Snow-Trac (WIP)

[unigami]

I thought that it might be nice to post some images of a model that I'm currently working on; the Aktiv Snow-Trac ST4.

These were produced in Sweden from 1957 to 1981 and many of them are still in use today. They had a VW engine that developed about 40 hp and also used the transmission from the VW van and many other VW parts. One of the unique design innovations of this vehicle was the steering mechanism, which used a device called a "variator" to divide up the power going to each track set, increasing the power to one side while decreasing it to the other. This allowed steering with very little power loss, unlike other designs that used braking mechanisms.

Anyone my age may remember the cool Matchbox model of this vehicle. It was always my favorite one, and was the inspiration for this project. Hope you enjoy it!

Here's a reference photo:

Snow-Trac_ref_800.jpg

Here's what I have so far with the crawlers:

Crawler_800.jpg

Crawler2_800.jpg

[majid]

verry nice model
keep posting plz

[modelhead]

perfect!

[numbthumb]

Great stuff
Looking forward to updates!

[hellnbak]

Your attention to detail is fantastic! Looking forward to seeing more of this model.

[boofredlay]

Nice detail, looking forward to the rest.

[unigami]

Thanks for all the nice comments!

Here's an update showing work completed on the fenders and hood.

BTW, note the deflector shield over the rear set of bogie wheels. This was used to prevent the snow fall-off from the crawler from getting on the wheels and increasing their diameter - which could cause a failure of the crawler track due to the increased tension.

These vehicles were also used in the Sahara!

snow-trac_8a.jpg

[Dave R]

Cool!

[Fletch]

Fantastic modeling!

[hellnbak]

This is gonna be a nice model! Can you show us some other examples of your work?

[Marian]

Very nice so far.Good job

[unigami]

This is gonna be a nice model! Can you show us some other examples of your work?

Thanks! You can see most of my stuff over on my Flickr group here: http://tinyurl.com/3e9sx6b

[unigami]

I think I have the overall shape of the body nailed down....going to start working on some details inside the cab now.

snow-trac_12a-2.jpg

BTW, if you saw the movie "The Shining", you might remember seeing one of these featured in it.

shining.jpg

[Dave R]

Cool, cool!

I could use one of those to get to work in the winter.

[solo]

Anxious to see this rendered.

[numbthumb]

What? Jack Nicholson?
Excellent work, unigami

[Bryan K]

Wow! One of my all time favorite toy vehicles as a kid and still is to this day, only now I'm old enough to be able to drive one!

Great model.

[unigami]

Thanks for all of the nice comments!

Here's an update showing work completed on the interior. Pretty simple stuff...these machines were very utilitarian.
Just a driver's seat, and two bench seats along the side.

You can't see it here, but the gas tank was inside the passenger compartment as well, under the bench seat in the rear.

snow-trac_dash2.jpg

[rangerrick]

That's some fine modeling

[Roidsan]

Unigami - anything with a track like that is awesome to us newbies. Most incredible! Did you just do that from the photograph you showed, or did you have some other better source?

Solo, you just HAD to show Jack Torrance. We all had his image in our minds. Obviously hard to resist and very intense.
Lloyd

[unigami]

Rick and Lloyd, thanks for the nice words! There are quite a few resources that I've discovered for the Snow-Trac...it is a beloved machine and I've found several owners groups online that have lots of pictures. One of the most helpful resources that I found was a parts manual with exploded drawings of the entire vehicle!

Another interesting bit of trivia that I discovered was that the FBI used one of these back in 1971 to search for D.B Cooper - the infamous hijacker who jumped out of a 727 near Portland OR with $200,000 and was never found. That machine is still in use today and is privately owned.

Here's an update with two SkecthUp views and a couple clay renders. Going to start working on textures now.

snow-trac_21a_scene1_lines.jpg

snow-trac_21_scene2_lines.jpg

snow-trac_21_scene1_clay_edges.jpg

snow-trac_21_scene2_clay_edges.jpg

Oops!

[Dave R]

[numbthumb]

Indeed,
Great stuff. Can´t wait to see it textured & rendered.

[majid]

wow , this is gonna be a great model, seeing forward to see the texturing/modeling

[Dave R]

Rick, that last render is really good. I almost thought it was a photograph. By the way, I like your clay renders with the lines overlaid.

[hellnbak]

Your modeling is so smooth, clean and detailed. Great model. I really love the lines of this vehicle, the shape of the hood and fenders, the way the body goes straight back and the tracks angle down. I'll have to take another look at The Shining, been awhile since I've seen it. I do remember that Nicholson was great, and the ending was terrible, nothing at all like the book. I don't remember what kind of vehicle the cook used to get back to the hotel, was it another Snow-Trak?

Anyhow, came across some sort-of interesting photos and thought I would pass them along.

[derei]

(for last image) - how do you steer a snowboard ? Now do it on a larger and tracked scale

[Dave R]

I want one now.

I've seen film of that second to the last one running. It looked pretty neat and went like crazy. A guy would wonder about what had made the tracks if he didn't know about the tractor.

That last one looks like some tinkerers idea and it never occurred to him until after he built it that he wouldn't be able to steer it.

[unigami]

I don't remember what kind of vehicle the cook used to get back to the hotel, was it another Snow-Trak?

Anyhow, came across some sort-of interesting photos and thought I would pass them along.

Thanks for the nice comments guys, and the pictures!

The cook drove a Thiokol Imp...it appeared again near the end...here's a picture from the movie.
(BTW, Stephen King is currently writing a sequel to The Shining!)

272.jpg

Of course, the other famous snow cat from Movies/TV is The Chariot from Lost In Space. This was a modified Thiokol Spryte.

1chariot15.jpg

[hellnbak]

(BTW, Stephen King is currently writing a sequel to The Shining!)

Wow, I had not heard that! I just hope it's more like the old King books, like he used to write back in the days of The Shining. Seems like every book he churns out nowadays is touted as "he's getting back to his roots", but he never really does. Maybe he needs a root canal

In all fairness I know a writer has to evolve, I just enjoyed his work a lot more before evolution overtook him

Even tho he'll be writing a sequel to the book, not the movie, it's main character sure to be compared to Nicholson, and that's gonna be tough!

Well, whatever it turns out to be, it's sure to become a movie, guaranteed. Ka-ching!

Oh, wait, this is a SU forum. Ummmm......nice model!