Trifecta MK Three

Here it is - the final word in armoured over-the-topness.

This is where all my love and effort goes. The first two Trifectas were mere stepping stones to this point.

Quite a number of changes in this version. Not just the sleeker look, the guns have been upgraded to railguns (so they no longer need muzzle brakes) and the turret has been shifted to the rear of the chassis. This means the crew now operate from the rear, which has necessitated a few more alterations. The engine has been relocated to the middle of the chassis, which separates the driver from the rest of the crew and means communication can only be achieved via radio. I wasn't keen on this - it felt like too much of a flaw. If the electrics failed (ie through battle damage), then the driver and commander would not be able to communicate with each other and would not be able to fall back on something like shouting directly at each other, as there is now a noisy engine in the way. However while re-reading over one of my books on artillery, I found that there are vehicles that use radio between driver and commander, so my concerns were at ease since this occurs in real life. Having the crew at the back did also mean the rear armour would need to be increased for added protection. This would add weight and potentially affect the performance, but since this is a cartoon, I'm ignoring it completely.
The side skirts were not only another means of increasing the armour, but helps to make the MK III look more like an armoured beast (in my opinion) and also saves me from having to draw the damned wheels.
The addition of the 50 cal machine gun (on the turret's right hand side) was something I only added during when I drew these images. Figured I may as well up-gun the MK III a little more. Oh, and that thing on the back of the turret? I have no idea what it is. I added it because it helped to add detail, but have not thought about any kind of functionality. The best I can think of is a stowage compartment, but it's placement makes it difficult to easily access.

In other news, I have scored myself a new animation job, starting next week. So you know what that means - my blog's going to get neglected again! However I'm not going to let things get as bad as it did last time. It just means I may not be updating my blog as frequently for a while. We'll see how things go.