¹⁄35

HST and captured German 88mm

Hobby Boss H.S.T High Speed Tractor

The M4 High Speed Tractor was designed to tow field artillery pieces, from the small field guns, to the large Long Tom 155mm guns. Along with this it carried a fair amount of ammo for the towed piece, along with its crew.

Up until now anyone wanting to make one of these would have to use a resin model, which means resin model prices........ouch!! So when Hobby Boss announced that they were going to bring one out in plastic, us Allied fans started to jump for joy. The question is, was it worth the wait? I think so.

So, whats in the box

The kit is the early configuration and looks every bit the part with the early return rollers, and consists of around 240 parts, along with a set of brass etched engine bay doors, and rather neat pre cut masks, for the perspex parts. The standard of moulding is fairly good ,with the occasional pin mark to sort out. The brush guards in plastic are o.k, but could do with brass etched if your feeling really picky, detail is overall very good, not quite up to the recent DML standards but more than acceptable.

The engine is a model in its own right, and is very nice, pity so much of it is hidden when finished, but there is room for a little more detail in there with cables, and wires etc. The running gear overall is ok, yes, there are a few accuracy problems,especially with the drive sprockets but nothing that cant be sorted out with a bit of TLC, and a spares box. The tracks on the other hand are way too long, so I had to pin mine to look like they sag, although not strictly accurate, I do have photos of a HST taken at Beltring a couple of years ago, with sagging tracks, so its up to you, this is fairly easy to do using dress makers pins, and a bit of patience!! The model comes with a full, interior , the engine is great , the drivers cabin is ok, along with some brass details like the pedals, and the window braces, the seating compartment comes with the all well known flat seats, so I added a slight texture using body putty and liquid glue, once agian, its all there , but with plenty of room for a bit more detail .

Conclusion

Overall a very good, and well thought out kit of a very unusual subject, with plenty of room for the brass etched fans to go at, but enough detail to look good if built straight from the box.

I made mine straight from the box, the only addition is a tarpaulin made from lead foil, and a few odds and ends to clutter up the crew compartment. I found a photo of one of these vehicles towing a captured German 88, during the battle of the Bulge, so off I went. The DML 88 kit has already been reviewed on this site before, so Im not going to say much about it other than, THIS KIT IS THE DADDY of 88`s, head and shoulders above the old Tamiya kit, so go out and get it, build it , LOVE it. Will I be making some more Hobby Boss kits?..... I think so. well done hobby boss.