![]() ![]() Finally, it was time to tweak the camera for precise targeting of the paintball gun and the tank was ready to roll.Īs a bonus side project, he modified a flatbed trailer to transport the mini tank, building some ramps and a nice manual winch to load and unload the tank. His idea of using a projector to trace out the logo on the side of the tank turret is pretty brilliant. He then disassembled the whole vehicle for cleaning, degreasing, painting and pop riveted the aluminum chequer plate paneling. Finally, he added a couple of idler support wheels to prevent the tank tracks from sagging. He also swapped the soft, short suspension springs with stiffer, longer ones to prevent the tank from bottoming out due to its weight. He had to replace a misplaced immobilizer and a faulty injector before the tank could be rolled out for its first test drive. It’s amazing to see the amount of hard work he puts in to fabricate the tracks. The tracks are painstakingly fabricated using steel C-channel pieces, lengths of bar stock, and steel cable rubber conveyor belting pieces, all bolted together. Unfortunately, a visit there does not yield any periscopes as he anticipated, so custom fabricates six periscopes using polycarbonate sheets and glass mirror pieces. We have to envy a hacker who has a battle tank scrapyard in his neighborhood. Next part of his build focuses on the rotating turret, mounting and articulation of the paintball gun and attaching the camera and LCD screen for targeting. He fabricated the drive wheel sprockets from bar stock. The track drive wheel assembly and tensioning system is nothing short of artwork. ![]() Each of the twelve non-drive wheels, six on each side, have independent spring suspension. The two clutches are actuated using left and right foot pedals and an elaborate system of rigid levers and flexible rod ends. He added a pair of clutches on each wheel to allow differential steering, as well as a pair of disk brakes. The scooter engine connects to the rear differential via a chain drive. The tank chassis is progressively built up by welding a series of square section steel pipe frames. Even so, the build is not without a few hiccups along the way, such as broken drills and bent axle shafts that required rework. has a lot of experience, and a well equipped workshop with all the right kind of tools to pull off this project. We guess it’s the right amount of gearing for the win. Looking at the final build, and the amount of metal used, we are left wondering how the puny 22 hp engine manages to drive the tank. The scooter gave up its engine, electricals and the instrument cluster before being scrapped. managed to get an old Piaggio scooter with a 250cc / 22 hp engine. It went to the scrap heap after donating its rear transmission and axle. ![]() first tried reviving an old ATV engine, but it did nothing more than sputter and die. The tank features metal tracks, differential steering, a rotating turret, periscopes and a functional paintball gun with camera targeting.īuilding a tank, even if it’s a mini replica, needs an engine with a decent amount of torque. But it’s so much fun driving that beast around that we suspect Dad is going to be piloting it a lot more than the kid. is one of those super hacker Dads who built a frickin’ Tank for his son (video, embedded below.). Sooner or later, their kids get to play with some amazing toy that every other kid on the block is jealous of. We gotta love hacker Dads and Moms for being so awesome. ![]()
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