The M4 High Speed Tractor is an 18 ton artillery prime mover. It was used in WWII and Korea to tow the 90mm antiaircraft gun, 155mm gun, and 8 inch and 240mm howitzers. The tractor had seating for the gun crew and an ammunition box mounted on the rear, behind the engine. The class A box was for the antiaircraft gun and the class B box with louvered side vents and swivle crane with chain winch for 155mm & 240mm shells. Defensive armorment was a .50 caliber M2 machine gun mounted on a ring above the crew compartment.
The Hobby Boss High Speed Tractor (3-in./90mm) kit # 82407.
This excellent book by David Doyle & Pat Stansell was my referrence for this build.
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The model is the M4 High Speed Tractor (3-in./90mm) in 1:35 scale from HobbyBoss (kit # 82407) which towed the antiaircraft gun and mounted the Class A ammo box. This kit is, in my opinion, every bit as good as Tamiya or Dragon. In general, there was very little cleanup to do. 99% of the pin marks can not be seen on the finished model and those that can are easy to remove. I'm a lazy modeler, I'm only concerned with what can be seen.
The kit has a nicely detailed cab and crew conpartment and a very nice engine compartment. The p/e engine doors are excellent.
Below is the Dashboard assembly. The raised detail is excellent. A decal is provided for the instrument panel, but I think a painted panel looks better in this case. Part C35, which I think is the heater, is about 1mm too long. It will keep the cab from fitting to the fender, so I sanded it down.
Below are 3 pictures of progress so far. In these pictures the cab and engine compartment roof are loosly set into place. I have completed weathering on the interior. You cam see that mich detail painting is left to be done.
The two pictures below were taken 5 Feb. You may notice (I didn't till I saw the picture) that I bumped the Class A ammo box to the right a bit. It isn't glued in place, only there for the picture. The remaining parts are the light cages (p/e), the engine grills (p/e), the windshields, side mirrors, and the machine gun. The Side doors will not be mounted on this vehicle. I will now detail paint/ touch up, Make the tarp cover for the ammo box, and weather the model. Then the aforementioned small parts will be added.
Below are pictures of the finished model. I chose to leave off the doors and mirrors as this was often done in the field. The tarp covering the Class A ammo box is lead foil. The model was painted Yamiya's Acrylic Olive Drab (XF-62) overall. Seats and tarp are Tamiya Acrylic Khaki Drap (XF-51).
Weathering and the rust on the muffler is done with MIG Pigments. I have the 155mm version of the HST and AFV Clubs Long Tom in the stash for a future project. For now, I'm callin' this done!
