US 'Truman Bobcat' from Battlezone

3dprinting videogames airbrushing painting bzpgen3

Here's something a little different.

It's the tank that everyone associates with the Battlezone remake that was never actually seen in the final game - the 'Truman Bobcat'. This tank adorns the promotional material (and installer splash) of the original game, but was replaced by the Grizzly by the time the game went final. There are some pictures out there of early beta-versions of the model in game, but good references are pretty sparse.

This tank is part of my third generation of Battlezone prints, specifically the 80mm range, which you can read about in more detail here. The design is based on concept art, as well as various posters and pictures that showcased the Truman Bobcat.

Let's take a quick look at the initial print:

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Next step - painting

It successfully printed and I'm pretty happy with the details so I'm posting a WIP here and the model to my MyMiniFactory profile. I'll hopefully get around to painting this unit soon and post some more pictures.

Thoughs on the design

I'm really satisfied with the level of detailing on this model. However, similar to the tug, some parts might be slightly too small for the 80mm scale. While everything printed fine, I feel that certain areas could benefit from some reinforcement. Additionally, I improvised some greebles in certain places, but I'm still not entirely sure if I'm completely happy with them. As mentioned earlier, finding good references for the original model has been challenging, and the topology of the concept differs greatly from the rough 3D model used in promotional art.

Originally I had also stayed very faithful to the topology of the big, Battlezone box-art:

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However, I had some reservations about the side of the tank. Upon closer inspection, the promo mesh doesn't hold up well. It has a low polygon count and "organic" shapes that don't quite align with the Battlezone aesthetic. Moreover, the promotional artwork relied heavily on rough-looking UV and texture work to depict the details, which didn't translate effectively into a printable model requiring tangible 3D details.

To address this, I decided to keep the features that felt feasible and iconic and then incorporated some of the original concept art details. Finally I supplemented the model with greebles and mechanical components to enhance the overall level of detail.

Here's a look at how it came together in 3D Studio Max over the space of a day or two:

  • The US 'Truman Bobcat' unit
    The US Tug' unit
  • The US 'Truman Bobcat' unit
    The US 'Truman Bobcat' unit
  • The US 'Truman Bobcat' unit
    The US 'Truman Bobcat' unit
  • The US 'Truman Bobcat' unit
    The US Tug' unit

And here are some of the usual style promo-style-shots:

  • The US 'Truman Bobcat' unit
    The US Tug' unit
  • The US 'Truman Bobcat' unit
    The US 'Truman Bobcat' unit
  • The US 'Truman Bobcat' unit
    The US 'Truman Bobcat' unit
Print it yourself

You can find the STL for this model over in my MyMiniFactory page here if you want to try printing this yourself. There's a pre-arranged STL for printing off something quickly, or you can take each part of the STL and combine how you see fit.

Updates to this entry

May '23

An STL of the 'Truman Bobcat' has been added to my MyMiniFactory page. You can grab the STL from here.

The Battlezone Project


Part of the 'The Battlezone Project' series. A project to create action figures of each ship from Activision's 1998 Battlezone reboot.

Recommended articles

Here's a few articles I recommend if you're looking for things similar to this one.

US Grizzly from Battlezone

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Who I am

I'm Blake and I like to tinker with things and make stuff. When I'm not programming or developing random systems, I'm playing with electronics, doodling bits of art, 3D modelling or sculpting and painting things or nerding out watching sci-fi or horror TV.

From 2001 I worked in the games industry, eventually specialising in tools to aid in the development of video games and their engines. In 2011 I left the industry and teamed up with a few other talented composers to utilise my knowledge to help build the company 'Spitfire Audio'.

I also periodically compose soundtracks for video-games and have worked on titles such as The Stanley Parable and Portal Knights. You've probably also heard my music in random TV commercials at some point.

What I'm using to create

I use various bits and bobs to craft my shiz.

  • Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra, Mars 5 Ultra, Mars 4 Ultra,
  • 3x Mars 3 Pro backup printers for speed,
  • Elegoo ABS-like Resin 3.0,
  • Sunla Water-washable grey,
  • Elegoo Resin Space Grey 8k,
  • Phrozen Luna curing station,
  • Vallejo Model Color, Game Air, various sets,
  • Iwata Eclipse HP-CS & Studio Smart Jet Pro Compressor,
  • Random cheapo airbrushes for base coats,
  • 3D Studio Max, ZBrush and Chitubox Pro.