The Tank Club was started earlier this year when Samantha
Glume, Motoko “Moto” Henusaki, and B.W. Jinxing were
updating things and saw Linden Road, Route 9, among their items. Samantha said, “Hey, I know something fun to
do...” “I rezzed my pink panda tank,”
she said, “and Moto rezzed her cat face tank and we went for a little convoy.” Soon they were joined by Elric Anatine, who
describes the club as a “happy accident” that evolved from the fun they had
that day.
“Everybody had a
lot of fun,” Samantha said, “so we had a second convoy. That one was with eight
tanks.”
Elric remembered
that they picked up some hitchhikers, too.
“They saw our tanks,” he said, “and joined in the fun. For myself, it was a spectacular way to
explore the wilds of mainland.”
The group soon
decided they needed a permanent place.
They started with the idea of having a clubhouse, which Samantha said, “evolved
into wanting a garage, a parking lot and play space.” Elizabeth
Rechter pointed out that it was very helpful “to have a reliable starting point
where we could rally the tanks ahead of the trip.”
They studied all
of the different continents and chose Jeogeot for its vast network of roads, Samantha
said. It is also next to a rez zone. The group divided up the work based upon
their various interests and skills. For
example, Motoko “Moto” Henusaki worked on mesh items while Elric Anatine re-textured. Elizabeth
Rechter did trees and landscaping, and BW Jinxing prepared the parking lot and
driveways that connect to the road.
The tanks are
purchased from Spyker Enterprise, who makes mesh tanks. Spyker has allowed the group to modify and
make their own skins and textures for each individual tank. As a result, the tanks are customized and
personal to each owner. “For some reason,” Elric remarked, “this
particular tank has brought so many of us together in a variety of events. I
think in large part because it can be modified and therefore personalized. The moment you personalize your vehicle, it
truly becomes yours and something to be proud of.”
In addition to
being modifiable and easy to drive, the Spyker tank is fun and electric. Because it has to be recharged, repaired and
rearmed, Samantha says, “it fits perfectly with our fun.” They built a fully functional garage with
working bay doors, a mesh tank lift, and a console to help with repairs and
rearmament. Power cells that she first
used on her space station are available and can be refilled at the recharging
station. She hopes to expand the number of recharging
stations to eventually cover the entire continent. Club members receive a custom texture for their
tank, a tank only parking sign and toolboxes for making repairs. However,
anyone who already owns a tank is welcome to bring it. No one is required to
purchase a particular tank.
We chatted
about the fun of touring. Samantha Glume
said you can open the hatch while driving and drive in the standing position. “You can
wave at people as you slowly rumble by,” she grinned.
I asked how
they had been received since I had heard the mainland can be a wild place. Samantha
said, “We haven't had any problems at all.”
Though she joked that the psychological impact of a tank rolling by
might have kept people nice.
Elric said the
people have been really great.
“Even the
hitchhikers,” Elizabeth added, smiling.
“Some
have wanted to join in,” Elric said. “Others
just take the "gunner position" and ride along with us.”
Elizabeth and Moto have toured a lot of
different sims. “Anytime I'm in a new
place,” Elizabeth laughed, “I get an urge to rez a tank.” Moto even
made a HUD that they use to identify unmarked rez zones. Many of the photos can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/groups/
But the Tank Club
doesn’t limit itself to simple touring.
Recently Elizabeth and Moto organized a “death match” on Syzygy between the
Reds and the Blues. BW Jinxing created a
video of it that can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?
This past Sunday, the group met for a “Get
Well Soon” convoy for Samantha Glume.
Some RL surgery is going to keep her out of SL for a few weeks, and her
friends wanted her to have some fun before she left. In addition to Samantha, Tank Club members Anarchy
“Pandora Le Fay” Tigerpaw, 117 “Mohandar” Dirval, Elizabeth Rechter, Elric Anatine, Stacy
Bluxome, Motoko “Moto” Henusaki, and
possibly one or two others met at the clubhouse before dawn.
“Everybody form
up on the road behind me,” Samantha said.
“And it's dark, so I suggest you turn on your headlights.” She patiently gave instructions to new
drivers on how to turn on their lights, which gear to use, and other valuable
information. “Everybody should be in low gear with a speed
of three,” she said. “Watch your spacing.”
“Try not to press
the self-destruct button,” 117 “Mohandar”
Dirval joked.
When everyone
was lined up, with lights on and armament off, the tanks began rumbling down
the road. Earlier, Elric Anatine had told me that of
all the vehicles he had driven in Second Life, he has never had as much fun as
he does now when he drives and tours in the tank. “And the more the merrier,” he said. “It's really impressive to have a convoy of
tanks and friends for exploration.”
Grey Lupindo
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