The Renegade is a motorized tank operating out of the Command Decisions Wargames Center, a paintball/airsoft field known for its large scenario games and the Fulda Gap paintball game. I got the chance to sit down with the owner/operator Sarah Engler aka “Midget” to talk about her experiences running a tank at events.
Running a motorized tank must involve a crew, who all should be recognized for running the Renegade?
Main Crew:
- Sarah Engler aka. Midget (owner/manger/walker/gunner)
- Daniel aka. Lt. Dan (Driver)
- Daniel aka Stumpy (Driver)
- Spencer aka Sharkb8 (turret gunner)
- Tristen aka Tris10 (gunner/walker)
- Bobby aka The Rabbit (mechanic)
Additional crew:
- Hannah aka Breaker (gunner/walker)
- Jesse aka BooBoo (gunner/walker)
- Kathy aka Tank Girl (retired turret gunner)
Tell me a bit about yourself, and who you are? How did you get into helping run a tank and how long have you been doing it? Do you play paintball outside of a tank?
I grew up playing paintball. My dad has a business making custom paintball guns, and for the last year or two has been running Command Decisions (where Fulda Gap is held). For years I knew that my 2002 Jeep Liberty Renegade (my first car, and my mom’s car before that) was going to someday be retired and turned into a tank. After 264,700 miles and 16 years of adventures as a family car and my first car, it was time for her to live out her remaining years on the paintball field having even more adventures. Finally getting to do real Jeep stuff. For the last few years I’ve played on foot for at least Saturday of Fulda as a sniper, but the rest of the year I’m with the tank. This year I’m thinking of just playing with the tank for Fulda. Sniping is fun, but I feel like I miss out on so much when I’m not with my crew.
How long have you been operating a paintball tank?
We’ve been playing in the tank since 2019.
How hard was it to modify the jeep for this purpose?
She was pretty easy to modify all things considered. The turret is made out of a pallet carousel so it turns really easily. The turret gunner sits on a swing (from a swing set). Honestly, I think the hardest part was removing the windshield. We also had to remove the back window, the sunroof, all of the carpet and headliner, and the back seats. Then we installed a wooden floor and a wooden hatch where the sun roof used to be. It comes in handy for throwing smoke grenades out of, but don’t be dumb like my dad and get your hand shot by our turret gunner in the process lol.
Does the Tank have its own paintball gun mounted and or launcher? What are those and if you modified them how? Do you have large compressed air tanks installed in the vehicle?
It has an Engler Customs rocket launcher (Aka, my dad and Ferg built it) in the turret. We also have 2 Ethas mounted up there, with Browning 30 cal barrels for funsies (for airsoft games we just have one gun mounted up there.) All of it is mounted in a way that the guns and launcher can be taken out overnight and between games. The turret guns and launcher all run off a scuba tank that’s in the trunk. We also usually have a front seat gunner and sometimes a trunk gunner. Smaller people fit best back there. The rules say you can have max 3 guns firing at any time, so for paintball games if we have someone in the trunk our turret gunner only fires one gun at a time.
Have you made any modifications to your vehicle's engine or governor to prevent it from driving around too fast on the field?
For a while she was stuck in 4L so she couldn’t go fast, but we fixed that. So no, no mods for speed. Our drivers just do their best to not speed. Both of them are paranoid that they’ll get penalized for speeding so we’re pretty good at not speeding.
How much paint would you say you use at an event?
It really depends on the game. For a small game we might go through 2-3 cases, but at Fulda 2023 we went through about 11 cases.
What challenges do you face operating at games?
At any game we risk having infantry that don’t work with us. Infantry need to push with the tank. We help them and they help us. We can’t do everything on our own. We need infantry support and we don’t always get it.
As a motorized tank, what are the biggest concerns on safety and how do you address those concerns?
Tank walkers try their best to keep players from getting too close to the tanks. There’s a rule that players need to stay 20 feet away from the tanks, but they try to break that all the time. The dumbest thing you can do is get behind the tank and try to use it as cover. It’s against the rules, and it’s not safe, so don’t do it. A tank could back up at any time with little or no warning. We are lucky to have pretty good visibility, but not every tank does. They might not see you if they back up and the walker might not be able to yell at you in time. So just stay back from the tank please.
How much trouble do you guys have with players behaving poorly or creating safety risks? What suggestions do you have for players on how to deal with motorized tanks?
Just don’t get too close to the tanks. Stay aware of your surroundings. You’d be surprised how many people are totally oblivious to us rolling up a road and are surprised when the walker tells them to move. Like we’ve been two feet away from players before they notice we’re there, and obviously they didn’t hear the walker yelling at them to move until the walker literally tapped them on the shoulder. Please just stay aware of your surroundings.
At Fulda, how are tanks eliminated and what advice would you give the AT guys?
Tanks are eliminated with Nerf rockets and occasionally airstrikes. Heavy tanks (most of the tanks) can be taken out by another tank or a Heavy AT if the rocket hits any part of it. Skips don’t count. Regular AT have to hit the back of the tank. Turret hits from AT don’t count. Aim for the diamond and be sneaky lol!
Are you able to take your tank to other events or are there challenges in doing so beyond transportation?
We haven’t taken her to any other fields yet. We’ve thought about it, but it costs a lot in gas to haul her long distance. You also have to have the right trailer, and the one we have access to right now is too big for long distance hauling. Not to mention only one of us has a truck big enough to haul her long distance. Also, our tank isn’t able to meet all the rules at some fields, such as fields that require all gunners to be 30% exposed. All the windows are netted so it’s just not feasible for us to comply with that one.
As a motorized tank, do you have suggestions for organizers who may be interested in allowing motorized tanks at their events?
Reach out to tank crews directly when possible to recruit for the games. There’s also a Facebook group for paintball tankers. Post on there inviting tanks to the event. Include the tank rules when you do.
What advice would you give to those looking to follow in your footsteps in creating a motorized tank?
1. 4WD is a must. If the field gets muddy (think Fulda 2022) 2WD ain’t going to cut it most of the time (the Mini Van and Tracker manage without 4WD, but idk how they do it) We also under inflate the tires for better traction. In 2022 when our other tanks couldn’t do the hills, we were the only tank that was unbothered by the mud. We haven’t encountered any terrain we can’t handle.
2. Don’t build a tank out of a junker. Older cars are great, but they have to be mostly mechanically sound. You don’t want to be constantly doing repairs.
3. Don’t build it too top heavy. We had a tank tip over once (don’t worry, they were fine lol). Command Decisions is full of hills.
4. Invest in a backup camera.
5. Make sure at least one person on your crew is good with tools and fixing things.
With the cost of vehicles dramatically increasing, varied rules among organizers, etc. What future do you see for motorized paintball tanks?
Honestly for our field I’m a bit concerned. We’ve had multiple tanks die or be retired over the years, and I just haven’t seen many new ones replace them. I’d love to see more people build tanks and bring them to the games at our field. RIP Nostromo, Scout, and the Durango.
Any final thoughts?
If anyone wants to build a tank and play at command decisions, the tank rules are on the website. If they wanna build a tank and have questions after reading the rules, they can message me on FB (Sarah Engler) or Instagram @sarahmidgetengler