[rockpaperscissor]

Thanks for the information on early US Army camouflage schemes, Charlie. The Holt field monitor definitely falls into the "large piece" category so mauve would have been one of the applied colors. I wonder what the rationale for that color choice was?

So, the second turret is in place which completes this part of the build. The wheels are next and, as with most armor models, will likely be the most tedious, parts intensive, and time consuming portion of the build.

As designed, each wheel is made up of 44 parts excluding the treads. I haven't really decided on what form the treads will take yet. There are twelve T-shaped spokes on the inside of the wheel radiating from a central hub. Riveted to the spokes are 12 sectors that complete the circular wheel. Each side of the wheel has 6 arcs that are also riveted together. Each arc is made up of two pieces. Finally, a wide two-piece rim wraps around the whole assembly. Finally finally, some kind of steel treads will be applied to the rim: square to the rim, angled to the rim, staggered, cleated? I just don't know yet.

I slapped together a B&W wheel to verify the parts fit. It's a whopper - 3 1/4" in circumference. The rim pieces turned out to be about 1/16" too long, but everything else was fine. From the alpha build of the wheel I learned how important it is to precisely glue the hub in place - if it's not perfectly perpendicular to the wheel, the fit of the spokes will be affected, as well as the spacing of the wheel against the hull side. Some kind of jig is called for.

On to the pics.