Hi gang,
Long time reader and builder, but this is the first time I’ve ever posted! So happy to be here and share what I’ve been up to.
I’m usually a prop replica kind of guy,but I started out as a movie kit builder. Cut my teeth on a Klingon Cruiser, then nabbed a Red October way back, and have been hooked ever since.
I’ve recently started heading back into the movie model realm, and have finally started work on one of my holy grails.
I’ve been working on and off on this one for about two years, and subsequently squaking about it for about 10 years, but never got around to it for real, as I kept getting held up on the notion that a tank could be that damn big in 1/35.
Luckily, I took a trip to WDW, HolIywood Studios in 2010, where the tank has been since the park opened, and was able to get up close and personal and get some solid measurements of of it. I converted it down, then started a mockup. It was BIG. I’ve been around ALOT of tanks, as I’m fascinated by them, and I have a few models of varying tanks in 1/35. As I worked from photos and screencaps, I kept getting held up by how big my mockups were becoming.
While the back story of this particular tank is well known (and completely rocks from a prop standpoint), what most don’t know is just HOW big it really is. More on it’s buildup history in a second.
The little Kubelwagon that gets blown of it is a farily good indicator of it’s size, but until you stand in front of it, you have no idea. It’s bigger than a Stuart, and even a Tiger. It’s even bigger than a WWI Mark II. I’m willing to think it would give a Warhammer tank a run for it’s money.
The midsecetion alone is 2 1/2 inches wide, and 11 inches long. Compare that to a 1/35 scale Tiger which is about 7 inches by 4 inches overall.
The height of the tank was something to behold, clocking in at 8 feet. Even the rivets had about an inch wide head on them. The treads are two feet wide, and are solid cast steel. Matter of fact, everything on the tank was metal, except for the portholes on the sides, those were cast resin and wood.
So again . .BIG
What was sad, is that ALL of the tools and gear had been striped off the tank, BUT I was able to discover ALOT of panels and bolts that aren’t seen in the final film. While they’ll be covered on the model too, I’ll still know they’re there. It was also cool to open the side door and crawl inside. The seat and dashboard is all there still, and I regret not getting a picture.
Here’s just a few pics from the “exploration”, but be forewarned . .they are graphic, as the tank is in a sad, sad state. She needed some love.
Recently, I discovered that she was sandblasted and repainted.
Indiana Jones and the Boneyard Tank | Parkeology
As for the props history, this has been recounted in a few different ways, most recently in The Complete Making of Indiana Jones
I’ll give you the short version.
They originally wanted a small French tank, but when mechanical effects director George Gibbs toured different museums and the like, the found the WWI tanks had the right look. They were big and ugly, and were large enough for stunts on the back. But none of the big WWI tanks were running anymore, let alone the fact that the one they wanted, the Mark 8 version, had only five tanks built before the war ended.
So this guys tells Speilberg, “I’m just gonna build one.”
And he did just that, out of solid one inch steel (thicker in some spots), making her over 40 feet long, and weighing in at 28 tons, with a top speed of 12 miles per hour.
Thats the tank you see in Disney World, along with a troop truck and the Citreon car that they did the tunnel stunt/plane effects with(the effects plane is rotting away in the waiting que to the stunt show).
A second tank was built, for all the stunt sequences you see on film, but it was just the top of the tank, and it rode on a truck frame/axle. It was on the backlot tour for the first few years of Hollywood Studios, but being made out of wood, disappeared quickly. Note the side gun ports sitting on top.
To spot this tank easily in the film, look for the rubber track, and the high walls along the engine bay.
Here’s a shot of it getting built.
So, long story shot, measurements in hand, I was finally able to tackle building this ‘steel beast.’
I began with the main body, then the side walls, and finally the turrets.
I was very pleased, but as I added details, more parts, and more primers, it all got too thick, and i wanted to change a few things.
So I redid the entire thing from scratch.
I’ve since moved onto casting the top turret, now that it’s been redone. What you’ll see here is a desert yellow main resin part, and grey resin add on bits.
This will give you an idea of how detailed we’re gonna get on this thing!
I’m working on the midsection at this point, and will be updating that as well!!
Hope you guys will enjoy this, and I’m looking forward to hanging out here!
If you’d like to see the build from the start, head over to The Replica Prop Forum or Resin Illuminati!
