Williams Anti-Tank Vehicle 1942
This model is the result of one of those interesting coincidences that sometimes happen in modeling. I was looking through a book in my library on WW2 armor when I found a diagram of this vehicle. Later that same day, I was looking at some 3D print files online when I discovered a print file for a 3D resin print for this vehicle. The file was very bare-bones, but I thought I might be able to print some details for this model. The files are for a 1/72 model, but I enlarged them to 1/48th for the build. I wanted to depict this "drawing board" model as it might have been used in combat, so I found files online that allowed me to print all the rest of the stuff I wanted to make the tank look operational. The only thing in the diorama that I didn't print from resin is the 1/48 Tamiya soldier urging the vehicle forward.
A little background:
The vehicle was designed by Allison Williams, an engineer who served in the US Army in both WW1 and WW2. He recognized that current armored vehicles were ill-suited to operate in the many types of terrain encountered in the Pacific. In response to this need, he designed a vehicle that could operate in sand, mud, snow, jungle, water, and on hard surfaces such as dirt and roads. The key to this vehicle was the 4 large armored spheres that acted as "wheels". The spheres were heavily armored, and each contained a motor that individually powered each sphere. The vehicle could operate with only one powered sphere on each side. The spheres allowed the vehicle to float in deep water, and allowed the vehicle to move both forward and reverse in the water, as well as steer. For hard surfaces, the spheres were equipped with a hard rubber band around the circumference that would act as a tire. A large anti-tank gun was its main armament, as well as a coaxial machine gun on the mantlet and a flexible .30 caliber machine gun at the rear of the turret. The vehicle would carry a crew of 4, all located in the turret. It was evaluated by the Army, but they decided that the way to overcome the terrain challenges in the Pacific was to build very light tracked vehicles that wouldn't get bogged down in sand and other terrain.
The basic vehicle consists of 6 parts:
-Turret, hull, and 4 spheres
I printed and added these parts:
-Lights and light guards on front and rear
-2 foldable ladders on the hull
-Tools for the front and rear deck
-Antenna base
-.30 cal machine gun
-Periscope guards
-Rungs for the side of the hull and turret
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- 1. Design diagram from the 1942 patent application
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- 1. This rendering is from the online Tank Encyclopedia and shows the basic detail included in the basic vehicle print.
Very, very interesting, another George. By no means a tread head but this is totally new to me. Had to go to https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2-us-williams-amphibious-vehicle/
to get some more info
Nice build of an interesting project.
Just one point: The dio would look much better if you cut the frame along the water surface.
Thanks for stopping in, Hans (@wimfi). You are probably right about the height of the walls. I don't usually do dioramas and I added this one as an afterthought. I thought it would be cool to show the vehicle in its element, so the diorama was a last minute addition. I wasn't sure exactly how the resin water would work or how deep it would be. If I do another similar diorama, I suspect I need to pay more attention to it design and execution. Cheers.
Hi, other George (@blackadder57). Thanks for stopping in. The designer that created this model also has a number of other tanks that can be printed on a 3D printer. This one was fun to do, so I may need to find another obscure tank to do. Your link is to the site where I gathered some of the early info on this tank. I thought the site was pretty cool.
If you are interested, here is a link to the site/designer who created the file for the tank:
https://cults3d.com/en/users/Eaglenest3D/3d-models?page=1
(Warning: Once you see all of the cool stuff that you can print, you might want to get a resin printer of your own.)
Interesting subject. Star Wars before Star Wars. George (@gblair) a neat history lesson and intro into what you can do with a printer. Placing the tank in water really helps tell the story about the vehicles capabilities too.
Having a printer opens up a whole new world. Two thumbs up.
Thanks, Stephen (@stephen-w-towle). I resisted getting a printer for a long time because I had heard there is a steep learning curve. There is a learning curve, but not nearly as difficult as I thought. They are like computers, price goes down every day and the technology goes up every day. Thanks for the kind comments.
Amazing what’s possible with the internet and a resin printer. I like the diorama by the way.
Thanks, George (@chinesegeorge). I don't do much armor, but this way fun.
We're lucky there wasn't an internet 50 years ago, or a lot of the Star Wars vehicles would probably look different. You could certainly stick this 1942 design in an s-f movie and no would would think it was otherwise.
A Very Cool thingy.
Thanks, Tom (@tcinla). There are a lot of these "might have been" armor vehicles that can be printed. The scary thing about this tank is that there were four crewmen, all in the turret, and only one hatch in or out.
Love to see it! What an interesting subject.
Thanks for stopping by, Chris (@champagnecrc).
Fantastic result on this very interesting subject, George!
Congratulations!
Hi, Spiros (@fiveten). Thanks for stopping by.
This is a really impressive result, George @gblair
Both, the 3D printed vehicle as well as the diorama are a pleasure to look at.
This tank concept is new to me as well, an interesting way to overcome those various terrain conditions.
Thanks, John (@johnb). A small side track from my normal airplane models.
Great dio, congratulations!
Thanks, Manuel (@magrus). I don't do much armor, so this was a fun project.
That is for sure an eye catcher with all elements of the subject and the build. Well done, George!
Thanks, Gary (@gwskat). Something to work on while the paint was drying on my 109E project.
It looks like jump from the moon 🙂
Thanks, Bernard (@lis). It does look like a lunar lander, doesn't it?
Yes!
Now that’s something we don’t see everyday, George. Very cool.
@gblair this is so freaking cool. The wonderful world of 3D printing has helped us realize builds that used to be weeks of scratch building if we could manage to pull it off.
I really enjoy all the added details and the dio is superb. Thanks for sharing this build, I like it very much.
Thanks, John (@j-healy) and Matt (@coondog). I found the files for this tank on Cults3D.com from a designer who literally has dozens of armored vehicles in 1/72, many of them obscure or drawing board armor. I chose this one because it has so few parts. Many of his designs have a lot parts. The cool thing about these files is that you can change the size to suit your needs. Thanks for stopping by.
Very cool subject, George @gblair, and well executed. 3D printing opens up a lot of possibilities to us modelers.
Thanks, Robert (@robgenev665). 3D printing is a lot of fun and there are lots of print files available. Now I just need to figure out how to design my own parts and print them.