1:32 MD-3B Mule Tow Tractor

The MD-3B deck tractor as a 3D-printed kit

Reskit offers a vehicle in its own right in 1:32 scale, not an accessory to an aircraft. The model is made by 3D printing, thanks to which the parts have sharp edges, fine welds and a faithful surface texture. In a display case it adds to a fighter exactly the element that gives it the context of a flight deck.

The Mule of the flight deck

Tractors of the MD-3 series, nicknamed the Mule, were supplied from the 1950s by the Frank Hough Corp. They came about as machines built directly for work on deck: low, so as to pass under the noses of aircraft, with a diesel engine of around a hundred horsepower and a drawbar pull exceeding eight thousand pounds. Besides moving machines around they also served to start them, because at the rear they carried an auxiliary power unit. The version marked with the letter B had a unit of the GTC-85 type. Until the navy went over to white finishes, the Mules were conspicuously yellow.

Building a printed model

Cut the parts from the supports with a sharp knife, sand the marks they leave and wash the whole in warm soapy water before painting. The joints are held by cyanoacrylate glue; the classic solvent for polystyrene has no effect here. Sand wet and with your airways protected.

Who the model is for

• builders of deck scenes with American naval aircraft
• more experienced modelers with experience of printed parts
• collectors of ground equipment of airfields and aircraft carriers
• makers of dioramas from the Cold War

The tractor is supplied in pieces and with no finish. Neither paints nor glue are in the box.