Project Landship Incipit!

This year is the 20th Blogiversary of Yours in a White Wine Sauce. Admitedly enthusiasm has waxed and waned over the years but... we're still here! 

To mark the 20 year milestone I'm getting after two long deferred projects. And so the first begins:

Long have I hankered to have my own steam powered Landship.  Affectionados might remember my contributions at 1/1200 scale in co-authoring the "Land Ironclads" rules (published 2008 by Wessex Games) but I want one at 28mm scale to fit our Space 1889 projects, amongst others. 

Well the time is nigh. At least it feels like it might be.

Good enough anyway.

Rather than build entirely from scratch, I'm using a plastic toy as a solid basis and converting it. I got this Hasbro 1988 GI Joe "Cobra Imp" for US$8 off ebay as it was missing the rockets, which I didn't want anyway. 

Side view of the excellent tracks

Front view: A very Warship like armoured prow

Rather than turn it into a turreted, heavily armed monster (which would kinds be embarrassing, and early steam landships should be a bit rubbish really), I'm thinking that a protected cruiser feel to move troops in relative safety would be more useful on the plains of Mars (and jungles of Venus) and for trade caravan protection. Some thoughts at project start (for comparison at the end) include:

• modestly sized main weapon (like 4inch) forward, probably mounted internally so the gun crew are protected 
• a number of smaller anti-personnel weapons (maybe with mealie bags around them?) to cover different angles
• Smoke stacks are a must, obviously (vertical, probably two)
• If space permits, masts fore and aft with a wireless aerial strung between them (and guy wires to keep them aloft). Double use on one for the Flag/Ensign (maybe a semaphore signal?)
• The two small platforms at the back could be reshaped for disembarking troops (like the back ramp on an APC). maybe I can build those up so they look like proper access hatches. Or perhaps make one an access way and turn the other into a gatling (or similar) mount so it has an asymmetric look
• The tracks are big areas, need to make the most of those, even if its just putting some mesh on them to keep native fauna out of the delicat egearing mechanism.
• a porthole/scuttle or two to break up the big, slab sides and give it a 'ship feel'
• to reinforce the ship theme, a searchlight
• and rivets of course! Lots of rivets!

And all that said, I'm know I've well overestimated how much space on the there is to execute all of these changes!

PS Is it just me or would this also work well being built in reverse, with this end as the front, a gun platform on top of the 'engine bay' and the Bridge being built at the back? Maybe I need a second one to try this...

Rear View: These are the steps that may become embarked troop exits

After so many years of procrastination, I'm going to employ the "don't let perfect be the enemy of good enough" principle (which I am quite prone to) and see how we go. This type of project is a first for me: I'm not a novice hobbyist but this is a step change, and to up the degree of difficulty my bitz box currently resides in another hemisphere. Anyway, its a start and posting here will keep me focused on providing periodic updates.

Top view - great moulded detail in the engine bay to turn into a boiler

Suggestions always welcome! Maybe I should do a competition, and the best advice gets to name her! (derivatives of Boaty McBoatface are inadmissible!)

Inspiration

Got my idea for the initil model from Gisby's Gaming Blog here:

https://gisby.wordpress.com/2015/07/26/space-1889-a-german-landship/

and then also found it here at the long lamented Major General Tremorden Rederring's Colonial-era Wargames Page, where he wrote:

An ideal  candidate  for a future  heavy landship. This plastic toy tank David picked up at a second-hand shop is from the GI Joe action figure line. It is purple with an image of a cobra on the front, so presumably it belongs to Pvt. Joe's enemies. Originally it carried a missile launcher. The top view shows the interior detail. A large stack projecting through a roof grating made from needlepoint canvas, would turn it into a very convincing boiler room. A foamcore floor would convert the front opening to a capacious machine-gun station. A few gunports in the front of the shield, a bit of paint, and a big Imperial German War Ensign fluttering from a staff would complete the project. It's a landship builder's dream.

Since buying my Imp for conversion, I found this on Bill's GASLIGHT page:

I have just done my first conversion of the GI Joe Cobra Imp into a Prussian Landship for GASLIGHT or any other Victorian Sci Fi game. Lots of work that is unseen but its still a very nice conversion that looks fantastic. I did not alter the basic shape much but there is a wealth of details added to give the proper affect. See if you can spot the differences between the Stock model and my finished "Landship" 

https://historicalhobbies.com/DOGS/main/Gaslight/Prussian%20Landship.htm

The "engine bay" looks like it has been converted into a "fighting compartment" with a removable sun shade

You can see where Bill has also added some edging along the hull with rivets 

And of course the many wonderful insanities projects by Colonel O'Truth that I have followed have inspired over the years (I blame you too good Sir!)

https://colonelotruth.blogspot.com/