Rezna P.II

See Build Log.

This began as a competition among my local hobby shop friends to build and complete a model in a little over a month. The model was the old Tamiya Panzer II, which was just a really dated kit...but was easy to build and had few parts. The rules were to use only what was “in the box”. I took this a bit far by kit-bashing the old kit into my own version of a panzer hovertank.

I had to cut off a lot of molded on detail to build this guy, as all of the suspension bars and bits were molded on the sides. After that, I began designing it by flipping the tank around and using the back as the new front. The turret was offset a bit, and I sprayed the plastic parts bag light green to create the windows. The spare track provided a dust catch on top, while I added the canteens to the side to act as dust blowers. The idlers provided nice engine turbines with center tips dremeled from sprue. I used the plastic caps and return rollers to create 3 fuel tanks, which are held in place by strips of the box cardboard. The MP40s act as actuators for the air flaps, and the suspension bars were refitted to create a repulsorlift-look, e.g., Star Wars. I used the ammo drums and the vinyl track to create a feed belt for the main turret. Finally, I used the 2 staples in the box as a bar near the turret and as the two grab-handles on the side.

Painting wasn’t that hard, but the masking of the individual stripes was. After that, I did a moderate amount of weathering including scrapes, lifted paint, dust, and the metallic look to the engines/turret.

The decals were from the kit but were cut down to create an “alternate history” look. Finally, I decided on the name Rezna P.II, which is Panzer spelled backwards. And yes, I’m probably going to do many more “Reznas” in the future.

I’ve always liked alternative history vehicles, so I kinda went that route with this one. In my mind, the Rezna P.II is a medium scout/support panzer hovertank with a high speed but is slow to turn. The main cannon can take out most targets, while the pilot controls the side MG for lightly-armored targets in front. Because of the speed and dusty environments, the Rezna P.II has a dust filtration and extraction systems that pull dust out of the air intake and dumps it out the side.