This new kit from Hobby Boss has been eagerly anticipated since first announced last year and is the first kit of the M4 HST to be done in plastic using current kit technologies with anyone wanting one previously having to settle for expensive resin kits or the old Nitto kit which is best not spoken of in polite company.
The kit represents the early configuration 90mm/3inch type and captures the features very well with the early type return roller mountings, ammo bins and hull features with the only real issue being the drive sprockets which we will get too shortly. Also included are the full cab interior and a comprehensive engine and radiator assembly that can easily be seen through the finely etched engine bay grills with about the only thing noticeably missing is any actual 90mm/3inch ammo for the rear bin.
Contents of the kit sees 236 parts in light grey plastic, 16 clear plastic parts, 50 finely etched parts including the large engine bay grills plus a set of full length vinyl T49 Steel Cleat tracks, a length of twine and fine chain and as a bonus a small sheet of pre-cut masks for painting the cab windows.
Standard of moulding is fairly crisp details with just a hunt of occasional flash and some pin marks to contend with but overall is quite good being on a par with some recent Trumpeter kits but no quite to the current AFV Club/Dragon/Tristar standards. This leaves room for additional detailing but will still scrub up okay if built straight from the box depending on your preferences. The inclusion of the etched parts certainly helps lift the level of detailing most notable with the engine bay grills as mentioned as well as for things like the head light guards.
pre-cut window masks
The kit poses a conundrum in that is surely welcomed but has a few minor detail issues and some simplification but on the other hand is packed with details such as the full interior and engine and at the end of the day the issues may simply be overlooked in favour of the overwhelming benefits of having the kit in plastic at last. I will mention the issues throughout the review and as always it’s up to the individual to determine if these are of concern or not.
The lower hull tub has nice panel details on the bottom with bogie, idler and final drive mounting bracket detail moulded on with separate early style return roller mountings and return rollers as well as nicely depicted final drive housing also separate for good definition of the hull details.
The large rear idler wheels and mounting are similar in design to those of the M3 Stuart but larger with the idler arm consisting of two halves with a separate shock absorber unit with the idler wheel trapped between the two arms. The idler wheels themselves have the open spoke detail although the cut-outs should be slightly more rounded at the outer curves when compared to photos. Each idler has separate outer circles to form the rim lip but the fit is not good and you will have to coax these into place carefully gluing around the lip as you go. After gluing the rims there are prominent join seems to be filled and sanded resulting in a bit of work to get right.
Each of the four bogie units are fairly simplified with just five parts each including the wheels which are standard Sherman type open spoke wheels, the inner and outer swing arms in one piece each the upper spring unit. Assembly is very straightforward but there are a couple of minor issues in that the spring unit bosses are undersized and the cut-outs in the swing arms slightly oversized and there are some additional bolt heads that can be added to the bogies. But overall they give a good representation of the M4 HST bogie units that fit together without any problems and also fit the hull mountings easily. The early style return roller mountings have the correct early style return rollers and again assembly without any problems.
The biggest issue here is the drive sprockets which are the solid simply plate style but I have not seen this style drive sprocket on any photos of the early M4 HST with the open fancy smooth sprocket being more appropriate. The simple plate sprocket was fitted to some later M4 HSTs but not the early version in this kit. The simplest method to fix this is to carefully cut off the solid plate sprocket leaving the inner hub and then add the outer fancy sprocket from any kit that has them as separate parts such as those from Dragon, Italeri etc. You must take care not to damage the hub bolts while removing the outer plate as this is below the level of the bolts (see images).
The final drive housings are in two parts with additional lifting eyes added and these fit neatly in place to the hull and include the hub axle detail. There is a small gap between the final drive and the hull that may be hidden by the drive sprocket and you should also watch the direction of the lower plate (part A18) as this can be easily fitted the wrong away around if not paying attention to the instructions.
The lower front hull plate is separate and has the three intakes with etched mesh screens and separate covers allowing you to show these open exposing the mesh or closed which offers a nice choice. The mesh is added from the inside of the plate before fitting to the hull tub and you also add the cab floor sections inside the tub with the fit good for these parts.
At the back is the correct early style rear plate with the single long cut-out panel and added to this are the smaller tow shackles and tow hitch with the fit to the hull tub also being good.
As mentioned you get full length vinyl T49 Steel Cleat track which is quite commonly seen on the M4 HST and the detail is quite good for this medium with the end connectors in the correct positions and small gap between each link for good definition. There are a few mould point marks on the inside but these should be easy enough to remove with a sharp blade and will be mostly hidden in any case.
As mentioned this is quite complete with the Driver’s station getting foot pedals from plastic and etched parts plus the gear levers and seats and the large ammo box on the left cab side and at the back is the full winch drum, motor and transfer shafts with the twine provided used for the winch cable. This assembly is fairly basic in detail but it is mostly hidden inside the hull after the rear ammo bin is fitted so is probably adequate for the job.
The main feature here is the full Waukesha 145GZ 6 cyl. Gasoline engine and radiator assembly and this is quite detailed with all the fundamental engine accessories such as the top cover, manifold, distributor, carburettor and front air compressor and fan belt assemblies and the large radiator hoses in four parts with about the only addition being the myriad if wiring and some finer details for an excellent assembly.
Added to this is the radiator with separate coaming and fan along with the support frames and air cleaner and once fitted above the engine the radiator hoses connect up to the engine and with the etched side grills much of this can be seen after assembly.The main cab is a large shell with side entry openings, top machine gun ring and separate windscreen “glass” and the separate side canvas doors also have the glass in clear plastic and Hobby Boss thoughtfully provide pre-cut masks to use when painting the model to make the job easier.
Added inside the cab is the central bulkhead with fire extinguisher as well as separate inner front panel for the instrument panel and other details but this has some quite large pin marks than may take a bit of effort to remove before adding the details.
The instrument panel has moulded on details with a decal for the instrument dial faces along with the other main features and again only needs the finer details added to enhance this further and there are also the inner windscreen latches in etched metal either folded or extended depending if you show the windshields open or closed.
On the outside are the front head lights that have clear lens glass and etched bush guards that need careful bending to shape before fitting. While these are finer than could possibly done in plastic they suffer the usual etched issue of being flat in profile when the actual guards are round wire. Also provided as etched parts are the two windscreen wipers that are nice and fine and it would be best to add these after the main painting due the screen masks to avoid problems.
The top machine gun ring is made up of three parts with the MG race and support being separate parts but the M2 .50cal MG provided is quite basic by today’s standards and could be enhanced considerably by using either of the metal .50cal barrels just released from Adlers Nest or LionMarc/passion Models
Other detail on the roof are the pioneer tools with moulded on tool brackets and the two storage boxes along with a section of spare track and the two part siren.
The engine compartment roof has the outside muffler and inside muffler and channel that mates with the engine as you fit the roof and care will be needed when fitting this to ensure everything lines up okay.
As mentioned the impressive feature here is the large side engine bay doors/screens are in finely etched metal and really do add to the overall look of the final assembly and these can be fitted open or closed if you wish to show off more of the engine and radiator assembly.
Lastly there is the large ammo bin mounted at the back and this has the correct details for the early style bin with the numerous panels fitting together easily with just some small join seams to be dealt with and the upper rear gate has securing fine chain provided to add a bit of detail.
The rear facing lights are the same as at the front with clear lenses and etched bush guards as well as etched inner guards and this whole assembly fits easily to the rear chassis but there is no ammunition provided to fill the bin and after market companies will no doubt come to the rescue here.
These are the usual exploded view drawings that are easy enough to follow in most cases but as some of the sequences are quite busy careful study of the instructions before hand will be of benefit to avoid problems.
The small sheet is nicely printed with fairly thin carrier film cropped close to the printed image and includes markings for two unidentified HSTs shown on the full colour painting guide included although they are finished in the standard overall Olive Drab scheme.
Just note that the decal “18 Ton High Speed Tractor” provided for the front bumper is not fitted on active vehicles and was just used on the demonstrator vehicle.
Alternate Allied Stars with plain stars and stars with broken circles are provided to cover most marking schemes.
Overall this kit will build into an excellent kit of this important vehicle for Allied modellers and while there are some minor detail issues, the suspension being the most obvious the amount of detail provided with the interior and compete engine/radiator assembly will satisfy most.
The addition of the etched parts does lift the level of detail in the kit but adding the finer details will produce a superb model which will be greatly appreciated by allied modellers.
Being the 90mm AA/3inch gun version there is currently not a plastic kit available to be towed by this kit but the later kit (82408) for the 155mm, 204mm/8inch has the AFV Club 155mm “long Tom” and 8inch Howitzer just waiting.
Highly Recommended 8/10
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Detail images
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| High Speed Tractor Ampersand Publishing |
US WWII M4, M5 and M6 High Speed Tractors Tankograd Technical Manual Series - No 6002  |
Thanks to my credit card for the review kit.