Holt steam tractor model

I just finished building the Rio Grande Models Holt steam tractor kit.  I have had this on the shelf for years and finally got around to it.  Rio Grande Models sells very detailed cast metal kits and I have built a number of them.  A year or so ago I built their Mcgiffert log loader for my logging area and posted it on this blog.  While I like the results of these builds I find building these complex cast metal kits to be moderately painful.  I am reasonably happy with the way this turned out.

I built this pretty much per the kit directions except where I needed to make minor modifications to make the parts fit, but that may have been more the fault of my construction than the kit.  I did add a figure seated at the controls.  These steam tractors were built between 1904 and 1910 at which point they were replaced by gasoline models.  Every photo I could find of the prototype seemed to be a little different.  The photos in the instructions - both model and prototype - were poor, however the internet is a great resource.  The instructions in general, while fairly complete,  need careful reading before each construction step.  the resulting model is, at least in my case, quite fragile due to all of the pipes and small details.

I painted most of the castings with Floquil reefer gray (I am so sorry to see the Floquil paints disappearing as they were the best for painting metal parts).  Follow-up painting was done with my usual craft paints and washes, and then I applied final weathering with chalks.

I will likely put this model in the vicinity of my sawmill.