Pulp Tanks

[Sakuragi Miniatures]

This is a Renault Shin-Otsu Gata; a version of the Renault NC 27 built for the Imperial Japanese Army. I like this as an interwar development of the famous Great War Renault FT as it doesn’t look precisely like the wartime vehicle and though a small tank it is still formidable to your average pulp protagonist armed with a pistol and their sharp wit. The MarDav Miniatures Shin-Otsu came with two turrets, one mounting a Type 11 37mm anti-tank gun and another with a Type 3 6.5mm heavy machine gun.

The IJA only had ten of these, along with a single Fiat 3000. Historically, these tanks saw combat in Manchuria in 1931. What other tanks do you think are good for pulp gaming?





As usual, the trio was in a predicament. Hunted by a rogue element of the Imperial Japanese Army, they hid in a wooden trash bin, crammed like stacked fire wood with Natsuko on top, then Tsubaki and Yuri under her. A great rumbling and clanking drew upon them, the ground aquiver with its coming. Scared out of her wits, Natsuko cracked the lid to see what was making that god awful racket on the village’s dirt road. It wasn’t a truck or automobile but a metal box suspended between caterpillar treads that conveyed it at a leisurely pace. A cannon poked from the dome atop the box and skewed left to right.

“What is it?” Yuri, compressed by the weight of her sister and friend, hissed from between clinched teeth.
“It’s a… metal thing moving on these belt things.”

Yuri let out a groan at the useless statement.

“Does this thing perhaps have a thing atop it with a thing in it?” Tsubaki asked in her thoughtful manner.
“Yes!” Natsuko said.

The sisters sighed in unison, “It’s a tank.”

“Oh.” Natsuko said in understanding. “What’s a tank?”

Or not. The year was 1932 and Natsuko, raised in a rural Japanese village that didn’t even have mechanical tractors, had never seen a picture of the wonder weapon before. Given this sheltered upbringing, it was fairly reasonable that her life had been tank-less up to this point.

Tsubaki’s mind raced through what could be done against the armored foe. She were entirely unarmed save for her vigorous imagination. She’d read about tanks in Popular Mechanics and had even seen a platoon in a parade two years ago.

The tank’s armor is thinnest near the engine, she recalled. The exhaust port is entirely unprotected…

“Sister, do you still have that banana?” She asked Yuri.

“You ate yours, I’m not sharing mine.”

“It’s not for me,” she said with a grin. “It’s for the tank.”

[shadowbeast]

So, you're rejecting our reality and substituting your own?

Copplestone did a whole bunch which they sold to Empress. It even included a reasonable replication of the Turkish tank from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

TOG?

Matilda I; Vickers light; the Sand Empire tank from Sand Land, if you can find something the right size; Metal Slug; Pz. I and II; Bonaparte from Dominion: Tank Police; many early WW2 tanks; and over 70% of genuine, let alone proxy, 40k tank models, with their ridiculous weapons and designs and riveted hulls.

[carlos marighela]

Carden Lloyd tankettes. Half the world seemed to have them at one point and a number of countries went on to build derivatives. One of those derivatives, the CV33/ CV35 series also sold well around the world with examples popping up as far away as Brazil and Afghanistan.

For interwar clunkiness it's hard to go past the Disston tank. Complete rubbish but so funky looking it's irresistable.

Tanks proper? Vickers 6 tonner. You'll find versions from Paraguay to Finland and quite a few places inbetween and it looks like a proper Pulp item.

[Sakuragi Miniatures]

So, you're rejecting our reality and substituting your own?

Copplestone did a whole bunch which they sold to Empress. It even included a reasonable replication of the Turkish tank from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

TOG?

Matilda I; Vickers light; the Sand Empire tank from Sand Land, if you can find something the right size; Metal Slug; Pz. I and II; Bonaparte from Dominion: Tank Police; many early WW2 tanks; and over 70% of genuine, let alone proxy, 40k tank models, with their ridiculous weapons and designs and riveted hulls.

I'm not saying it's the only one. If I had to pick just one, I'd say the Carden-Lloyd tankette that everyone seemed to own or copy. I have one of the Indiana Jones tanks from Empress, it's a nice piece of work. Who sells a TOG? I wouldn't mind having one. I'm a big TOG II* fan.

[Sakuragi Miniatures]

Carden Lloyd tankettes. Half the world seemed to have them at one point and a number of countries went on to build derivatives. One of those derivatives, the CV33/ CV35 series also sold well around the world with examples popping up as far away as Brazil and Afghanistan.

For interwar clunkiness it's hard to go past the Disston tank. Complete rubbish but so funky looking it's irresistable.

Tanks proper? Vickers 6 tonner. You'll find versions from Paraguay to Finland and quite a few places inbetween and it looks like a proper Pulp item.

Thanks for the suggestions here, I'd not heard of a Disston before. I like the Carden-Lloyd tankettes, you're right about them being so common. The 6-tonner too, if I'm not mistaken, the Soviet T-26 is based on that one. I have  a pair of those in Spanish Civil War (one for each side) markings.

[Andy in Germany]

On a model railway forum, a member suggested I make this, with the comment "Sir does not require a tank, but a tankette."

[Will Bailie]

Die Waffenkammer/JTFM sells TOG:  https://diewaffenkammer.com/_great_britain_and_the_commonwealth_page_no3.html]]https://diewaffenkammer.com/_great_britain_and_the_commonwealth_page_no3.html

Another tank that's great for Pulp and interwar fun and games is the Soviet T-26 including all its variants.

[Freddy]

Pz I and especially FT-17 were quite popular in the interwar era and maybe not hopeless to get even in 28mm scale.

Or you can always go for the weird looking, sometimes even makeshift armoured cars.

[Will Bailie]

Company B miniatures was practically founded on the basis of quirky interwar armoured vehicles, like the Sutton Skunk.  You can find the Skunk and other goodies here:  https://company-b-models-and-miniatures.myshopify.com/collections/interwar

[mikos khan]

My favorite is the Christie T-3 (armed with the .50 cal) but good luck finding one.  I had to convert mine from a 28mm Soviet BT-5.  Also lets not forget the Japanese Type 92 Heavy Armored Car (light tank).  It's hard to beat for sheer funkiness.   

[Cat]

The Polish TKS is also super cute.
 
Belgium also had some fun ones — T15 based on the Carden Loyd, and T13 based on the Vickers.  T13 would be good for tabletop adventures as there is no armour on the back of the turret so the gunner can hang out and fire a pistol when needed.

Die Waffenkammer/JTFM sells TOG:

I'm not sure if things have improved with JTFM, but some years ago it took him many months or more to fill orders with no communication at all.  He was focused on filling large wholesale orders and quite neglected direct sales.  I was happy with the kits I finally received, but never went back for more.

[Will Bailie]

I'm not sure if things have improved with JTFM, but some years ago it took him many months or more to fill orders with no communication at all.  He was focused on filling large wholesale orders and quite neglected direct sales.  I was happy with the kits I finally received, but never went back for more.

Jeff casts to order, so it generally takes longer to get orders filled.  My experience is 6-8 weeks, typically.

[Cat]

Jeff casts to order, so it generally takes longer to get orders filled.  My experience is 6-8 weeks, typically.

Well that's better now.  Was 4–6 months in my experience and others' posting around that time too; all while he was posting photos of big batches being cast for wholesale.

[Andy in Germany]

Of course, diesel power isn't the only option...

Or you can always go for the weird looking, sometimes even makeshift armoured cars.

Dakka dakka dakka dakka dakka...

[Sakuragi Miniatures]

I like that first one, it's like the work of a mad scientist!