Greetings Tankers!

It’s March, that means we have 243 days before November! Time flies when you’re having fun. We’ve been very busy and productive the past few weeks, working on all sorts of subprojects within Project38. So let’s get you all caught up!

Events and PR

Members of the team went down to Fort Mifflin to help the 193rd Rifles to clear up the hidden gun batteries south of the fort. A lot of work got done and we met with some amazing folks. Everyone was excited about the project, and in the evening we spent time talking with the 193rd and crew in the barracks talking about different aspects of the project. Thanks Don and John for your enthusiasm and support, and if you ever need a hand down there call us up!

(full album of pictures here)

Schedule of Events

We have received word that we will have a table/display at the Army Heritage Days at the United States Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC). The coordinators there were happy to host us and we’re excited to be a part of their event! Look for us there, May 19 and 20. The event will host hundreds of living history impressions and reenactors and always is an impressive display.

We will also have a table at the Memorial Day Weekend event at the Allentown fairgrounds. All weekend long from the 25th to the 28th we will be there networking and spreading the word.

We’re in contact with 6 other events this summer to possibly attend with a booth/display. If you know of an event we should go to, let us know! Our Schedule has the events that we plan on attending.

BUILD UPDATES!

Ah but this is what you’re really here for isn’t it? How much closer are we to the final engineering product? Much closer!

Turret:

Work on the turret has been steady and encouraging. While some parts have been difficult to accurately dimension, overall I think the faithfulness to the original is pretty close. While none of the internal parts are made up, what you see below is an accurate 3D representation of the externals of the turret.

We’ve also neared completion on the turret drive. A few details to be worked out but as it stands, the turret will turn 4 degrees per turn of the handle. The design allows for the drive to disconnect from the turret ring to freely rotate the turret if need be.

Of course, it wasn’t always easy. Learning the 3D modelling is fun, but every now and again we run into problems. Often we turn to Beckett, the lead engineer, to help solve them. Shoutout to him for having the patience to put up with the rest of us.

Armor Plates

Armor plates have come a long way! While the internal framing is not yet created, having the armor plates will allow us to do so easily and quickly. See below what the hulking Panzer looks like stripped of anything useful! Even this image is already outdated, with rivet holes having been added to the engine hatches and rear topside as of this writing.

Of course, even now the above image is outdated. Here we see Beckett working on the drivers viewports.

Running Gear

Because of the large amount of calculations and bearing requirements of the running gear, what we have to show isn’t so much on paper as it is in design. We’ve received help from a kind fellow overseas who gave us detailed images of the swingarms and suspension collars. Many thanks to you sir!

If you have any images of the tank or its parts, let us know!

We do also have a 3D file of the roadwheels, as you’ll see below. It’s beginning to look sort of actually like a maybe tank?

Final Drive

The calculations for the final drive are nearing completion, but as with any engineering project, the closer we get to completion the more there is to do.

AS IT STANDS:

Below is the whole shebang as we have it. We’re working on a 3D viewer to put on the website but are having trouble with it, we’ll let you know when it’s up.

Other News

Seth is working on finding land for us to put this whole project on. He’s agreed to head up that entire wing of the project, allowing us to focus on the tank itself. A huge thank you to Seth, and welcome to the team!

We’re 1 step closer to a steel and iron foundry willing to help us with steel and iron castings. Details to come as we get them.

Over on the Test and Test2 pages you can see us mucking about with 3D viewer plugins. Still having trouble with creating a .mtl file that shows up nicely. I like the first viewer’s smoothness but the second has the color better matched to the .mtl files. Well that’s something I’ll have to mess around with for a while.

All in all, we’ve made a lot of progress, connections, and friends. We look forward to moving forward on the project, stay tuned for the next update!

-T.ankmann