Manufacturer: 3D print
Scale: 1/72
Additional parts: 3D prints
Model build: Oct 2024 - Jan 2025
Greenland Snowtracrtor
3D print
1/72
1/72
White Hell Rescue
The blizzard howled like a tormented spirit, whipping snow into a blinding white fury across the Greenlandic ice sheet. Inside Snowtractor 73, Sergeant Ivik gripped the wheel, his knuckles white. The radio crackled with static, punctuated by the frantic voice of the pilot, moments before the crash. "Mayday... engine failure... Aappilattoq... can't...!" Then, silence.
Ivik's mission: locate and rescue the downed Greenland Air flight. The Snowtractor, a hulking orange beast built on the bones of a WWII German tank, was his only hope. Its powerful diesel engine, a relic of a bygone era, roared defiance against the storm. The repurposed treads churned through the deep snow, leaving twin trenches in their wake.
Beside him, Corporal Nuka adjusted the radio antenna. "Still nothing, Sergeant. The storm's jamming everything."
Ivik nodded grimly. The Snowtractor's age was a constant concern, but today, its rugged simplicity was an asset. Modern electronics would have been crippled by the storm, but the Snowtractor, a mechanical dinosaur, plowed on.
Hours crawled by. The wind buffeted the vehicle, threatening to push it off course. Ivik relied on his instincts and the faint tracks of the crashed plane, barely visible beneath the drifting snow. Suddenly, Nuka shouted, "Tracks! Fresh ones! Heading towards that crevasse!"
Ivik slammed the Snowtractor into a hard turn. The vehicle groaned, its ancient components protesting, but it obeyed. They followed the tracks to the edge of a deep ravine, where the wreckage of the small plane lay scattered amongst the jagged ice.
"They're alive!" Nuka yelled, spotting figures huddled near the fuselage.
The storm intensified, making a direct approach impossible. The crevasse was too wide for the Snowtractor to cross. Ivik knew they had to find a way down. He spotted a narrow, snow-covered slope leading into the ravine. It was risky, but it was their only option.
"Hold on!" Ivik yelled, engaging the Snowtractor's lowest gear. The vehicle lurched forward, its treads biting into the icy slope. The descent was treacherous. The Snowtractor slid and swayed, threatening to tumble into the ravine. Ivik fought for control, his muscles straining against the wheel.
Finally, they reached the bottom. The survivors, battered but alive, rushed towards the Snowtractor. Ivik and Nuka quickly helped them inside the cramped cabin. There were ten of them – pilot, co-pilot, and eight passengers. It was a tight fit, even for the Snowtractor's nine-person capacity, but they managed.
As they prepared to ascend, the ground beneath them shifted. A section of the slope, weakened by the storm, began to give way. Ice and snow cascaded down, threatening to bury them.
"Go! Go!" Nuka screamed.
Ivik floored the Snowtractor. The engine roared, its exhaust billowing into the swirling snow. The treads clawed at the icy incline, struggling for traction. The vehicle shuddered and groaned, its old frame protesting under the strain. For a terrifying moment, it seemed they would be swallowed by the collapsing slope.
Then, with a final surge, the Snowtractor crested the top. They were safe. Ivik breathed a sigh of relief, wiping sweat from his brow. The old machine, a relic of a forgotten war, had once again proven its worth. As the Snowtractor rumbled back towards base, carrying its precious cargo through the raging blizzard, Ivik knew that the legend of the Snowtractor, built on the bones of the past, would continue to endure in the harsh, unforgiving landscape of Greenland.
After Greenland became independent in 1965, the need for vehicles capable of operating in the arctic snow conditions of the Greenlandic Ice Sheet became obvious. The main tasks for such vehicles were transport, patrol and rescue.
Since Greenland wanted to remain a neutral country and did not have its own vehicle industry, the request for such vehicles was sent to other neutral countries, namely Sweden, Finland and Switzerland.
Although the Swiss design seemed to be the best, the price was too high for the newborn nation. Therefore, the offer of Sisu from Finland was chosen, as it was significantly cheaper than the other proposals. It was only a few years after the introduction of what was now called the "Snowtractor" that it became clear that the low price was due to the reuse of old components from leftover German Type III tanks from the Second World War.
The first Snowtractor was delivered in January 1968 and by 1975 a total of 112 vehicles had been delivered.
Since its introduction, the vehicle has been an important backbone of overland transportation in Greenland. In its standard configuration, the vehicle could carry 8 persons plus the driver and a cargo of up to 4 tons. With its diesel engine it had a range of 650 km and was able to cross the entire southern part of the ice shelf, where most of the population lived.
In addition to the basic version with a 9-person cabin and cargo in the rear, special versions with an additional cabin in the rear, rescue versions, fuel tankers and more were used. All Snowtractors could also pull up to 3 cargo sleds.
While the Snowtractor was mainly used as a civilian vehicle, it was also possible to arm the vehicles with machine guns, mortars or rocket launchers. In this role, the Snowtractor was used as a military patrol vehicle and the typical bright orange paint was replaced with snow camouflage.
This type of vehicle became known to a wider public during a rescue operation of a crashed Greenland Air flight near the small village of Aappilattoq in south-eastern Greenland, where they were deployed in a snow storm to successfully rescue the passengers and crew of the crashed aircraft.
Despite their age, most of the Snowtractors are still in use today, with only 8 having been lost due to accidents or other problems.
Based on a remnant of a German Panzer III chassis, the bodyshell and all other parts of the Snow Tractor are 3D designed in Tinkercad and 3D printed with a resin printer.
It took several test prints with a FDM printer and the resin printer to get the model right.
The biggest challenge was finding a material to make the windows of the vehicle, several different approaches were tested until some packaging from Christmas decorations was used.
The model was airbrushed and painted with Revell Aqua, the decals were from the decal spare box.
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