Wednesday, August 22, 2007

I need your help.

This is the Wednesday post but I'm actually posting it earlier Tuesday evening, because I need as much input as possible. One tradition I started with niece and nephew some years ago was to build them pinatas. I spend a lot of money on goodies. Let's just say there will be several dozen pair of bubba teeth and lots of little plastic toys and premium candy. Any little darling of mine...

Anyway, I like a multi-stage pinata, because what's the fun of it if all the good crap comes sluicing out of it with the first substantial *thwack!* Even if subject of choice for the year is boxy, I build multiple chambers in the pinata, each containing a different set of goodies.

So, on Wednesday I begin construction on nephew's pinata for a couple weeks from now. I'll start by building a framework of balsa, dowels and tape.

Here's where you come in, my esteemed readers. Nephew's subject of choice this time is a tank. The finished product will be roughly three feet long, and the sooner I get cracking, the more authentic detail I can put on it. I'm also going to paint a ferocious shark mouth on the front. OK. How ferocious it looks may be debatable. But anyhoo -

I'd like your suggestion of what type tank to build.

Sherman tank would be most easily recognizable, of course. But then I thought if it's going to be beaten the stuffing out of, wouldn't it be more delectable to make it a tank of foreign extraction? Let me know. Like I said, I've got to start construction by afternoon tomorrow, so I don't have a lot of wiggle room, time wise. Thanks for any suggestions you may make!


OOOH, I found this neat photo online of an Iraqi tank some Kurds modified. It's pretty neat.

15 comments:

none said...

An M60 tank always struck me as a handsome piece of machinery

M60 Tank

phlegmfatale said...

I quite agree - very handsome, indeed. That's one for the Patton tank, and we're rolling. WOOHOO!

Anonymous said...

I agree with the M60. I like it a lot.

Good luck!

Tickersoid said...

The Leopard 2A6, cheaper than an Abram MIA2.

Churchill is boxy/easy to make.

Anonymous said...

I like your idea of an enemy tank if you're gonna beat the crap out of it. Maybe a Russian T-72 with Arabic on the turret. That'd be a toofer.

Flo said...

Me too, that's a pretty one. LOL

We want pictures when you're done!

Dr. StrangeGun said...

T34 with Iraqi markings.... so beating the snot out of it is a historically accurate event :-D

Anonymous said...

M-1

phlegmfatale said...

lainy - thanks for weighing in!

tickers - wow - the leopard looks cool and is rather uncomplicated, compared to some of these. The Abram is cool, and of course the Churchill is marvelous, but I think I have firmly decided to not beat up a good-guy tank, even though candy is more likely to come out of a US or British tank than a Russian/Iraqi. Thanks!

myron - excellent ideer! OK, leaning heavily Russian here, and tell you what - we'll put an iraqi flag on it

flo - I'll document the process.

dr strangegun - Yes, I see the beauty of that. Definitely Russian manufacture, definitely sporting an Iraqi flag. Very cool!

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! I'll let you know how things progress.

NotClauswitz said...

IMO there is only ONE tank, the rest are copies - the King Tiger. Has a huge turret with lots of room for stuff, and there's the Porsche turret model... It's THE iconic tank-design, one that influenced the design of the Star Wars "walkers".
Russian "Stalin" tanks had/have very effective rounded-off slippery-sloped armor that a stick might bounce off.

fuzzbert_1999@yahoo.com said...

I vote for the T-90!

Dick said...

The hippy painted T-62 made my day.
I'm a fan of the Abrams M1 myself.

Kevin said...

How about a Swedish S-tank? No turret, so it should be easier to fabricate...

Ken said...

Late to the party, but to me there is nothing more iconic (at least in the USA) than the venerable M4 Sherman. The hull profile gives one plenty of room for the shark's mouth, too. ;-)

FHB said...

Unless you really know what your doin' (always assume you do of course) I'd say stick with something easy, like a Sherman. But that T-55 with all the color is a cool idea. Of those in siloet, my favorite is the Jagdpanther, top center and top left. Love that one.