On the eve of the New Year, millions of players of the popular game World of Tanks are waiting for an important event - the "New Year Offensive". Every year, the developers come up with something new and try to present pleasant surprises to the "tankers": starting from the main character of the event, in the role of which is often a world celebrity (So, last year it was Chuck Norris, And this is Arnold Schwarzenegger), and ending with many awards, among which there are unique 3D styles for tanks. Basically it's styles., based on real design solutions, combined together as part of a certain idea of using the machine in the format “What, if?..». To bring them to life and in order to, so that the tanks look as believable as possible for their era, developers studied many historical documents. But there is one exception among these styles.. However, let's go in order.
"Fortune" for the Italian heavy tank Rinoceronte
The Rinoceronte tank never existed in metal. But that's what World of Tanks is famous for, what cars can be seen in it, that were created only on paper. So, thanks to the efforts of the development team, players will be able to learn, What would Rinoceronte look like?, whether it is put into series.
In the basic configuration, as it happens with the first series of cars, the tank had a rather ascetic appearance. Therefore, the 3D-style "Fortune" has become a kind of vision of the developers, what would Rinoceronte be like after some exploitation in the army or after participation in any armed conflict.
Since the Italian post-war school of tank building was inspired by the developments of the American and German tank industries, then in the "body kit" it was decided to focus on them.
In order to give more relief to the frontal part, eye-loops were added for hanging various engineering equipment (buckets, mine trawls, etc.. d.). Screens have been replaced, like BMP "Bradley". Here, the developers were guided rather by aesthetic considerations., since they do not have clear advantages over regular ones. And here is the stowage of the water canisters and the protective cover in place, where the barrel rolls back into the mask, can be called a vital improvement. After all, as is known, water is life, and it is not always available or drinkable in a combat area. In its turn, casing increases the likelihood, that the rollback will occur normally and the gun will not fail at the right time.
So that the crew can fight in the dark, a German-made IR illuminator was installed on the machine. Besides, it was decided to equip the tank with a light machine gun on a movable pivot mount, since nothing of the kind was provided for constructively. In reality, tankers, likely, would do something similar.
The number of smoke grenade launchers has been increased in line with global trends. Because Rinoceronte is an Italian car, then she could fight in mountainous terrain, in places with limited terrain, as well as in winter. In this regard, the developers have added the laying of lugs, similar to those, what was used on Leopard tanks.
The most striking element of this style was the twin installation of the TOW ATGM on a rising platform.. Such developments were carried out in the USA. The purpose of its appearance was not only to double the firepower, but also allow the gunner to fire from behind cover and terrain, leaving your equipment out of sight of the enemy. A tripod has also been added., which is used to fire ATGMs outside the vehicle. All tanks, which were developed during the Cold War, one way or another they had anti-nuclear defense systems. They did not bypass this topic when creating a style for Rinoceronte, so the machine also received a filtering unit.
As is known, the tank is not the most spacious equipment inside. But each member of the crew has both a personnel, and personal property. Plus rations, additional equipment, ammunition, Trophy, finally. it happens, designers forget about it, and the tankers already have to improvise on the ground. During the Second World War, tanks did not have regular boxes and baskets for this.. An exception, perhaps, german cars, but their crews had to order additional baskets and "trunks" in the repair parts. That's why they sometimes looked like a non-combat vehicle, a moving truck. Rinoceronte was fitted with a turret basket. But, because part of the basket was occupied by the filter unit, a folding and removable trunk was also added to the stern of the hull, similar to those, what was used on the BMP M113 in the Bundeswehr.
maybe, not the most noticeable, but the “anti-slip” strips became a very necessary element of Rinoceronte. After all, in the base the tank had a lot of smooth surfaces, what could cause injury to the crew. In, to reduce the chance of them, and the task of such bands was.
Hurikan style for the Czechoslovak heavy tank VZ-55
Vz. 55 - it was a draft design of a heavy tank, created in the late 1950s - early 1960s on the basis of Soviet and Czechoslovak developments. Later, the development of the tank was curtailed, but World of Tanks decided to recreate this car, and especially for the "New Year's offensive" "dress" it in a 3D style.
The developers of the game initially set a goal to create a modernized tank based on Vz. 55, and modernized as in the factory, and, perhaps, already in the army. planned, that it will be a car, visited the exercises of the armies of the countries participating in the Warsaw Pact in the 1960s. Initially, no specialization was planned for the car., but in the process of creative work on the style, she was born by herself. Vz. 55 got my idea, a legend and a unique distinctive detail - a mortar mount at the rear of the turret. In this way, it's not just a tank, a, if anything, "artillery support tank" or "mortar tank". For machine specialization, among other things, indicates a large emblem of the artillery troops of the Czechoslovak People's Army (crossed gun barrels), placed on boxes with ammunition on the sides of the tower.
Of the most expressive features, which were upgraded in the tank, the following can be noted.
Speaking of the body, then the machine, like the modernized Czechoslovak T-55 tank, got the opportunity to use mine trawls thanks to the bongs welded onto the front plates of the hull for their fastening. A dirt breaker appeared on the upper front sheet (wooden plank) by analogy with the T-54A tank. Anti-cumulative rubber-fabric screens were installed along the sides, covering the undercarriage, which were modeled after real screens of the Czechoslovak T-55AM2 tank. A self-pulling log appeared at the stern, on the fenders - additional tanks for fuel and oil. There is a cable on the roof of the engine compartment, which the crew could pick up somewhere for various needs - after all, cables are not superfluous. Spare parts boxes can now be seen on the fenders, tools and accessories, as evidenced by the inscriptions in Czech.
As for the tower, then here the gun barrel was equipped with a thermal jacket, similar to the same, like the cannon of the Czechoslovak T-55AM2 tank. A laser rangefinder was attached to the movable armor of the gun., modeled after the rangefinder of the Czechoslovak T-55AM1 tank, and the reservation itself was equipped with a cover. Smoke grenade launchers were placed along the sides of the tower - this is a Soviet system 902 "Fight", which was installed on the Czechoslovak T-55AM2 tanks. And closer to the stern appeared steel boxes, in which the ammunition was placed, designed for 120 mm mortar.
At the stern of the tower, an unparalleled platform was made and a Czechoslovak 120-mm mortar installation was mounted..
Besides, the emblem of the army of Czechoslovakia was applied to the cover of the infrared searchlight, used, as you can see in archival photos, in the 1960s on real machines.
characteristically, that the equipment of the Czechoslovak army, unlike the technology of other ATS countries in exercises, usually, was camouflage. In this regard, the developers decided to “dress” the tank in real Czechoslovak camouflage of the 1960s..
Style "Salamander" for the American light tank XM551 Sheridan
The main task, which was solved when creating the Salamander style, - adjust the car, designed for paratroopers, under the requirements of the Marine Corps. For greater seaworthiness, telescopic waterproof skirts were added to the sides and stern. (similar to M551 Sheridan). Also on the sides and on the forehead of the hull appeared brackets for attaching property (by analogy with the LAV-25 machine). But the telescopic exhaust pipe is gone, instead, a standard snorkel for tanks of the Marine Corps was used.
For the property of the crew, baskets were introduced at the stern of the turret and hull, the same, as on M551 Sheridan, used in Vietnam. The turret of the tank acquired XM176 grenade launchers - similar met on the M551 Sheridan until the 1980s. Besides, the tank was equipped with a twin installation of heavy machine guns M2 - as they say, an American tank without a “spark” of Brownings is not just not American, not a tank at all. finally, the car was "loaded" with standard things: barbed wire, spare impeller and tracks, life jackets, canisters, ammo boxes, spare barrel for a machine gun, thermoses for food, twists and a driver's tool bag.
Style "Saiga" for heavy Soviet tank ST-II
As planned by the developers, "Saiga" style is a factory upgrade of the standard ST-II, which was used to clear mines and make passages in minefields. So, can see, that on the VLD of the machine there are details for attaching mine trawls, and the trawls themselves were removed. On the sides of the hull housed two broadband mine detectors. But the main feature of the machine is the experimental demining system UR-88 "Oboe", located on the sides and stern of the tower. It allows you to spray explosives from special tanks., which is then detonated by a detonator charge. As a result of the explosion from mines, you can clear the area up to 80 square meters. In this way, this modification can be called a sapper tank or a breakthrough tank, who specializes in passing minefields.
Besides, on the car you can see the anti-radiation bulge on the turret and the standard elements of the body kit and additional weapons, such as a log for pulling a tank out of viscous soil, machine gun on the roof of the tower, camouflage net, chanting tool. A 120 mm mortar was placed at the stern. apparently, it was transported on a tank due to the fact that the mortars attached to the tank did not have their own vehicle.
Thunder Child style for the British FV Tank Destroyer 4005
This is the only "fantasy" style, present in our review, which players will be able to get during the "New Year's offensive - 2022". There are no references to FV machines in it. 4005, or similar equipment, installed on other equipment, or some other features of equipping military equipment during the Second World War. This style was inspired by a completely different period of history.: Victorian era of the second half - the end of the XIX century, its features and characteristics.
Ideas for a number of elements, including the nose figure concept, chased emblem and motto on the side of the FV turret 4005, were borrowed from battle armored ships of the Royal Navy of Great Britain of that period (as well as other countries - USA, France, Russian and German empires). The "ancestors" of modern machine guns were also taken from there.: multi-barreled self-loading systems with a mechanical principle of reloading, which, with a small caliber, were called "mitrailleuses" or "card cases", and with a caliber from 37 millimeters and above - "revolving guns".
The developers managed to draw a lot of ideas from the study of trackless steam locomotives - locomobiles, which were widely used in transport before the mass distribution of internal combustion engines. One of the hallmarks of the Victorian era was the impressive advances in communications., and therefore it was also impossible to do without the characteristic attributes of early radio communications when creating a style - the antenna became such an element, which was installed on early Swedish tanks.
Placed on the tower as a kind of "hunting trophies" revolver rifle and saber also had very real prototypes. At the same time, it is worth noting, that small elements in the form of lanterns located on the stern of the tower and fenders, keys, containers and tools, for the most part, had real prototypes and were associated with the maintenance of steam engines, locomotives and locomotives, as well as the systems used on them - such as coal furnaces, steam lines and pneumatic actuators.
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In this way, new 3D styles to add to the collection of believable styles, designed for many tanks in World of Tanks. And it is the participants of the "New Year Offensive - 2022" who will be able to become their first owners.
Author:Wargaming
