Search the Community

US Tug Clarktor 6, MILL-33 Heavy Duty Airfield Tractor (32001) 1:32 Thunder Model via Albion Alloys Having its origins at the beginning of the 20th century, and formalising the company name at the end of WWI, the Clark Materials Handling Company was formed around and named after their chief designer Eugene Clark. They were innovators in materials handling, creating one of the first transport tractors that utilised the internal combustion engine. They produced the first towing tractor, and in the mid-20s created forklift trucks by modifying one of their tructractors, also adapting them to another use, generating another portmanteau – the Clarktor, which was also first manufactured in the mid-20s. By the time of WWII, the Clarktor-5 was in common usage with the Allies including the British, and when the Clarktor-6 was released in 1942 it too entered service with Allied forces. Powered by a 3.8L flat 6-cylinder Chrysler engine that output 62hp, it could travel at a maximum speed of 15mph, which was perfectly sufficient for towing aircraft, although getting to and from the next towing job must have been a little tedious. The RAF and FAA used over 1,500 Clarktor-6s under Lend/Lease, using its power and traction to tow any ordnance that the British forces launched, dropped or fired, and it could also pull aircraft up to 90 tons, which covered everything up to a fully loaded heavy bomber. The Mill-33 was a lighter-weight variant with single rear wheels, and it carried on in service until well after WWII, when it was superseded by more modern types, although many of the Clarktors were bought and cared for by civilians, either used by small airstrips, maintained as historic exhibits or by re-enactors. The Kit This is a brand-new tooling in 1:32 that will allow modellers in this scale to add them to dioramas or attached to an aircraft in a towing situation. The kit arrives in a flat top-opening box with a captive lid, and inside are three sprues of grey styrene, four flexible black tyres, two frets of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, a clear sprue, a small decal sheet, instruction booklet printed in greyscale on glossy paper, plus two high-gloss sheets with painting and decaling instructions on both sides. This is a full-detail kit with an engine under the hood and chassis depicted, with PE details that improve the look and give a more realistic scale to some of the most important aspects of the model, such as the perforated bumper/guard at the front. Construction begins with the motor, building the block from seven parts that includes the fan belt, adding intake and exhaust manifolds, plus styrene and PE ancillaries and a six-part transmission box, the completed assembly trapped between the two short chassis rails along with a horseshoe bulkhead in front of the driver, and a mounting plate with PE bracket under the front of the engine. The radiator and feeder hoses are applied to the front of the rails, using the cowling temporarily without glue to test-fit and adjust the fitment of the two ends of the engine compartment. The leaf-springs are fitted under the engine bay, with an axle straddling them, and two pivoting stub-axles joined by a linkage, plus a few detail parts under the engine. At this point the steering column is fitted, but it is shown in already in place in the instructions, and the detail parts are being added to the bottom end, so take care with assembly here. A steering arm with pivot are attached between the left chassis rail and the axles, then it’s time to build up the rear axle with differential bulge from two parts, fitting it above the leaf-springs with bolted retention plates underneath, and the shortest drive-shaft I have ever seen, comprising four parts. A pair of levers are installed on the transmission box, with more detail parts on the left chassis rail, fixing the radiator feeder reservoir to the driver’s bulkhead and curving a PE heat shield around it so that the driver doesn’t burn his knees. There is a small diagram showing the location of stencil and dial decals on the bulkhead, totalling five in all, although they’re best left off until painting is done. The floor of the vehicle is placed between the rails, with an end-plate at the rear, covering it with a tread-plated PE skin that is bent up at the front to create the kickboard, through which the two pedals are threaded, with a scrap diagram showing the ledge on the bulkhead where the kickboard should locate. The exhaust consists of a downpipe that leads to a two-part muffler under the chassis, with an exhaust pipe leading out of the rear, angled down at the end. The driver’s floor is bracketed by the two rear arches, and a seat base is made into a box from five parts and is glued to the PE floor with super glue, fixing a plate to the rear of the chassis that holds the towing hitch with pin. The driver’s seat is made from cushion and backrest that is glued to the top of the base, adding a PE fairing around the steering column, and a wheel at the top, plus a PE four-bladed fan at the front of the engine. Another PE insert fills most of the gap around the wheel and pedals to prevent debris from jamming the pedals. The front and rear wheels are made differently, the front wheels consisting of smaller tyres and two hub halves. The rear wheels are a little larger and more complex, making the inner hub from three parts, and trapping the tyre between it and the front hub half. Each wheel fits in an arch, one per corner. The protective front bumper extends up over the radiator, and has perforations to let the cooling air flow through, so it is supplied as a PE part that is bent to an angle on both sides, has stiffener plates added to the sides, and two mounting brackets on the flat front portion, which attach directly to the tops of the chassis rails, using super glue (CA) again, and adding two more L-shaped brackets from beneath to the inner edges of the rails. The last task is to create the engine cowling, starting with the base rails, which are folded to an L-profile and mounted on top of the chassis rails, adding the front arches from PE parts that are bent and folded to a template that is printed at 1:1 in a diagram below with measurements, a job that is repeated on the opposite arch. The top cowling has a pair of headlights with clear lenses attached to the front edge on PE brackets, and a PE badge near the driver’s end. The side cowlings are flat PE parts with two mesh vents sections in the middle, and these are detailed with a grab-handle at the top and two clasps at the bottom. There are question-marks printed next to these last steps, although it’s not entirely clear to this modeller which parts are optional, so check your references to be sure. Markings There are four decal options on the small sheet, and each option has a page of profiles that have been penned by AK Interactive, so uses paint codes from their acrylic and RealColor ranges. The operators and period of service aren’t given on the profiles, but some clues can be found in the serials, one of which says “RAF”. From the box you can build one of the following: The decals are printed anonymously, and are printed only in black or white, so registration isn’t an issue. The only multi-coloured decal is a lamination of black under a white stencil, but you may want to paint the plate black during detail painting to save having to wait for the extra layer of decal to set. Conclusion Great news for 1:32 modellers, who can add a tractor to their latest model without resorting to resin, and with just a little bit of basic PE wrangling to create realism where it matters on the kit. Highly recommended. Available in the UK in all good model shops. Review sample courtesy of

Well, the scale fits so here we go. This is a fairly recent release. I figured how hard could it be? One main sprue, two small duplicate ones for the rims, a small PE fret, and four tyres...

My entire is this fantastic looking kit, the box isn’t massive but it’s packed with not one but two kits. my plan is to build the transport in this GB and build the load in the Desert GB later in the year. the plan is to set the scene somewhere in North Africa prior to the second battle of El Alamein. the instructional video is great reference material fully understand how the loaded a tank in 1942.

Having finished by Churchill Tank I'm about to start what I think will be a much bigger and longer project... Having followed a number of Scammell builds on here, I decided to have a go and bought this: Looks to be a great kit, with a lot of detail... I particularly like the detail sheets that come with it showing colour schemes. Having them laid out as they are is really useful as it compliments the mainly black and white pictures that are on net: I have been doing a bit of research on the vehicles themselves and it seems that there are differences between the base pioneer and the set up that was used as a tank transporter. The chassis was beefed up to allow more crew space on the transporter and it had bigger wheels which I guess is to take the weight but also give more ground clearance under load. Also, the transporter itself was really difficult to de-mount in the field so they stayed largely as transporters all the time. I can't imagine that made them the most versatile vehicles in battle. I wanted to stick something on the back of it and seeing as I have had the Tamiya tractor and 25 pounder kit under my desk for ages I have decide to use a bit of poetic licence and have that a vehicle / rig being recovered by the transporter. I'm going to assume that given that they were about the transporters could have been pressed into use for a number of different tasks... I am not sure yet what order this lot will be built in or indeed how fast it will be... Work is quite hectic at the moment. But I'll document what I do and will be looking for any hints, tips or general encouragement / motivation as I work through my many mistakes!!!

German Flat Wagon Ssyl (35904) 1:35 Thunder Model via Pocketbond Since there have been railways the military have been utilising them to move men and equipment. The Germans in particular pressed into service what ever they could, and in this case the Ssyl 50t flat wagon is a Russian one. The Germans went as far as getting these upgraded back in Koln with German bogies being added. Sometime much more including couplings, buffers and the brake system were changed as well. The Kit A new tool from Thunder Models that will look good as part of a rail diorama or with a tank/AFV sat on it. The kit arrives on 9 sprues of plastic, 2 PE frets, decals and some wire. Construction starts with the two bogies for each end of the flat car, each bogie has two axles. These make up from both PE and plastic parts. They are actually quite complex to construct and looking at the instructions it would be best to follow them exactly. Once the two bogies are built then its onto the main frame of the flat bed. Like the real thing this is built up from a series of chassis rails and cross members. There is at each end an end plate which holds the buffers. Under the chassis goes an air tank and parts for the braking system. Four large parts with a simulated wood grain go on top, and then the bogies can be fixed underneath. Markings The base colour is grey, and there are some makings in white for chassis. Conclusion A first glance this would seem an easy kit, however it is quite involved. Will look god with a Tank or ARV chained down on top. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of UK Distributors for

Case VAI Tractor Thunder Models 1/35 I've had this little Case tractor sitting on the shelf, built up and in primer, for a couple of years, but I've never seemed to find the time to get it finished. I've currently got a short gap between bigger projects, so I thought it was high time I got it out of the box and done. Another reason for the long delay in getting it done was that I wasn't sure what to do with it. I'd originally primed it in rust with the view to finishing it as rusted out wreck, but when it came to it I decided to go for a heavily worn but still working machine finished in the original Case orangey red, albeit with a heavy dose of chipping. The kit itself is very nice, with some lovely detailing. Some of the parts, such as the steering linkage, are a little fragile but everything goes together very easily. The only additions are a bit of wiring on the engine. As well as the original Thunder release, the kit's now been re-boxed by Airfix. (for the observant out there, yes, I did put one of the rear tyres on backwards) Thanks for looking Andy

Thunder Models have three new releases due shortly that can all be pre-ordered now. https://www.wonderlandmodels.com/blog/article/thunder-models-new-releases-pre-order/

Scammell R100 Pioneer Heavy Artillery Tractor Thunder Models 1:35 Recently modellers have noticed that different manufacturers are releasing kits of the same subjects, in fact it’s becoming more and more prevalent. For those of us that like British soft skin vehicles from WWII, the likes of IBG and Mirror models, for the most part, have given us the sort of kits we wanted. Now Thunder Models have got in on the act, with this release of the Scammell R100 Pioneer heavy artillery prime mover, at pretty much the same time that IBG released theirs, which we reviewed HERE. Whether Thunder and IBG began working on this together then went their separate ways, or it was just bad luck that they produced the same kits at the same time, we’ll never know. Still, it’s good to have a choice when it comes to buying a kit of a particular subject. It’s certainly been interesting the different approach each company have taken to produce the same vehicle The model comes in a hinged lid style heavy duty cardboard box. Inside there are twelve sprues of grey styrene, one of clear, two sheets of etched copper, a length of chain, a length of silver thread and three decal sheets. All the parts are beautifully moulded with no sign of flash or other imperfections, but there are quite a few moulding pips, adding to the cleanup operations. The details Thunder have provided for the engine and suspension is superb, and with the separate side panels of the bonnet, you will be able to show this detail. The engine itself is a work of art, being made up from thirty two parts. The radiator is assembled from seven parts and the kit comes with a separate, almost addendum part for the radiator core which is much more detailed than the standard part. Whether this will be in all kits or just the first run it doesn’t say. The radiator assembly is then attached to the front of the engine, whilst to the rear the two piece bell housing is attached. The front axle and suspension is then built up from nine parts and is glued to the front section of the chassis, which consists of separate rails and five cross members. The rail ends to the front are fitted with another leaf spring, like the main suspension units, but for the front mounted towing hook. The transfer box and rear mounted pulley assembly are then built up before fitting to the chassis, as is the large frame containing the main pulley wheel. The main pulley frame is then fitted with a couple of take of gear systems. The rear suspension springs are then attached, followed by the rather complex double wheel axle arrangement, including the rear differential. There are a couple of diagrams taken from the servicing manual showing how all the cables are run for the brakes etc. The cab is then assembled, made from a floor, front and rear bulkheads, driver and passenger seats, , driver pedals, instrument binnacle, with decal instruments, cab sides and under-floor attachment rails. The cab assembly is then glued to the chassis, and the steering column fitted from the steering rack through the bulkhead and the steering wheel attached. Before the top section of the bonnet is fitted, the air box and exhaust manifolds are attached to the engine. The windows are then fitted, along with the PE hinges. The kit comes complete with the large lifting beam option. To fit this, you will need to cut out sections of the roof frames before they are glued into position on the inside of the canvas roof. If you want the beam extended you will also have to remove a bracket on the rearmost frame and rear canvas part. The truck bed is made up from the floor, three part sides and rear bulkhead, which includes the canvas cover, folded away. To the front of the bed there is another section for more crew, which is made up from a separate floor, rear bulkheads, and a pair of seats with separate cushions. On the underside of the bed, there is a pair of curved mudguard frames, cross beams and other fittings. The assembled crew station and bed are then glued to the chassis. With the roof/lifting beam assembly then glued into place. The door panels are then glued into position and can be posed open or closed, followed by the two front mudguards, six piece fuel tank, and wheel hubs. The wheels are of rather a strange construction, in that the fronts are made up of five parts, the inner and outer wheel and three mid sections that make up the tread area. The rears are slightly different, as they are of only three parts, inner and out wheel with a single mid section. The outer sections have tread that matches up half way between the tread on the mid section, although if you wish to model a vehicle used in India, you can rotate the outer sections half a tread to give you the correct look for that theatre. With the wheels attached, the final bits of assembly are the fitting of the two rear mudguards and the PE stowage rack on the right hand side of the cab, under the floor. Decals The three decal sheets, one a medium size, the other two, small, contain markings for four vehicles. The decals are nicely printed, in register and nicely opaque. The options are:- R100 Pioneer – H4191088 of the 1st British Army, 54th Heavy Artillery Regiment with 7.2” Howitzers, Operation Torch, 1942 R100 Pioneer – H5418757 of an unknown unit, France 1944 R100 Pioneer – WL256413 R100 Pioneer – Captured, in German Service, Summer 1943. Conclusion As with busses, you wait ages for a Scammell Pioneer to be released and two come along at the same time. Which is the better of the two, well, that’s up to you. While both are very well detailed, I think that this kit has that little bit extra, such as the poseable cab doors and smaller items. It would have been nice to have a few more vehicle options, but I’m sure decal manufacturers will accommodate the modellers that wish to build a particular vehicle. Review sample courtesy of UK Distributors for

The rather popular Thunder Models 1/35 Scale 30 Ton Scammell Pioneer Tank Transporter Kit is now back in stock, order now to secure yours before the Christmas rush. https://www.wonderlandmodels.com/products/thunder-models-135-scammel-transporter/

Takom and Thunder Models have some great new Tank Kits to add to the 1/35 Military Models range this coming month: https://www.wonderlandmodels.com/blog/article/new-takom-thunder-models-tanks-june-2017/

Looks like there's yet another new Chinese model company on the scene, by the name of Thunder Model. No products out yet, but a couple of interesting releases lined up. US Army Case Tractor 1/35 CAD shots Bergepanzer 38 Hetzer CAD shots They've also got a US Army Loader listed on their website, but no images yet. Andy