Holiday Ops 2022: 3D Styles for Tier X vehicles

This is how the new 3D styles available in this year’s Christmas boxes look like.

Hurricane 3D style for the 🇨🇿 Vz. 55

Style treated as historical, valued at 5,000 gold.

Suitable for vehicles: Vz. 55.

Description:

— You think that, if the government got a license to produce Soviet vehicles, we should abandon the idea of our own tank? And all those days and nights when my engineers were working tirelessly designing this project are just wasted, right? Think again! Our arms industry was always one of the best in Europe! So as long as I am chief designer here, we will finish our home-produced project, even if it must be in secrecy, underground. We need our own armor, not someone else’s borrowed technology!

Dear Jarek, we’ve known each other for 15 years and I trust you with all my heart. Take some of your guys and give our tank a real test, as you see fit. I must know everything this vehicle can do—all of its strengths and weaknesses. And leave the legend to me—I will come up with something to report to the top. Oh, and don’t forget: I’m expecting you and Martha for dinner this Saturday.

“Fair Trade” 3D Style for Object 268 Version 4

Style treated as historical, valued at 5,000 gold. Suitable for vehicles: Object 268 Version 4.

— You see, they first conduct a geological survey, then they build mines and extract ore, which they take to a metallurgical plant to create steel from it. At the same time, engineers calculate aerodynamic parameters, develop the correct geometry, carry out tests, experiment with gunpowder, and burn through thousands of pencils and sheets of paper. An entire production line, which was also being designed in blueprints for a long time before, gets launched in a weapons factory. And the steel delivered to the factory gets cast as an armor-piercing shell. That shell is put into a brass case, which also traveled a long way, turning it into a ’round’. And now I’m about to send the result of the labor of hundreds and thousands of people to the breech-ring, only to make it disappear in a few seconds. But it’s all to penetrate the armor of the enemy vehicle I’m targeting. That means it wasn’t all for nothing. It’s a fair trade, isn’t it?

“Salamandra” 3D Style for the XM551 Sheridan

The style is treated as historical, valued at 5,000 gold. Suitable for vehicles: XM551 Sheridan.

— Look at this wonderful tank! It can float! Have they finally thought about us up there? They finally got that this place has more water than roads. They even sent us a little booklet with detailed instructions on how to turn this vehicle into a real amphibian, and what to consider and how to prepare for fording a river. Almost 20 pages of information! Step-by-step instructions! Cover this with tarp, tie it here, run cable B through eyelet 4—just beautiful. They thought of everything to make troops happy and admire this long-awaited versatile combat vehicle.

Do the instructions say how to get this damn bucket up from the river bed?

 “Storm Child” 3D Style for the FV4005 Stage II

Style treated as  fictional, valued at 5,000 gold. Suitable for vehicles: FV4005 Stage II.

— Mr. Wells departed the day before, showing his drafts. After a quick look at them, I didn’t understand why he had exaggerated the narrative by turning us into a torpedo ram. Maybe he thought that his reader would be more willing to believe what was happening if he put a warship against tripods, not a standard steam tank destroyer. For some reason, he made up this suicidal ramming attack, even though we just shot the invaders with our guns. In general, of course, I am glad that we are not forgotten, but this narrative form… Oh, those writers.

However, everything is described so colorfully and in detail—it’s like I was fighting that battle all over again. Well, I’ve got to admit, this gentleman does have a way with words. Maybe one day, this will turn into a full-length book, and dozens of people will know about our feat. Maybe even outside the county of Surrey!

“Saiga” 3D Style for the ST-II

The style is treated as historical, valued at 5,000 gold. Suitable for vehicles: ST-II.

— We have to press forward. Out of the whole regiment, there are only six battle-ready vehicles left. Six. I don’t know what historians will name this neck of land, but it will definitely be named. Like Thermopylae. To our sides are sky-high rockfaces, and in front of us are hundreds and hundreds of dug-in mines. Any of them can be our last. And we are almost out of mine-clearing charges. And the EOD specialists are almost all gone… Sometimes I think these cliffs are full of evil enemy eyes that are waiting for the right moment to pull the trigger. We don’t have any advantage here. We are blindly moving through this ravine. It’s like being in an Arctic convoy: You are following the route, well aware that right underneath you there is a whole school of German submarines. In an hour, your whole convoy will be gone. The same for us here: We are moving along this never-ending ravine, grateful for every hour without any shooting or explosions.

We have to press forward. And tomorrow is the 40th day since they promised to extract us within three.

“Fortuna” 3D Style for Rinoceronte

The style is treated as historical, valued at 5,000 gold. Suitable for vehicles: Rinoceronte.

— I only have one question: Why do we need ATGMs? We can barely handle this gun, and you are giving us a new challenge! Tell me, Antonio, how many arms do you think I have? Four? Six? How am I supposed to control all of this? Fine, I’m not trying to undermine the advantages of the new weapon, and we will most likely learn how to use it. But o’ Madonna! Why do they give us American missile launchers? Why, Antonio? All their mounts are measured in inches. Were there really no equivalents of these missiles with metric mounts in all of Europe? Or was it another case of someone giving something to someone else, and here we have this beautiful American ATGM that we spent an entire day mounting and setting up with wrenches?! If only I knew how much of a pain it would be, I would have welded it to the turret and let it face and fire one way. What’s the difference, anyway—we can’t use it until we translate the documentation into Italian. Did you see how many pages there are, Antonio? Maybe you want to translate it, Antonio? You were captured by the British for two months, you could’ve learned the language there.

I’m only telling you this because you’re my brother, you’ll understand. For the commander, we are smiling as always, thanking him, and admiring his flexibility.