The most humanly accurate work of military fiction I've read is the Hammer's Slammers series written by Vietnam veteran David Drake.
The series covers many aspects and types of war through the "vehicle" of a futuristic mercenary Armored Cavalry Regiment, patterned after the 11th ACR (Blackhorse) circa Vietnam, and the French Foreign Legion. It is science fiction but it is highly accurate in it's portrayal of war. Which stands to reason as the author is a veteran. I'd recommend any veteran read the series.
Drake described the tanks, but there were never any pictures of them. Some very good looking gaming models have been produced of the tanks, but as a tanker, to me, they left a little "'splaining to do." So I tried to build a model of a Slammers' tank based on David Drake's descriptions, filling in the "missing DNA" so to speak, with my own experience in tanks. My model is not exactly true to Drake's descriptions either, but it is what I saw in my mind when I read his work.
Drake often refers to the tanks as "panzers", and I know he crewed M48A3s in Vietnam. The model I'm making tries to combine the two. Sort of-If tanks could mate, this is what the progeny of a Panzer Mk IV and an M48 would look like.
This is a work in progress. At this point the construction is mostly complete, and the model is primered. Slammers' tanks are air cushion vehicles so you won't see any tracks!
The Author, David Drake.
The tank skirts (lower hull) and turret were scratchbuilt from an old tool box tray and an adjustable shower head. The details were added by "kitbashing" parts most notably from a Dragon Models E-100 Panzer and a Tamiya M3 Bradley CFV.
Hopefully updates will follow.
