Holt Gas-Electric Tank
Comments
Villiers de VosA beautiful little tank. An unusual subject. The paint work is very good.
Rick TaylorThanks everyone. I love these obscure WW1 and interwar tanks. Everyone was desperately figuring out what a tank was. One of the side effects of doing a lot of 3D printed kits is that you spend so little time on assembly that you can invest a lot of time in painting and weathering.
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The US entered World War 1 without any indigenous tanks and with only a frontier force army. They did, however, have a very robust industrial base and a wealth of design talent. In 1917 Holt, now known as Caterpillar, and General Electric teamed up to produce a tank. Holt was perhaps the world leader in producing tracked vehicles and GE was a powerhouse in all things electric. They came up with a novel automotive design that featured a gasoline engine powering an electric generator which powered electric motors for propulsion. The design was decades ahead of its time. However, it proved to be underpowered and overheated. Adding more cooling increased the weight which further reduced its performance. In testing, they often ran with the rear doors open to improve cooling.
It was well armed with two Browning machine guns in side sponsons and a British 2.95-inch mountain gun in the chin. A 6- or 7-man crew was anticipated. Crew access was through a rear door and a narrow corridor through the engine compartment.
This is another esoteric WW1 subject from Vargas Scale Models. It is 3D printed in resin which results in an exceptionally low parts count. The running gear and tracks are printed as a single piece for each side. The detail on the tracks and running gear is very good. The kit includes a good engine and cooling system printed inside the single piece hull. It builds up into an excellent model of a very obscure subject.
After washing the parts multiple times in warm water and dishsoap, I primed them with rattle can Mr Surrface 1000. This eliminated the vast majority of the 3D print striations. Those remaining were sanded, scraped or filled as appropriate. After assembly with CA and 5-minute epoxy, I primed the model with rattle can Mr Surfacer 1500 Black as a preshade and sprayed the high points with Tamiya XF-2 White. I chose TruColor TCP-1401 Olive Drab 2 straight from the bottle as the base coat. I used the hairspray technique to add depth and give the paint the scuffed-up look from the period photos. A coat of TreSemme hairspray was followed by a light coat of AK Real Colors RC084 Sand. This was then partially peeled off with a brush damped in water. I sealed this in with a light spray of Tamiya rattle can TS-79 Semi-gloss Clear. Another coat of hairspray was applied followed by a very light coat of Tamiya XF-55 Deck Tan. This was again mostly peeled off with a damp brush using a stippling motion. The engine compartment was painted with RC002 Cream White. The engine and cooling system were brush painted in-situ. The tracks were brush painted with Tamiya XF-84 Dark Iron and given a wash of AK Track Wash.
Weathering began with a dot filter of various Winsor & Newton oil paints was applied to the hull to give depth. The engine compartment was weathered with AK Interior Wash and oils. A pin wash of AK Streaking Grime was applied around every bloody rivet and other details and cleaned up with a makeup sponge. Streaks were applied with various AK Streaking colors. I highlighted the rivets and fine details with a light drybrushing of W&N Ochre oil paint. Splashes were added to the running gear with various AK mud, dirt, and earth effects by flicking a wet brush over a toothpick. Various AK pigments were applied to the tracks and fixed with AK Fixer. After drying, the pigments were rubbed off the cleats of the track. I hit the model with a light coat of Model Master Clear Flat, and dry brushed the track cleats and edges with Model Master Steel.
