Replica 1939 U.S. Army tank at GSC Monday

GAINESVILLE - What do a pre-historic dinosaur bone and a World War II tank track link have in common?

When Gainesville State College Assistant Professor of Anthropology Steve Nicklas saw the two lying side by side in his lab, he immediately saw the connection between the two. "If I can take a mold of that bone, have it cast and make a replica, why can't I do that with the tank track?"

Nicklas has worked with Michael Sincak, President and CEO of Treasure of the Earth in Pennsylvania over the years with paleontological reproductions. While no one has ever created a tank using the cast/mold technique, both Nicklas and Sincak felt confident about the project. Once they were successful with one piece of replica link, they created several others and assembled them into a section of track that would have been on a 1944 Tiger I tank from World War II.

The success of this trial motivated Nicklas to form a partnership with Sincak, and together they submitted a bid to the U.S. Army and the National Infantry Museum (NIM) at Fort Benning in Columbus.

Michael Criscillis, CAS is the curator of NIM. He was impressed by what he saw and asked Nicklas if they could replicate an entire Tiger I tank. Never one to say no, Nicklas felt certain it could be done and said yes. He and Sincak went about working out the details.

Since there are currently no Tigers in the US, Nicklas decided to start with an M3 Stuart Light Tank from 1939 which is in the possession of the Army in an undisclosed location. One of only three left in the world, not many individuals would have access to see this tank. With replica tanks available for display, many more individuals would have access in museums and dioramas.

Phase one of the project began in October of 2010 when Nicklas and 10 of his former students began working on the life-size tank replication process, which involved disassembling, cleaning and molding each piece of the tank, which weighs approximately 15 tons.

During phase two, the molds were transported to Sincak at Treasures of the Earth in Pennsylvania, where they were cast and assembled, complete with moving tracks and a gun turret that fired. (A YouTube video of the tank " firing" may be viewed under the heading REPLICA STUART M3 TANK at www.youtube.com.) The assembled replica was then transported to Gainesville.

Once Nicklas got the tank back to Georgia, he and his students went about completing phase three  final sanding, painting and decal placement before it is transported to Ft. Benning.

The finished replica weighs only 2,500 pounds. "It is basically made out of the same material as a Chevy Corvette, which is strong, durable and rather light,' said Nicklas. Sincak added that in the production of some of the panels he used Composite Technology similar to that used in the stealth fighter never attempted before in Replica Fabrication.

"All other replicas are recreated using metal and wood and are never exactly correct. This replica will be exactly correct, will cost much less, and we can get approximately 20 castings from one silicone mold," said Nicklas.

"While we have cast items over 12 ft. by 30 ft. in size, we have never cast items that had moving parts," said Sincak. "This project is truly a "dinosaur of a different type" with a unique set of challenges involved in making the track move. The students who created the molds were in a unique situation and took part in somewhat of a brainteaser which involved how to make the final cast come together properly and eventually move."

Sincak described this as "a mini-internship with a really cool final product" - one that the students can be proud of. "Creativity and hands-on experiences are the best educators. As a geologist, I learned early on the real value of using your hands and your brain. Through this tank project, the students got their hands dirty, gained a great deal of knowledge and got down to the creative level."

The replica M3 Stuart tank will be on display at the GSC Campus on Monday from 10:30-4:00 in the parking lot adjacent to the tennis courts and Hugh M. Mills Physical Education Complex. From 10:30-12:00, Nicklas and his team of students will be on hand to answer questions and explain the process. Criscillis is also scheduled to make the trip from Ft. Benning to take part in the public display at the College.

"This is an opportunity to see a replica, the first of its kind, of an M3 Stuart," said Nicklas. "This is pretty exciting!"

"The possibilities are endless using this technique," he continued. "We can mold cannons and other battlefield archeology, and my ultimate goal is to mold and cast a complete Tiger...Heavy Tank."

Nicklas is hopeful that the relationship he and Sincak have built with Criscillis and others at the NIM will make it possible for GSC students to take part in internships that will prepare them for careers in artifact identification, preservation and display.

"This fall, I will be teaching 'Mold Making and the Archeology,' which will explore these techniques and will be a hands-on learning experience for GSC students," said Nicklas. "Maybe we can get started on that Tiger Tank."