You can easily see that long sink line along the centre line of the corrugated roof. It is meant to be a single curved piece...... You would have thought that they would at least have tried to find an example without the sink marks for the press shots, so it seems they’re not really concerned about the rubbish they’re churning out. .

I don't think it is a sink line. It looks too regular. Looks like they have made a mistake. Should be possible to fix. / Robin

Yes, I see what you are talking about. I can't tell from the sprue shots, but I suspect this is because Roden chose to cast a central roof support. I've seen a real Holt (re-conditioned) with a roof support like that, and an old rusty one with the roof split into halves lengthwise as well (a logging camp model). But I believe (from my model railroading experience with Holt 75s) that the original roof was a one piece affair with either a central support or two parellel supports. The roof should be one piece, or at least have overlapped peices, so there shouldn't be any seam down the middle like that, unless it has been modified. Given the limits of polystyrene casting, I'd think I'd want to replace the roof anyway with either thin sheet brass or aluminum, although Evergreen makes some corrugated styrene material that would work too (but be a little thick perhaps?). Corrugated polystyrene is just harder to get right in any case. Somebody (Small Shop?) makes a form for producing scale thickness corrugations in metal, but I forget who it is now. There used to be at least one model railroad manufacturer that makes corrugated aluminum sheet in HO, O, and G scale which might also be used (Detail Associates perhaps?). You might try the Walthers Catalog. VR, Russ

Those long pieces to the left of the roof have me wondering as to what they could be. They don't have the same shape as the fenders in this image/box-art For a short time I was thinking that the sprue image showed the underside of the roof and the channel was there to receive the central roof beam but then the hole for the exhaust seems to be on the wrong side. The thickness of the plastic roof can be hidden with the rolled up curtains. Fixing the ditch in the corrugated roof is doable but it will be a lot of work. It is still better than scratch building the whole thing .... / Robin

Those ARE the mudguards. You are expected to fold/bend down the two ends to give the shape shown in the boxart. This kit will still need a measure of scratchbuilding to make anything decent out of it. First step is to see how small the Archer resin rivets are made. Many are lost as you put the pieces together and try to loose the join seams. The turntable for the front wheel seems to be the biggest scratchbuilding challenge sk

I have been making models for over 50 years. After a few more hours work on the Holt, I have revised my opinion. It is absolute tripe and fit fit only for the bin. Nothing fits, everything is covered in flash and the instructions so poor that you can’t tell where pieces should be positioned. Steer clear of the thing, Run away from it, and don’t look back. An expensive lesson in avoiding anything and everything that has the Roden name on it in the future.

Good advice, but-- I only have one question-- is this your first Roden Kit? I've found their AFVs are usually more challenging than thier aircraft (early issues that is-- their first aircraft kits were real "bears"). VR, Russ

Another setting for the Holt tractor is this one: bringing up ammunition to the English/Australian Army to fight against the combined forces of the Ottoman/Turk/German alliance during the Battle of Be'ersheba, October 1917, on the territory now known as Israel.

Sooo-- after a long period of looking at this kit, I finally broke down and bought one. It has several issues as mentioned in comments in this review, BUT-- I was able to build and paint mine --mostly out of the box--, in about three weeks working 2-4 hours a day 5 days a week (along with the Roden 8" BL Howitzer). I found correcting the sink marks in the roof was pretty easy. The front wheel was fiddly for sure, and needed a lot of clean up with a scalpel and sanding sticks, the water and fuel tank seams and rivets need some work, but nothing that can't be carefully accomplished. The fit was questionable in a few areas, but nothing that couldn't be overcome. Close attention to the instructions is necessary, and a few good photos of the real thing will certainly help your build. You may want to deviate from the instructions in a few areas and build in sub-assemblies. I was actually impressed with the detail and engineering in several areas of the kit. Sure, it has several "warts" in fit and some parts need to be re-worked with a sharp blade, but I can now say from experience that a modeler with moderate skills can create a nice model from the kit. Just keep your scalpel, sandpaper, sanding sticks, a little putty and some "elbow grease" at hand. Bottom line-- don't fear this kit, if a Holt 75 is something you've been waiting for, and you have the tools and skills at hand-- buy this kit. Rick Taylor and I are working on a joint build article for this kit and the Roden 8" BL Howitzer (which I also just finished) those of you who are interested in WWI Artillery will be glad to know that Roden has filled an open Niche for American (and British) Heavy Artillery quite nicely with these two kits, at a reasonable price. VR, Russ.