Hobby Project: Steam Tank "Von Zeppel"

A simple delivery mistake: I ordered one Empire Steam Tank and was sent two. Simple screw up, easily fixed. Well, if I wanted to fix it. I could return it. I could do it honestly like a nice person or I could claim I ordered two by mistake and claim an undeserved refund as an act of petty revenge for them destroying my favourite fantasy world and replacing it with Norse mythology with the serial numbers filed off.

Or I could make something cool and get even better petty revenge by enjoying the world and game they so casually destroyed. There used to be a bunch of different Steam Tank variants, you see: there was one with a battering ram, one with a mortar, one with a volley gun... but the one that interests me is Von Zeppel. This one had no cannon or steam gun turret but a fighting platform on top with a bunch of engineers standing on it, each armed with a different fun weapon.

Von Zeppel as painted by Tammy Haye.

So, Project: Von Zeppel, what I need:

One: Steam Tank for a basis. This I have.

Two: A flat surface for the fighting platform and some form of fencing to surround it. Fencing I can get from any model railway range, preferably a larger gauge than the typical OO. The platform itself I'm not sure but if all else fails I can cut up an old 20-man movement tray.

Three: Shields to stick to the fencing to make it look Imperial. I have tons spare from my Halberdiers.

Four: Six figures to make the Engineers. Probably use Free Company for this, I have some spare.

Five: The list of weapons: Hochland Long Rifle (the clampack Engineer, me thinks), blunderbus (Free Company sprue), repeater handgun (spare from Pistoliers), a halberd (spare from State Troops set), a ball and chain (probably from Flagellants) and a man-catcher (not sure).

So really, the only sticking point is the fighting platform and the fencing. This is going to be fun, it's been such a long time since I did a really involved conversion. Part of this is the march of technology, there are so few things worth making that don't have models now (well, for the moment...) tat it really has been years since I needed to do something like this.