Holt 75 artillery tractor

[molecatcherjohn]

Just thought I'd pop this up on the site for comments...both good and bad - I really don't mind!! There are a few rough edges which are always a problem with casting at home but otherwise I'm quite pleased with the model.

It's in 28mm scale, by the way. I might have underestimated the amount of effort needed in the casting as there are around 25 parts to it - six separate moulds!!

[fred]

Very cool - that will be a beast in 28mm! I have one in 10mm and that is a chunky model.

[molecatcherjohn]

yes, absolutely right - I forgot to mention that it's about half as big again as I expected...

[FifteensAway]

Most steam traction were big beasts.  I live not far from a museum with a lot pieces - including several Holts (not sure if this one, but maybe).  Some machines are the size of a small house.  We also have a lot of live steam enthusiasts that have all sorts of steam equipment up and running at county and sometimes the state fair here in Sacramento.

And the cool bit about Holt?  They are likely the source of the caterpillar style tracking that lead to all of those modern tank treads.  I'm believe Holt got there start in Stockton.  And if memory serves built wagons before moving to steam - but not so sure on that.

Nice work. 

[Paul Hicks]

Absolutely love this. would love to crew up something like this.

[tin shed gamer]

Nice model John ,
You've just over thought it a bit.
tweak it a little you should be able to get it down to half that number no issues

If your want to release them reducing the parts  to a minimum  is easier on your pocket and your moulds.

You've built a lovely model tbh it's a lot more faithful  than the one I made. Yours is more in line with a scale model.  Where as the design brief for my build was to condense detail and add rigidity to allow for ease of casting  durability on a table and game side repair.
It's often better( from a mould point of view.,) to alter elements to imply the original  item and use its shape to aid resin flow and strength.

(If memory serves I got this version down to 16 parts including crew. And the smaller Holt down to 8 parts. I'd have to check as it's got to be close to 8 years since I made them.)


If its of use to you I can add a couple of pictures of the 75 I did for 1st Corps Miniatures.  So you can get a sense of where you can condense spacing in order to combine parts into one complete casting .Major difference other than condensing I can think of is I chose the pill shaped track units as they provied the most opportunity for condensing detail to aid casting. . Or you can PM me if you'd like to pick my brains.
Mark

[OSHIROmodels]

Looks superb as it is 

[molecatcherjohn]

Paul sort of hits the nail on the head..."I'd love to crew up something like this...", it was more of a passion project than practical! There are two camps of gamers, those who want to game and aren't too bothered about accuracy and detail, and those who are probably modellers as well and like to see both of these. I've made masters for both Perrys and Empress and the former prefers easy casting whereas the latter loves detail - both of which are completely fine I should add but it does show that there's a market for both types. The recent 4.5" howitzer and 18pdr from Empress (and upcoming 13pdr and German 7.7cm and 10.5cm) are all my masters and have a LOT of parts and have received some really lovely feedback.

[Silent Invader]

That really is an impressive and inspiring piece of work. 

I’m not a WW1 gamer but it does make me crave a similarly detailed version of one of these:



From 1871, an Aveling & Porter General Purpose Engine (no 721) 

With apologies for the swerve off topic.

[Captain Blood]

Looks great to me, John. A splendid model.

I've made and painted many of your excellent WW2 vehicle and AFV models for the Perrys. I'm just working on your Indian Pattern carrier now as it happens, alongside another batch of Rubicon plastic kits - an experience which absolutely bears out your point. Of course the Rubicon kits are more detailed and accurate models, but by golly, have they got a lot of tiresomely tiny fiddly bits! And no, they're not going to be as robust for tabletop use. So that old compromise between solidity and detailed but fragile accuracy is a tough balance to strike.
 
But it's nice to hear even a master modeller such as yourself still seeking feedback - although I don't think you have too much to worry about. I think you know more than anyone about how to craft attractive yet functional models in this scale

I can see this model in many a WW1 diorama, and it will probably appeal to Back of beyond enthusiasts too, so I hope it sees the light of day as a production piece. If Mr Hicks is inspired to make a crew for it, I'm sure Empress will be interested

[OSHIROmodels]

and it will probably appeal to Back of beyond enthusiasts too,

And VSF 

[Elk101]

That's a tremendous model. Your models for Empress and the Perrys are excellent, I had no idea that was you, you have been very modest about it! I can see a few people wouldn't mind exporting thus model to Mars.

[tin shed gamer]

John
Well aware of your work . Simply bobbing along with the spirit of the forum exchanging idea's and experiences. I make the majority of my shillings with museum displays and oddly enough for the last six years mainly 4th century Armour and shields.(Sooo bored of making leather scale)
Your absolutely Theirs pretty much a market for just about any design philosophy. 
I wouldn't say it's case of not caring about accuracy and detail. More the compromise of applying it to the limitations imposed by materials ,minimum thicknesses, and undercuts prefered by the manufacturer  Then meeting their styling preference. For example when I asked to make a few bits for Hinterland I had to match the motorcycle riders and pom pom gun mount to the style of the original sculpting. That was the brief.Same sort of thing with Dragon Bait. Infact it seems pretty standard for most of the US companies I do work for. 1st Corps is a sliding scale of intermediate styling in a long-term over hauling of ranges which again involves complimentary sculpting to match three different sculptors. Even the Follies and Homefront have styling constraints to keep them in line with their other ranges.
I've seen your howitzer and it's actually on my list of things for York ( if its still on in Feb.)
Staying on subject I do quite enjoy find the optimal simplicity.
Artillery pieces aren't particularly challenging once you've broken them down .
Somewhere on here there's a tutorial I did on constructing WW1 Howitzers and traction engines from cereal packet
card. Mark Hargreaves Used it as his core principle for his WI feature On his artillery builds.
I stopped doing tutorials simply because they were being used as blueprints/guides by several mdf manufacturers.
I don't mind having my mind picked by hobbyists but I'll be  damned if companies do for free.( hence the offer to pm.)