Bob Semple Tank
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1941 found New Zealand in a bind. They had no tanks, and Britain couldn’t supply any as they were fully engaged in North Africa. With Japan’s military rampaging through the Pacific, New Zealand was on its own. Bob Semple, the Minister of Works, came up with a solution. Public Works had 91 Caterpillar D8 tractors and welding shops. A tank body that could be bolted on top of the D8’s was quickly sketched out and built in the shop. It was far from ideal, but no one had a better idea. In the end only three were built and fortunately never needed.
This is another of Vargas Scale Models excellent 3D printed kits of an obscure subject. Each of the new Vargas kits is better than the last. This one is excellent - very cleanly printed and nicely detailed. With only a few pieces, it went together quickly.
I primed with Mr. Surfacer 1500 Black from a rattle can. The light areas and centers of the top panels were carefully lightened with Tamiya XF-2 White. I also sprayed the upper sides of the corrugated panels with the white to create more definition. The photos show that the three prototypes were each a bit different. I chose to do mine in service brown and green vs. green with black. I used AK Real Colors RC085 Field Drab for the brown base paint. I marked out the camo pattern with a green colored pencil using photos as a reference. I masked off the brown with pencil sized rolls of Panzer Putty. I then sprayed RC027, Forest Green for the green. The tracks were brush painted with Tamiya XF-84 Dark Iron and given a wash of AK Track Wash. I applied a dot filter with various colors of Winsor & Newton oils. After allowing the oils to dry, I airbrushed clear coat of Alclad Aqua Gloss to seal it. AK Streaking Grime was used as a pin wash and various AK Interactive enamel streaking effect products were used for streaking. After applying a coat of Model Master Flat Clear Lacquer, I did a light dry brushing with Winsor & Newton oils, Wear points were rubbed with a 6B pencil and/or Uschi Chrome powder. I added a mixture of AK pigments fixed with mineral spirits to the tracks and suspension. I added splattered mud to the suspension and lower hull by flicking a paint brush over toothpick. I used AK Earth Effects, Brown Earth Deposits, and Kursk Earth for the speckles. A final dust coat of Tamiya XF-72, JGSDF Brown was applied.
It looks pretty good and will definitely standout in the next model show.
