Tanks for the Memories
Battle-damaged MOBAT

This is my first attempt at a real diorama. It's not going to win any awards at the Diorama-Rama, but it turned out pretty well. The idea started when my father gave me a surprise gift (or rather, re-gift) this past Christmas: the MOBAT I had when I was a kid, which had been sitting in his closet for who knows how long. So it was a Christmas gift to me in both 1983 and 2018. I was thinking about restoring it at first, but another customizer suggested that it should get to keep its hard-earned dirt, the wisdom of which was apparent, and that led to this diorama. First the tank got a coat of matte sealer, which means the dirt is part of the toy now. The base is made of plywood with a sand mat laid down on top and a little paint. Then it's just some accessories, and two custom figures to finish it – Steeler, who's getting ready to replace some bogey wheels on the damaged MOBAT, and an original character Ratchet, a Combat Recovery Mechanic who's giving some advice.

Tank – my original MOBAT from childhood
Bogey wheels – fodder MOBAT
Crates and gas can – Marauder Inc.
Bunny – random miniature plastic animals

Figures – Ratchet and Steeler (posted separately)

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Steeler
Tank Commander

This custom is inspired by issue #3 of the Marvel run, in which Steeler takes off his shirt to do some heavy lifting, telling Breaker about having to replace bogey wheels in the field. So when I was working on a battle-damaged MOBAT diorama, this idea sprung to mind. The design is very basic, but Steeler is ready to get down to work. Those bogey wheels don't replace themselves! He has a Thermos to emphasize his working-class background.

Head – Backstop
Arms – Big Boa
Torso – Armadillo
Waist, legs - Spearhead

Cap – Marauder Inc.
Tools – Techno-Viper
Thermos - fodder

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Ratchet
Combat Recovery Mechanic

File Name: Messick, Earle D.
Birthplace: Buffalo, NY
Service Branch: Army
Rank (Grade): SGT (E-5)
Primary MOS: Maintenance Supervisor
Secondary MOS: Tracked Vehicle Repairer

Ratchet's father was the best tool-and-die man in Buffalo. In his workbay he can make anything from a pin to a missile. He could repair any technology, given the right parts, and if the right parts weren't available, he could usually just fabricate them. A young Ratchet was always by his father's side in the shop, learning everything there is to know about machining and fabrication. He joined the Army for the college money, but when he discovered the kinds of challenges that vehicle and equipment mechanics can face in the field, the armed forces had his heart for good. Battle conditions often require them to improvise, and Ratchet loves to improvise. He can field-strip an engine in no time flat and scavenge spare parts to make a new one if he needs to.

“Ratchet always has a good time, in the field or at barracks. He likes to party, sometimes too much, and is prone to a bit of backtalk, but he does his job as well as anyone. He figures he's only getting one go-around, so he might as well enjoy it.”

Head – Barricade
Arms – Leatherneck v3
Torso – Red Star
Waist – Duke v3
Legs – Sgt. Stalker v5

Cap – Marauder Inc.
Backpack – Red Dog
Submachine gun – D-Day (Sgt. Savage)
Radio – fodder

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I like it. Its a great way to showcase something from your childhood and help preserve it.

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nice way to display it! could work for the scene here or a battle scene, even a post apocalypse scene with the right characters.

if you could find a calendar with big enough pics of different backgrounds you like it would help set the scene even more. I've also used pictures from large books for the same.

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Oh this is fantastic for so many reasons! First, to preserve something from your childhood like this, just as it was when last you played with it, is really something special. The figures are great and really work well in the diorama. And then there's the diorama -- I've said before that I'm just a sucker for dios. Seeing a collection that's just row after row of figure standing statically just doesn't do much for me but seeing a well thought out dio with just the right pieces and parts selection knocks me over and that's what you've done here. It's a relatively small setup based on the size of the board compared to the MOBAT, but the sense of expansiveness is definitely there. Great job.

Thanks everyone, I am quite happy with how it turned out, and being able to use an old toy liek this was great.

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I'm also kind of surprised Stranger didn't throw out a "Too soon" on the thread title, though .

Lovely!

Seeing that Steeler just makes me wonder... which one of us is going to make the Trojan Gambit Robot first?

Great figures, and that's a good save of the goofy Barricade head.

To me your figures really capture the imagination of the original ARAH line. Your paint skills are on par with the great figure builders like Oreo Builder and Matthew Lecroy.

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Shhhhhhhhhh...I have 2x First Appearance 6 inch Iron Man figures set aside for this very idea.

One to disassemble for the 'laid out on the exam table' look, and a second for the mobile one...

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This.

The figures in this thread reminded me of why the original ARAH line was so...life altering... at the time.

Good job on the tank and figs. Like the philosophy behind the work. Clever way of preservation.

Thank you. That's definitely why I got into customizing in the first place, to build on the feelings I remembered from the 80s. It's why I've never really gotten into modern figures, because they just don't have the same...I can't really figure out the word to use here exactly.

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