Post Apocalypse vehicles, 15mm/20mm (1:72nd scale)

[Padrissimus]

Whilst in the attic looking for models for my Star Wars kit-bash/scratch-builds thread I found a little shoe box I had not opened for 20+ years. Inside, among various Airfix WW2 models from my ill-spent youth, were several early 80s attempts at making post-apoc' vehicles for a backwater world my group of Traveller PCs were stranded on.

They are very definitely at a WW2/Korean War sort of tech level, but influenced by my love of the Mad Max films, which was no doubt what made me create such a world for my PC group to crash on.

Here is one of them, a kind of light truck, kinda speedy looking, upon which a gun has been fitted to a special mounting. The gunner is absent and may well never have existed (I probably just stuck a figure in) but the driver is there, looking somewhat German WW2 and using his binoculars. What bits of kits were involved I cannot recall - I used to buy loads of kits from the local shop (selling off their Airfix cheap as it was going out of fashion with the kids) and just take bits as I liked from different sprues for my sci fi models.

I suppose this one has a Long Range Desert Group vibe to it as well as a smidgen of Mad Max ...







One day I might get to use these again in some post apoc' themed skirmish, although they don't 'feel' Star Wars to me and so I'll probably use another system.

Should I photo some of the others? Or are such early 1980's efforts by my teenage self somewhat 'tired' and out of date?

[S_P]

More photos please- I really like that

[DivisMal]

Yes, more photos. I really like this.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Cool piece of kit.

Do show us more.

[Padrissimus]

Thanks you three.

I think I must've liked that first one, as this second one is a very similar design. Or, perhaps I made this second one first, so this inspired the on above ... making that one the second? Erm ... you get what I mean.



The driver isn't painted, being what looks like an aeroplane pilot. The two guns aren't painted either. Maybe I got distracted? Maybe this model never got used and so there was no motivation to do the finishing touches? 35 years has passed so who knows?  As for why it says 'Panel Removal', it is a riddle the author himself cannot fathom.





You can see it's true 'sprue-tastic' nature when you look at the gun platform railings. Nowadays I would definitely have shaved off the little bit of flash that makes the rail extra-spruey, but more than three decades ago, I may not have cared or noticed.

Here are the first two machines together ...

[Padrissimus]

The third one.



I think I was inspired by The Cars That Ate Paris, but I just have run out of spikes. This was my favourite as it seemed that bit more 'Mad Max' than the others, despite not really being Mad Max style at all! It looked more stable than the others anyway!



Again a gun, and a platform for the gunner to stand on. I must've used my 15mm Traveller and Laserburn miniatures for the gunners, as I happily played games with both plastic 20mm figures and metal 15mm.



Armour plating.

And a slightly different angle to the first photo ...



(Edit) You know, looking at this, I am beginning to think it possible that the wheel arches are made from parts of a German WW2 88mm gun. This may also explain why several of my post apoc' vehicles are basically half-track tractors from the same kit.

(Second edit) And still available as one of the Airfix Classics range, £8.99 ! https://www.airfix.com/uk-en/shop/vehicles/military-vehicles/airfix-vintage-88mm-gun-and-tractor-1-76.html So much conversion potential on that sprue. I am sorely tempted. The gun's wheels and arches can be combined with any old bits to make a crazy car! ... But I have a massive fantasy campaign to run and so I won't.

[S_P]

Thanks for the extra photos. They look very cool to me

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Nice work.

[Padrissimus]

Thanks!

Here I go off on the tangent my own post-apoc world took - that the cataclysm occurred at tech level circa 1950s (with occasional off-planet higher technology), and military vehicles are very much still in use. This was forced on me by my choice of WW2 Airfix kits for bashing.

Two German WW2 gun tractors turned into a self propelled artillery piece and a fuel and supply wagon ...





Keep in mind, if the modelling looks 'old fashioned' that these are fished from a box that has been in the loft for 20 years, and were originally made in circa 1981-4 (ish) by my teenage self. For Traveller scenarios.

[S_P]

Nice- really like the fuel tanker one.

[Padrissimus]

I think I like this one the most. I 'got it right' in terms of what I was trying to do with this one. Basic, sturdy, partially armoured.







And because to my eyes the white backgrounds now look 'fuzzy' ...



(Edit) Just noticed, this one has lost its steering wheel somewhere along its 35 year life!

(Edit 2) If I was building it now, I would have put another gun stanchion so that it could moved to shoot forwards too!

[S_P]

Very nice

[Padrissimus]

This post more about fun and reminiscence.

I am going back further, to the late 70's and very early 80s, to when me and the boys from the street played 'Sci Fi' in the gardens - all the gardens. There were toy soldiers and tanks everywhere! Every garden in the cul de sac was a country in our war torn mini-world. I presume that archaeological digs (or just ordinary gardening) will have discovered several lost vehicles over the decades since!

I think either (a) I loved Panther tanks or (b) Panther tanks were going really cheap at the local shop, because I sure had a lot of them. Here are some (battle damaged from way back, or maybe just falling apart with age) ...



The only conversion I did to most of them was to add an anti-missile-missile and a radio antenna .



We needed the anti-missile-missile, because our games tended to go quite quickly into a missile exchange from garden to garden, and often tactical nukes! Lots of our planes and vehicles had anti-missile-missiles, to take out missiles targeted at them. Lots of missiles, however, then started having anti-anti-missile-missile-missiles on them, literally a missile with a little one on its back, so that the missile could knock out anit-missile-missiles before they hit!

We learned a lot about proliferation back then!

But, what follows is the reason for this post. One of the Panther tanks was later made into a riot control vehicle for a more 'civilized' part of the Post Apoc world.



Clumsy I know, but hey, I was a young teenager.



I presume the spikes were to stop people climbing on the tank.

The police officer inside is my favourite part ...



Please, for this post especially, keep in mind I am showing you ancient history, the hobby as it was in my youth, a long, long time ago!

[Dr Mathias]

I like the 'exposed' look of the vehicles earlier in the thread, they have a really interesting look.

Panther conversion is cool too

[swiftnick]

Pretty cool!