a driver poking his head out or a crew member standing next to it. That's at least the view from just looking at the images.

The other thing about the missiles is going to be one of range. If the idea is the missiles are relatively short-ranged, say ten or 20 klicks, you could easily make them shorter, squater and fatter and fit them vertically, perhaps with just four launch cells on each side instead of six or eight. That's perfectly reasonable and justifiable. If you ever watched Robotech you'll see some examples of missiles packed into very small areas, LOTS of them, but they are relatively short-ranged.

And, speaking of launchers and stuff, does your tank have any external defenses, such as anti-laser aerosols, smoke or decoy launchers? Sometimes a tank needs a cloud of 52nd century smoke to duck out with.

I think this will show things clearer than words

the outlines are average hieght humans. so figure between 5'9 and 5'11 so around 175cm


The larger missiles are designed to fly very very fast, to shorten lag between firing and impact. they have to be pointed in the rough direction of the target since at full burn they arent very maneuverable. Of course they could be vertically launched if they boosted up, then pivoted down to lock on and attack from high angle..but that would mean a longer engagement time, and require more advanced sensors, and flight controls.

basically your firing a fence post at mach speeds or higher.


bombardment rounds are basically big canisters filled with warm and fuzzy goodness....well not really. but they can hold a single high explosive charge, sub-munitions, deployable mines, and smart sub-munitions.

the smaller short range rounds are area repression and self defense rounds. They have a very short range...a few kilometers at best. and are multi-mode, either contact fused, proximity fused, or airburst with a large explosive charge, and a fragmentation sheath.

Missiles are loaded two to a tube, (except for the short range versions which come in three round stacks for a total of six per tube)and are fired off using some of non combustible propellant. once both rounds are fired the system kicks out the shipping sleeves.


One thing i like about doing drawings or sketches is that it lets me picture not only how it looks, but how it would have to work to function properly

 

[phavoc]

The illustration helps a lot to put things into perspective. I can see where there isn't much room in the tank now. It has an extremely low profile (more so with rocket pods). Based on the height I would assume the crew would be leaning back in couches of some sort. There doesnt' seem to be enough vertical profile to allow for standard seating as well as the armor and other things that go into an armored vehicle.

As far as rockets go, current tech offers you a lot of choices, and future tech even more so. Firing off-bore is quite easy these days, as much as 60% is possible. You can also use a mechanical ejection mechanism to launch your round out of the tube before the rocket motor ignites (gas ejection is possible too, as would be ejection-style motors whose only function is to clear the tube, much like how many shoulder-launched rockets work) Only hypervelocity rounds would need to start their motors in the tube, and thus would require pods as you have listed.

It's clear you've done a lot of work and thought a lot about it. I really do like the scale model aspect. I've always thought that makes it easier for a reader to better visualize things.

 

[wbnc]

The illustration helps a lot to put things into perspective. I can see where there isn't much room in the tank now. It has an extremely low profile (more so with rocket pods). Based on the height I would assume the crew would be leaning back in couches of some sort. There doesnt' seem to be enough vertical profile to allow for standard seating as well as the armor and other things that go into an armored vehicle.

As far as rockets go, current tech offers you a lot of choices, and future tech even more so. Firing off-bore is quite easy these days, as much as 60% is possible. You can also use a mechanical ejection mechanism to launch your round out of the tube before the rocket motor ignites (gas ejection is possible too, as would be ejection-style motors whose only function is to clear the tube, much like how many shoulder-launched rockets work) Only hypervelocity rounds would need to start their motors in the tube, and thus would require pods as you have listed.

It's clear you've done a lot of work and thought a lot about it. I really do like the scale model aspect. I've always thought that makes it easier for a reader to better visualize things.

Yes the crew sets in reclining couches inside separate ''cockpits" covered by an armored hatch.

the vehicle is designed to fire multiple weapons, some hyper-velocity, so the launcher is set up for them. If they are firing low velocity smart weapons they can just lock o and fire without slewing the turret directly on target.I have worked up a Multiple launcher for the chassis, and air defense vehicle.

The MRLS version has a fixed box which is raise to 45 degrees or fired at low angle for direct fire of guided or cluster munnitions.

 

[Sigtrygg]

Shouldn't it have its own point defence system?

 

[wbnc]

Shouldn't it have its own point defence system?

well now there's something I missed..thanks