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Paintball tanks are mechanized vehicles used in various types of the sport of paintball

Paintball

Paintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by tagging them with capsules containing water soluble dye and gelatin shell outside propelled from a device called a paintball marker . Paintballs have a non-toxic, biodegradable, water soluble...

, usually with the intent of military simulation. Paintball tanks are commonly used for woodsball

Woodsball

Woodsball is a format of paintball gaming, in which players compete in a natural outdoors area using paintball markers to tag opponents....

 and scenario paintball

Scenario paintball

Scenario paintball is a type of paintball game in which players participate in a scenario, or story; and may include historical re-enactments, futuristic or video game simulations. Games tend to last in the range of hours or days, and may include a large group of players...

 games; and are often referred to as "Paintball Armored Vehicles" (PAV).

Paintball tanks are generally built as walking tanks ("Pugs"), built from scratch, ATV-based or automobile based.

Rules and game involvement

Paintball tanks usually have special rules to adhere to for each event. These rules change from field to field and from scenario producer to scenario producer. For example, some places will not allow personal-armor ("PUG") style tanks and some will not allow the automotive heavy tanks. Speed limit rules are generally considered among the more important rules for paintball tanks, especially the heavy tanks. The variations of rules that concern paintball tanks is only limited to the number of fields out there that use paintball tanks.It is a common rule to restrict Paintball tanks to 5mph or "Walking speed"

Tank types and construction

Paintball tanks are generally designed to act as either anti-tank or anti-infantry vehicles, and are constructed using one of the standard four variations.

Walking tanks

Walking tanks, or 'Pugs', are cheap, simple paintball tanks generally built for smaller scenarios and fields. Less a tank and more a protective covering for the operator, walking tanks generally take the form of a cage worn by the user with a frame made of PVC or ABS pipe and covered in plywood, sheet metal, fiberglass and/or paintball netting. Generally, a pair (sometimes more or less) of paintball guns, and occasionally launchers, will be mounted chest-height. While lacking the visual impressiveness of other designs, Pugs can be built for very little money, and provide much the same benefit.

Scratch-built

Scratch-built tanks are created from the ground up by enthusiasts; as such they are virtually any size or armament, although most are fairly small. Some are designed as scale replicas of historical or modern tank designs, others for performance. They're generally built on wood or tube-frame chassis and covered in wood, sheet metal or fiberglass, and powered by a small industrial engine. Some of the more involved versions feature working tracks, motorized turrets and large engines.

ATV based tanks

ATV-based tanks are ATVs fitted with turrets and protective coverings. The level of involvement varies here as well; some are simply quads or similar fitted with a removable netting cage, others feature scratch-built bodies and turrets and are capable of housing several players and their equipment. All-terrain vehicles, Golf carts and amphibious ATVs are the most popular bases for ATV tanks, thanks to ready availability, off-road ability and low price. Almost anything can be put onto these vehicles.

Automobile-based tanks

Automobile-based tanks are modifications to existing automobiles; ranging from minivans with firing ports and windows replaced by netting to near-replica vehicles featuring completely new bodies. The most common base vehicles are SUVs, Jeeps and trucks, due to low cost and availability, although most feature high ground clearance and 4-wheel drive is helpful given poor conditions of many trails and roads in paintball fields. Minivans are also a common sight.

Tankball

Tankball is a variation of paintball

Paintball

Paintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by tagging them with capsules containing water soluble dye and gelatin shell outside propelled from a device called a paintball marker . Paintballs have a non-toxic, biodegradable, water soluble...

 in which players drive modified full-size tank

Tank

A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...

s and fire paint-filled ping pong balls, paintball Buckshot, or Nerf Rockets at another tank. Each battle pits two tanks against one another, and each tank can contain three or more teammates. Tankball is a much more expensive game than Paintball, and is therefore far less common.

Currently there is only one place the game is available, Leicestershire

Leicestershire

Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

 in England where paint-filled ping pong balls (with a diameter of 40mm) are used as ammunition, in combat restricted to tanks (actually FV432

FV432

The FV432 is the armoured personnel carrier variant of the British Army's FV430 series of armoured fighting vehicles. Since its introduction in the 1960s it has been the most common variant, being used for transporting infantry on the battlefield...

Amoured Personnel Carriers). Closed-hatch operation is mandatory as the paintballs have too much kinetic energy to safely impact unprotected persons.

External links

• Paintball Tankers Association Rules and Information
• http://ssblackangel.forumup.us/forum-30-ssblackangel.html ( a current and up to date paintball tank forum)
• Armored Fist Paintball
• Warpig Tank Forum
• www.tankball.co.uk
• www.armourgeddon.co.uk
• ABC news article
• Gizmodo article
• www.funtrak.co.uk
• Walking Paintball Armored Vehicles
• Scaled Tanks Details on building 1:5 and 1:2 scale tanks ^{(Registration required)}
• Treadhunter review of Tank Paintball