• THE FACE BEHIND THE ARMOUR (CLICK TO READ)

• THE FACE BEHIND THE ARMOUR (CLICK TO HIDE)

With 22 years in the Royal Air Force under his belt, an enduring passion for engineering and the encouragement of Sir Frank Whittle - inventor of the jet engine - Phil Parsons developed and constructed his first commercial idea: the Covert Insertion and Recovery Vehicle (CIRV). This miniature aircraft could be parachuted by the dozen into areas where downed aircrew or Special Forces could find one, strap it on, and fly to safety. Even today very few people talk openly about it's existence.

Continuing the military theme, albeit on a lighter note, Phil's next major commercial project combined his other passion, scale model aircraft construction, with the untried territory of the one-man, track laying leisure vehicle.

Phil lives in the Holderness region of the East Riding of Yorkshire with his wife, Pam, and a close extended family. What more do you need? Well... a tank. Obviously.

• THE STORY OF HOW THE FUNTRAK PANZER CAME TO BE (CLICK TO READ)

• THE STORY OF HOW THE FUNTRAK PANZER CAME TO BE (CLICK TO HIDE)

Intrigued by how tanks handle huge weights over rough and undulating ground Phil decided to build one of his very own. There was a large ploughed field at the back of his house and, with no requirement for more than one occupant, the single-seat 'tank' was born.

Having solved the problem of where to get his tracks, Phil kept things simple with a space-frame chassis and transaxle, chain-linked to a petrol engine and added some disc brakes. The result was an exhilarating track laying vehicle that was incredible fun to drive.

The next stage was to make the whole machine bigger and more powerful. Hydraulics were added – more sophisticated, more expensive but much more powerful. The Honda GX 390 engine was selected for reliability, performance and a useful turn of speed on the road. A fully padded, adjustable, waterproof seat was added with armrests to aid manipulation of the controls. The first fully operational chassis was tested over a freshly ploughed field and was even more fun, but something was still missing.

Bombing around muddy fields all day was all very well, but if Phil's little Funtrak was going to cut it as a tank it was going to need: (A) a gun, and (B) to look like a tank - a fun tank, yes, but a tank nonetheless.

Phil's ad hoc development team was rapidly becoming a hand-picked team of professionals in each of the required fields (ploughed or otherwise) so, having developed his idea through engineering design, construction and testing, effective propulsion systems, track options, and materials selection, there was a big push for the perfect product design and to choose the selection of weapons systems available (see below).

Paintball function now defined, the new fibreglass shell would need to convey all the characteristics of a tank, but still look like it was built for fun. Phil had many years of experience with model aircraft and preferred his models to look like models, rather than miniature versions of the real thing, so he worked closely with the designer for an almost a cartoon version of a tank resulting in the distinctive, totally Funtrak, Panzer MkIII (the same shape body was used through to the MkV which can still be seen on You-Tube and on www.funtrak.co.uk).

The new MkVI is a bigger beast in all dimensions, to aid stability and ensure that some of the taller (and wider) folk who fancy a spin in one, can fit in one! Photographs of the all new Funtrak Panzer MkVI will be officially released just before Christmas 2007, although customers who have already placed orders will be taking delivery of the MkVI from November 2007.

The MkVI is the version currently for sale and to which the technical data below applies.

• WEAPONS OPTIONS (CLICK TO READ)

• WEAPONS OPTIONS (CLICK TO HIDE)

The basic Funtrak Panzer is "built like a tank", but if you want it armed like a tank you can choose from one of three available options:

• TECH SPECS (CLICK TO READ)

• TECH SPECS (CLICK TO HIDE)

These are the brief technical details of the current MkVI Funtrak Panzer:

Built like a tank.

• CONTACT US (CLICK TO READ)

• CONTACT US (CLICK TO HIDE)

You can get in touch with Phil Parsons, the inventor himself, regarding most things Funtrak, including sales, by emailing sales@funtrak.co.uk or by telephone on 078 314 42277 or 01964 630250.

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