M60 Patton Tank

This is an m60 Patton tank that I modeled, textured, and rigged in Blender in 2019 for a short film with some friends; you can find the finished short film here: https://youtu.be/w7X2uYGK5aw

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I wanted to make a realistic rig for the treads and wheels, so I went to where I get all my Blender knowledge and skill (YouTube) and found this amazing tutorial on an entirely physics-based tank rig: https://youtu.be/q5fjslhomsI. The physics of course were way more detailed than what was needed for the project, but I had a blast doing it nonetheless, and it was my introduction to Blender's "rigid body constraints."  Everything in this animation is completely physics-based, including the tread spikes staying within the grooves on each wheel that keep the treads aligned with the wheels; even the propulsion comes from motorized crank wheels that are literally cranking the treads, with a keyframed "desired speed" (that's literally the only thing that's keyframed in all of these animations apart from a collision object making it flip in one of them) and a set strength with which they move (dynamically affecting how fast it's going depending on how hard it's having to work to reach the desired speed).

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Having everything be physics-based to reflect how tanks actually work means that subtle details automatically happen that may not have been thought of or bothered with had it been keyframe-animated.  For example, the non-motorized wheels and rollers only turn because the treads are literally pulling them along; this results in them not turning if they're temporarily not touching the treads (watch some of the bottom wheels), and even still sliding a little if the contact isn't really firm (watch the top front wheel).  People don't look for these details, and likely won't even consciously notice them without them being pointed out, but their presence just subconsciously makes the whole thing feel so much more grounded and realistic.

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Sadly, the physics part of the file is now corrupted, and the following videos, which I just happened to record of the computer screen with my phone as I was working on it, are all I have.