[WIP] US M6 Heavy Tank Series [3d max files etc included]

[RyanCrierie]

Trying this out, even though I don't have PC:K yet, or for quite a while now. This is just an experiment to see if I can make something that can be exported into PZ:K easily.

[Stridor]

Looks like the start of something interesting Ryan.

What are you modeling in?

How will you test if you can import it into PCK without PCK [;)]?

Cheers

S.

[RyanCrierie]

3DS Max.

Well, I can give the X file to someone. [:'(]




Current Status. About 3,300 polys, of which 1,664 are for the running gear. I need to look into reducing them.

[Marc von Martial]

If you don't do any LOD models then we advice to keep the polycount around 1200 - 1500. You can save at the gun mantlet and gun too [;)]

[PDiFolco]

Is that a tank that really existed ? It doesn't remind me of anything I know...

[Bil H]

The M6 series of heavy tanks never went into production... not sure how much use this vehicle would get from scenario designers.
 
Bil

[RyanCrierie]

The M6 series of heavy tanks never went into production...

Actually, it did. 40 units were built (which is about 2-3 times more than Sturmtiger).

The original plan was to build about 230~ M6s for the US Army and for US allies; production began in Dec 1942. Of course, the US lost interest in heavy tanks shortly afterwards, and the production line was spun down and terminated.

[Mobius]

ORIGINAL: Bil H
The M6 series of heavy tanks never went into production... not sure how much use this vehicle would get from scenario designers.

Not fulll production. They produced a number for tests and evaluations.
8 M6, 12 M6A1 and 20 T1E1.
They might have shipped some of them to ETO but they felt that two 30 ton tanks were better use of shipping than one 60 ton tank with only slightly better armor.

[Stridor]

Still,

What if scenarios can be fun. I am sure with time we are going to see some Maus action as well.

[RyanCrierie]

Some texture work has been done

[RyanCrierie]

Current Progress

EDIT: Setting this up is going to be tricky; it's got a 3" main gun, a 37mm Coaxial with 200~ rounds, and a .30 caliber machine gun all in the turret.

I think there was also a twin hull mounted machine gun. [X(]

[Mobius]

To save polys the faces in the wheels should be of a round object within a transparent box. All round things like that can be worked in similar fashion like the ends of gun barrels.

The skin is a .dds file.

[PDiFolco]

Mmm, the US reinvented the B-1 Bis in 1942 ? Who needs that ? [:'(][:D]

[RyanCrierie]

Some more work has been done...

[Stridor]

I will be very interested to see how this turns out.

[Mraah]

Very nice Ryan! How many polygons so far?

I like the color coding ... makes it easier to see the different parts.

Rob

[RyanCrierie]

3,860 polys so far.

[RyanCrierie]

Okay, I'll be making three versions of the M6

M6A2 Meade: Mid-production version; with stupid twin .50 mount in front deleted, and a new cast mantlet; basically; it's what a mid production version would have looked like; just look at the very first Shermans built, then compare them to what actually saw combat.)

M6A3 Meade: As M6A2, but with a 90mm gun replacing the 3" gun. Possibly the 37mm is deleted, since by then, the 90mm has a sufficiently large HE shell to make removing the 37mm possible.

M6A4 Meade: The planned 105mm "assault" version that was briefly proposed in the summer of 1944 in real life.

[Mobius]

The tank data might look something like this.

<armouredunit type="M6" side="USA" mass="57000" size="1" stun="-1" speed="130/215"
turretrotation="RF" month="10" year="42" points="55" movetype="4">
<locations>
<location position="13" location="Cupola" front="10r" side="10r" rear="10r"/>
<location position="12" location="Top Deck" front="4" side="4" rear="4"/>
<location position="11" location="Top Turret" front="4" side="4" rear="4"/>
<location position="10" location="Turret" front="10r" side="8" rear="8"/>
<location position="9" location="Turret" front="10" side="8" rear="8"/>
<location position="8" location="Turret" front="8" side="8" rear="8"/>
<location position="7" location="Hull" front="10" side="5" rear="7"/>
<location position="6" location="Hull" front="8/9" side="5" rear="7"/>
<location position="5" location="Hull" front="10/14u" side="5" rear="7"/>
<location position="4" location="Track" front="4" side="4^9" rear="4"/>
<location position="3" location="Hull" front="10r" side="5" rear="7"/>
<location position="2" location="Hull" front="10u" side="5" rear="7"/>
<location position="1" location="Track" front="4" side="4" rear="4"/>
</locations>
<guns>
<gun gunid="76mm M7" rof="8" location="Turret"/>
<gun gunid="37mm M6" rof="9" location="Turret"/>
<gun gunid="2x DT 7.62mm" rof="11" location="Hull"/>

[RyanCrierie]

Current Status; just added the cupola, etc etc