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[The subject of this article is a WWII Ford Field Artillery Tractor]



Model Subject:  The subject of this article is a WWII Ford Field Artillery Tractor belonging to Gun 4, F Troop, D (?) Battery, 3rd Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, 1st Canadian Division as it appeared in England on March 27th, 1942.   At this point in the war this Division had yet to be blooded and was perpetually engaged in training.   This vehicle is a Canadian Military Pattern F15A FAT-2 with a # 12 cab built by Ford in Walkerville (Windsor), Ontario.
The inspiration to build a model of this subject came from seeing a picture of it on Barry Beldam's Armoured Acorn website.   The motivation to actually build it came when Quartermaster Depot released their "Canadians in Britain #2" decal sheet that contained the markings.




[These vehicles were built by Ford in Windsor, Ontario.]



The Kit:  The kit used was the Tamiya Quad Gun Tractor (kit #35045).   This was an earlier effort from Tamiya that was designed to be motorized.   Because of this, it is larger than the published 35th scale.   It is obviously so when put next to the Italeri Chevy FAT.   A couple sources state that it's closer to 32nd.   Slightly over scale it may be, but the kit captures the angular body and high stance of this dependable beast.




[This kit includes a nice flat head Ford engine.] [The overall level of engine detail is minimal (compared to the Italeri kit).]



Although this kit includes a nice flat head Ford engine, the overall level of detail is minimal (compared to the Italeri kit).   The Eduard Quad Gun Tractor detail set, (#35444) and some scratch building are needed to bring this vehicle to life.





Construction:

The build was accomplished in 4 phases.
I started by assembling the chassis, drive train, fuel tanks and winch.   To this I added torsion bar shock absorbers, along with brake and fuel lines.   This subassembly was then painted and weathered.   The engine was then assembled, painted, and detailed with the addition of a distributor, ignition cables, fuel, and other assorted lines.   This phase was completed by adding the engine to the chassis, and adding cable to the winch.

[I started by assembling the chassis, drive train, fuel tanks and winch.]
[To this I added torsion bar shock absorbers, along with brake and fuel lines.]



[From the Eduard set are the textured floor, gun racks, instrument panel, and front window details.] [I added white glue soaked tissue to the seats.]



The 2nd phase was to build the interior of the cabin.   Here the major pieces provided by the Eduard set are the textured floor, gun racks, instrument panel, and front window details.   To this I added white glue soaked tissue to the seats.




[The kit radiator screens were cut away and replaced with etched brass pieces.]
[the kit front bumper assembly was replaced by Eduard parts, with scratch built tow clevis, and winch fair leads.]
The 3rd phase, detailing the external body, was the most work.   I'll describe what I did by starting at the front and moving to the rear.   I did not follow this order during the actual build.

The kit representations of radiator screens were cut away and replaced with etched brass pieces.   This was basically the biggest modification made to the kit.   A radiator was then scratch built and added to the front of the engine bay.   The battery and additional wiring harnesses were next added to complete the bay.   Also, the kit front bumper assembly was replaced by Eduard parts, with scratch built tow clevis, and winch fair leads.   Finally, the kit mounting tabs for the "bonnet" where replaced with thin brass rod bent to a 45-degree angle to hold it in the open position.




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