Modelling Marv Heemeyers makeshift tank. Can anyone find detailed pictures?

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

Basically, after having his life ruined by local politicians and news media, Marv spent 7 months and refit his Caterpillar D9 with armor plate, and concrete, and turned it into an indestructible makeshift tank. He then got inside it, welded the door shut, and started a 3 hour rampage where he bulldozed all the companies that had ruined him. Mainly, the local news station, and a cement plant that had gone up, among large controversy, right next to his property.

The media hyped this up, saying that he had 50 caliber weapons, multiple rifles, had been shooting at propane tanks trying to blow up the entire city, and that he was an insane madman bent on killing people. Mostly lies, his tank was unarmed, and was meant purely for destroying the buildings of the people who had ruined him. You see pictures of cops walking alongside the tank as its buldozing buildings. If Marv had guns, I dont think they’d be strolling around it. I believe he did have one gun, which he used to kill himself when he got stuck in a hole, but actual factual information seems to be lacking.

Not something I’d reccomend, and I do not want to get into whether he was a modern day hero, but I think his vehicle exhibits a fascinating opportunity for modelling.

His tank will be destroyed soon. I think its imperative that we find as many pictures as we can of this vehicle. It would be an amazing modelling project.

For instance, these are the only pictures I can find of the tank…

http://www.jwz.org/images/bulldozer_e.jpg
http://www.jwz.org/images/mn_bulldozerrampageny116.jpg
http://www.curiousstranger.org/yankee/images/dozer.jpg

Can anyone find good reference pictures of this vehicle?

-Ben.

P.S. Want to read more about the controversy, and all of that?
http://newmedia.colorado.edu/cpa/online/nn/pages/1029.html
http://www.geocities.com/northstarzone/BULLDOZER.html
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1149377/posts

2

Choice idea! First start with 'AMT/ERTL’s bulldozer kit in 1:25. Then use the pictures you already found. The best part of not finding more detailed photos of the subject is that probably no one else will either. [:-,]

3

Ha! That’s a good idea!

I suppose modifying an existing Caterpillar D9 kit into this Vengeance Dozer wouldn’t be too hard. But in AFV modelling, its the details that count. To this day, I cant find definitive information on whether it had gun ports for rifles in it, or even a good view of it. I havent found a single good picture of it. I am assuming there are crime scene photos, and hordes of photos of the vehicle after it was hauled off to some wearhouse, but they have yet to surface. Thats why I posted here.

-Ben.

4

Good point.

and a few other things…

  • It looks closer to a D8 or D7

  • Those [your links] are pretty good pictures to start with anyway, even “Tami Ya” wrote in his book that some of their armor subjects as well as cars are some fact and a lot of logical engineering [not in those exact words]. And subject were purposely changed to look ‘right’ as a scale model.

  • He was a welder and welders I know don’t like to use nuts and bolts.

But it’s not like i have any material examples to show.


Anyway, go for it.

5

Here’s a good profile of the dozer.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5139598/

6

hahaha… hmmm… sorry guys, but this guy is just too genious for society’s own good! Most people just think to steal some kind of AFV and go nuts, this guy built his own and welded himself in there! Kudos to him to be honest![8-]

7

wow thats just wild, I must have missed the news that day! thanks for posting!

8

Reconstruction in Granby, Colorado after armored bulldozer incident.

" Following the June 4, 2004 armored bulldozer incident in Granby, Colorado, Mountain Parks Electric was faced with a gaping hole in the headquarters . . . "

http://www.mpei.com/new-defaulthdqreconstruction.htm

9

Man, what an interesting, and crazy story. Thanks for sharing. (learns something new every day…)