Dwarves in Tanks part four

Dwarves in Tanks 4

The Dwarves are not the only race to have seen the possibilities of the armoured wagon. In this installment I have detailed the attempts of the Ostarian’s to develop their own PanzerWagons!

DampfPanzerWagon IV (Red Terror/Red Terrier)
DPW IV is not a steam-engined machine, but a steam powered machine using a steam reservoir that has to be filled periodically. As such it is better described as a steam powered tractor. DPW IV is also unique in that it was designed and built by an Ostarian farm engineer who had requested a larger straw bailer belt to be built by his local blacksmith. The finished item was much too larger for his needs and so, using a second-hand compressed air reservoir, a single cylinder engine and the surplus straw belts he built a steam tractor.

Later the tractor was ‘liberated’ by the famous Baron Von Rotte who, firstly increased the steam reservoir, then fitted a modified air rifle and finally (as with all things Von Rotte) he painted the whole thing red!

Special rules
1 Major advantage in cross country ability
2 Major disadvantage with limited endurance and not having it’s own boiler but reliant on ‘topping up’ from another steam engine.
3 Cross county ability +1 inch over all obstructions and ignore any modifiers for ‘off road’
4 There are only a limited number of movement points available these should be diced for at the beginning of the game (3 x D6 + 6) or agreed with the scenario or umpire.
5 Slower than a wheeled vehicle – 2 inches per turn (made up for with the obstacle crossing ability).
6 Each time the air rifle gun is fired – 1 on the number of turns available (DPW IV used the same reservoir for the engine as the gun).
7 Very cramped – 1 for moral for both the crewmembers.

Construction
This is more of a conversion than construction. The initial model is a Disney Atlantis toy (a bridge layer tank) which I have widened with thick plastic card or mounting board. The cupola is a wheel from Games Workshop and the gun is a length of plastic straw, other detail is from the spare box with loads of additional rivet’s and panels.

I experimented with the painting of this Wagon and used a modified Kevin Dalimore figure painting technique rather than the usual vehicle painting method. I started with a rough over painting of dark brown/crimson and then over painted crimson and then dark red and finally blood red. The WWI markings were a simple method of decorating the hull and continuing with the ‘Red Baron theme.’