Trucks, trailers, and other “tactical” but “non-combat” vehicles have never been popular model subjects.  Let’s face it: A forklift just isn’t as exciting as a Pershing or a Sturmtiger.  Now that we are in the Golden Age of armor modeling with new kits seemingly released by the day, many of these other vital but unglamorous vehicles are hitting the shelves.  

Armored artillery vehicles such as the M4/M4A3 105mm howitzer tank, the M7 105mm and M8 75mm howitzer carriages have looked practically naked when modeled in travel order because many wartime photos show M8 Armored Ammunition Trailers tagging along behind the guns.  Except for an ephemeral resin kit some years ago, there hasn’t been a trailer to go with all those Priests and M8s, but Tiger Model Designs has come to our rescue with an all new kit of the M8 armored trailer.

The kit comes packed in a nice, rigid box with plenty of space and bubble-wrap, so expect your kit to arrive intact.  There are 24 resin pieces, two lengths of different diameter solder wire, and a generous strip of lead foil.  The parts are very clean and dense with nice undercuts and no visible bubbles or pinholes. In fact, the only bubbles I found at all were the two on the inside of the wheels that will be covered completely by the assembled hub. The detailing is exceptional.  The body and covers are very thin (nearly to scale) and consequently a slight bit of warpage is present, but easily repairable with a hair dryer or hot water soak. Several parts are cast onto wafers or bars that will take some delicate cutting and sanding to remove.  The body is deceptively tricky because the plug is large and flat.  (By the way, you want the bottom of the body frame to be flat.  There was a 1/8-inch skid plate enclosing the frame members.)  Going slow with the sanding is essential because it is easy to start cutting into the part itself if the piece starts rocking or wobbling while running it over the paper.  As before, however, care and patience will suffice.  

The instructions include a parts layout photo, two pages of directions, and four pages copied from the trailer’s technical manual.  No painting or marking information is included.  The instructions are better than those in most in resin kits, but the nth generation TM copies are a bit hard to read.  One nice addition would have been better illustrations differentiate what was the plug to be removed from the pieces, but this isn’t essential if you study all the material provided before cutting.  Pay particular attention in cleaning up the ends of parts 6, 8, and 17.  They each have small nubs that fit into dimples in their mating parts, which allow them to be positioned accurately yet flexibly until you are ready to lock them in place with a dab of glue.

Assembling the kit was pretty easy.  I deviated slightly from the instructions by mounting the brake drums to the body first and the wheels later after painting.  Two corrections to note in the instructions: The brake drums should be attached so that the brake cable locating hole is toward the front but slightly below the frame, say the 4:30 or 7:30 o’clock position.  Also, there is a detail view showing the orientation of the tongue (part 2) channels that is incorrect.  The outer channels actually point inward, as molded on the parts, rather than outward as shown in the sketch.  This won't affect anything, but it may be confusing.  Attach part 2 so that the outer members are flush with the angled frame pieces on the bottom of the body.  I had a little trouble getting all four of the tongue channel ends to sit flat against the front of the body.  Use care and trial fit as needed.  When assembled, the tongue should angle upwards slightly.  The instructions really should give an angle, diagram, or vertical offset.  The best bet is to dry fit the stand pieces into the tongue so that you can tilt it up enough for the stand to be vertical.  I didn't quite make it on mine.

The rest of the assembly went smoothly, except for the hand brake lever, part 9.  The solder supplied was just too thick to use as the brake or release cables.  With the solder mounted to the bellcranks on the lever, it just wouldn’t fit into place.  It looks like the handbrake-mounting bracket is too low.  On the real trailer the lower bellcrank should be high enough so that a wire running horizontally to the right wheel is level with the top of the tongue channel.  On the kit, the wire runs smack into the channel.  It’s inconsequential as far as looks go but it’s a pain to deal with if you are adding the brake cables.  I ended up making clevises from some left over PE parts and rigging with copper wire.  I just bent the wire to go up and over the channel and it looks fine.

There was also some problem with the hitch (part 3).  Despite assembling easily, it wasn't straight.  Warming it up and forcing it to make part 8 align straight ahead didn't quite work out.  After several tries I wasn't making much progress so I put it "close enough" and moved on.

I used copper wire to make the cargo strap loops, and some stiffer pieces to form the cover latch handles as noted in the directions.  There were eight web straps in the box and four on the lids to secure the cargo.  I also added .012 wire rope for the hitch release cable, coiled armature wire for the stand locking spring, and some odd wire for the hitch lock pins.

I painted the body with the stand, wheels, covers, and hitch parts separate.  I finished assembly after the painting and marking was completed and fixed everything in place with a dot of glue.  I finished up with some minor weathering.

A comparison of the kit to the manual shows nearly a perfect match to the published dimensions.  One item worth noting is the tire tread.  The kit includes the standard (and perfectly acceptable) non-directional mud and snow pattern, but wartime photographs show the civilian pattern almost exclusively.  Tires and rubber were in short supply throughout WW II, so lesser grades of tires were used for non-critical applications on a substitute basis.  The tires themselves are a bit too square in cross-section, but I doubt anyone can really tell the difference.

The only omission I noted was a small triangular tool compartment on the left side of the tongue.  This seems to have appeared between the publishing of the first edition of the technical manual in September 1942 and the second edition in January 1943. I added it with some plastic sheet and a small wing nut.

Regarding cargo, you won’t be limited to 75mm and 105mm howitzer rounds.  The technical manual pages list the following suitable loads:

Five-gallon gasoline cans - 54
105mm howitzer rounds – 42
75mm gun rounds – 93 (Or a like number of 75mm howitzer rounds)
37mm gun rounds – 360
Cal. .50 machine gun rounds – 25,200
81mm mortar rounds – 222

The manual does not describe how these items were stored other than to say they were secured with the web straps inside the body and on the covers.  Most likely the larger rounds were transported in their cardboard tubes while the smaller 37mm and mortar rounds were hauled in their wooden packing boxes.  The machine gun ammunition was no doubt kept in the packing cans or wooden crates and boxes.  I filled the bed with 75mm howitzer packing tubes and jerry cans.

Although briefly described in the instructions, a little more explanation as to the purpose of the hitch and release mechanism is warranted.  Tanks and SP gun carriages did not mount pintles (towing hooks) until well into 1942.  The hitch in the kit was created so those vehicles produced before then could tow trailers.  This U-shaped frame (part 3) attached to the vehicle’s rear tow lugs and included a quick-release pintle (part 13) as mounted on later vehicles.  Part 8 was actually an assembly of several pieces.  The thin arm with the pulley was hinged to the larger support.  The narrow end of the main part, the support, had a pinned clevis (fork) that was welded to the back of the tank.  When assembled and welded, the support kept the frame from dragging on the ground.  The single upper and two lower pins allowed removal of the hitch.  In either arrangement, the trailer lunette (towing eye) was clasped by the pintle and a cable was connected to the pintle release lever.  The cable was fed through the pulley of the hitch’s release mechanism (if the hitch was mounted) and lead over the rear deck to the commander’s position on the towing vehicle.  Here it was tied off to a convenient part, such as the AA machine gun pedestal.  If the trailer became damaged in combat or was at risk of burning or exploding, the tank commander could pull the cable and drop the trailer.

This was a very nice little kit of a useful minor subject, and easily worth four stars.  I didn’t give it the full five because of all the little things listed above.  

Thanks to Tiger Model Designs for providing the review sample to Track-Link.

[Note - I'll post some pictures when available.]