Imperial Armored Hoth Tank (IA-HT)

This is a sketchbook build from Joe Johnston art from the earliest days of The Empire Strikes Back production in 1978. Initially, production thought they could redress Norwegian Army tanks into Imperial assault vehicles, but the idea was scrapped. This of course led to the AT-AT Walkers, so it's worked out in the end. Regardless, these tank sketches are beguiling, and it was a great pleasure to make this particular build. 

I deviated from the sketch by omitting the windows, pop up rear gunner, and the bubble dome in the front, and added AT-AT/AT-ST design cues in the armor plating and bubble mounted cheek guns. I added the "goblin" from the AT-ST, and having just finished season 2 of Andor as I was plating and painting, I took cues from the Hanomag-based ground vehicle in the show, adding in the Imperial logo, the striping, the "011" on the rear fenders, and the two tone blue and white. The model itself rides on a 1/16th M-60 radio controlled tank, and I preserved the drivability as well as the smoke feature at the rear, in the engine area. 

Oh... and IA-HT also can mean "It's A H.I.S.S. Tank" as it throws off strong H.I.S.S. vibes, the famous Cobra tank from G.I. Joe. I am a sucker for a good joke.