Think laser cutting is just for stencils? Think again!

I’m Lucas Fierfort, and I’m beginning an engineering degree in embedded electronics. I discovered laser cutting three years ago, thanks to a classmate who introduced me to the fab lab, Plascilab, in the south of Paris. Plus, I had a real passion for tanks through video games, which made me a tank model fan, and more precisely a model-maker.

I spend my free time designing my own models on Adobe Illustrator, because I love the challenge of drawing something only with 2D views, rather than 3D. I browse some historical plans, or a screenshot of a 3D model, on SketchUp. The side and top views are enough to make the entire model.

For now, I have made six or seven tanks, from the basic model with static tracks and crude details, to my Jagdtiger, with moving tracks and increasingly little details that change everything.

I love to make the entire project: from the tank choice, the idea of how to make this and that detail, to the assembly, which can take two entire months, due to some parts that don’t have always the correct shape on first try, and must be cut again the next time I get to my fab lab.

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