26 May 2014

Royal Navy 1960s Flight Deck Tractor Model

This type of flight deck tractor, known as Tugmaster, was derived from an industrial tow vehicle and first saw service with the Royal Navy in the late 1950s. It has served on the Royal Navy aircraft carriers through the 1960s and was replaced late in the decade with a new purpose-built 4WD tractor.

This 1:72 scale model kit is from F4Models (cat. # 7033). The kit contains resin and photo etched parts, decals and instruction sheet. The model will fit nicely into a Royal Navy carrier deck diorama accompanying Sea Hawks, Sea Venoms, Gannets, Scimitars or Sea Vixens.
Here are some photographs of the real vehicles in action: link, link, and a very useful Royal Navy film: link.

21 May 2014

USAF 2000s Flight Line Tow Tractor Model

This flight line tow tractor (FLTT), based on Dodge Ram truck, was in service with the USAF throughout the late 1990s and 2000s. It was used for pulling various carts and not self-propelling ground support equipment on U.S. air installations around the world, including those in Europe, the South-West Asia and the Far East. Note that this tractor is not designed to tow aircraft.

The 1:72 scale model kit is produced by F4Models (cat. # 7023) and includes resin parts, clear parts, photo etched parts, decal and instruction sheet.

Some photographs of the real vehicles in action: linklink.