A Vietnamese man has created a Panhard EBR 105 replica tank from wood, using an old Mitsubishi Delica van as the base
Customising and modifying cars is quite a common practice around the globe, and sometimes, people take major artistic liberties with their projects. On that note, we have a custom-built tank here! This is a Panhard EBR 105 wooden replica, built by Vietnam-based ND – Woodworking Art, based on a third-generation Mitsubishi Delica.
The video of the project build has been uploaded by the workshop. The van is first stripped down from the inside-out, until only the bottom section remains, which is then reinforced. A custom frame is made for the tank, along with a custom 6-wheel differential connecting to the rear axle, while the steering wheel is moved to the centre.
The body and additional wheels are carved out of wood, although the stock wheels remain. Like a real tank, this wooden replica gets a rotating turret, which is functional, surprisingly. The turret is built on a custom frame covered with wooden panels. A cannon has been added here, which is fake, of course, firing what seem like nerf darts.
The builder isn’t just satisfied with a silhouette of a tank, he carves out patterns and adds plenty of design details using wood. There’s even a fake jerry can mounted on the turret, and a few real tools have been added as props. Real lights have been added to the tank, along with turn indicators and rear-view mirrors, which should make the tank somewhat practical to drive on the road.
The man does drive the tank on the roads! He even gets his son to sit alongside him as he takes the wooden tank on a small joy ride. In the video, we can see this custom vehicle do some minor off-roading as well as a pretend battle, which seems like a lot of fun!
Military aficionados might know that Panhard EBR 105 is not a real tank. It is a virtual version of French tank Panhard EBR, created by videogame corporation Wargaming for its game World Of Tanks. EBR 105 features a more powerful main cannon, better secondary armament, and improved suspension over EBR.