As we drive our tanks to the next assault, we do not flinch or fear the sound of paintball rounds breaking on the hull. Our gunners look for targets of opportunity. There is always that one player that attacks no matter how much they have been told to "stay low and let it pass". Instead, they give away their hiding places by shooting at us to no avail, putting their whole group in danger of extinction.
Do you want to strike fear in a tanker's heart? A tank driver hears a sidegunner yell, "Bazooka 10 o'clock!" Good tankers know that they have about seven seconds to deal with this issue. Either they eliminate the attacker or they are eliminated themselves.
Imagine a bazookaman on the left. Seeing a bazookaman with a five foot long anti-tank launcher will get the whole tank crew in a frenzy. The right sidegunner cannot see him. The main turretgunner is trying to turn to attack, while the left sidegunner is trying to get that one good shot out to take out the bazookaman.
All the while the tank commander yells, "Take him out! Take him out!"
Tankers fear bazookamen. It all boils down to the one good attack on a tank.
SAFETY Most paintball bazookas are made out of PVC, or out of iron pipe. Most of them utilize a chamber of air and a form of valve to release the air pressure, to push out what ever type of projectile it takes to eliminate what ever they are trying to attack. Some use a 12 gram CO2 cartridge and a small volumizer to create a high pressure blast to push out the projectile. Unfortunately, players make a mistake in choosing the fittings they use in building these launchers. They don't use fittings that are rated to withstand the pressures of the compressed gas or air. Will these under-rated fittings work? Usually, yes, but for how long?
What's the danger? A catastrophic failure of the fitting. I've seen three such happenings so far, and by inspections, we have most likely averted several others.
Because scenario paintball, with tanks and bazookas or other exotic launchers, is so popular these day, there are companies out there that have heard the cry for product. Unfortunately, the cry is so faint and the ability to make money from such a small crowd so limited, that manufacturers are dragging their heels about developing a cost efficient paintball anti-tank launcher. Fields and producers of big games and scenario games are letting everybody build their own anti-tank devices, with hardly anyone taking the time to inspect such devices. This makes things worse.
Most of the launchers I've seen or that have been reported to me will have pressure gauges. Some will have a 150 psi pop-off safety valve, and the ones built by smart designers have a regulated system that mechanically will not allow an overfill situation. Some other safety issues have come up occasionally: mechanical failure, players using a projectile that's not safe to use, players that trip and fall down while carrying the bazookas--these are just a few.
I am just one of a thousand players that come up with ideas. I am fortunate to produce a scenario game series where the rules are under my control. In my series, we use a target system on our tanks. In the front we use a 3" x 3" target. On the sides we use 5" x 5" targets. On the back of the tank we have a 7" x 7" target. These targets represent areas where a bazookaman with good aim has the ability to destroy a tank.
The toughest attack on a tank is from the front. That is why the front has the three inch square target. The back of the tank is the easiest target on many tanks (unless they have a reargunner), which is why the target system is largest in the back.
We have the targets designated blue and red. One is round and one is square. The reason we use round and square targets is to help out our colorblind players. The actual target design is a two circle bull's eye. When you hit the target, you score a tank kill.
Our bazookas are mocked up paintball markers, to scale with the bazookas used by the military of the era in the scenario game. My scenario games in the Tour of Duty series are World War II based, and there's plenty of good information about the anti-tank bazookas of that era on the web and in books.
By using markers as the base for bazookas, players can build their own systems using basic pump markers, or less expensive semi-autos. This keeps costs down for the players and tankers alike. More range, accuracy, and cheaper. Does that sound like a bad thing? If you are shooting a tank and miss and your shot hits a player, it doesn't matter--the shot was just another paintball, with the same chrony speed limits as all the other markers. This gives the insurance people less of a reason to pick on the fields and promoters.
A final thought. Just because today's bazookas can be home-built one at a time does not mean companies should ignore this market. We would like to see commercially made anti-tank launchers at the scenario games. Tanks and bazookas add excitement to scenario games, and we need all the support possible to help our sport grow.
Bill Bailey welcomes questions about paintball tanks and exotic launchers; email bill@woodlandwarriors.com. Tour of Duty 2005 Feb. 5-6. Siege of Stalingrad. Triple X Paintball, Osage Beach, Missouri.
March 5-6. Pegasus Bridge. DFW Adventure Park, Flower Mound, Texas.
April 2-3. Panzer Attack. Bailey's Battlefield, Niangua, Missouri.
May 14-15. Monte Casino. Paintball To Go, Roodhouse, Illinois.
Aug. 6-7. Battle of Bocage. Hidden Valley Paintball, Ettrick, Wisconsin.
Aug. 27-28. Iwo Jima. Foxhole Paintball, Frazee, Minnesota.
Oct. 1-2. Battle of the Bulge. PaintGamesPlus North, Holden, Missouri.
Nov. 5-6. Battle for Berlin. Battle Creek Paintball, Kingdom City, Missouri.
Additional dates and locations TBA at www.woodlandwarriors.com
