1:48 U.S.Howitzer M8- Hedgerow cutter (Tamiya kit)

Hauler 1:48 — a hedgerow cutter for the U.S. Howitzer Motor Carriage M8

A photo-etched set with which you can add a hedgerow cutter — an improvised nose structure made of steel sections — to a model of the American M8 self-propelled howitzer carriage in 1:48 scale. It is not a vehicle kit but an accessory for a model you already have. Check the exact number of parts against the illustration on the packaging. It is based on the dimensions of the Tamiya kit.

The real subject

The Howitzer Motor Carriage M8 was an American self-propelled howitzer carriage on the chassis of the M5 light tank, with an open rotating turret and a 75 mm howitzer. It was used for direct fire support. In Normandy in 1944 the Allied units ran into dense earth banks overgrown with brush, which tracked vehicles could not push through; crews therefore welded toothed structures of steel sections onto the nose, which broke through the bank instead of the vehicle climbing over it and exposing its thinly armored belly. This accessory is characteristic of models of the fighting in the hedgerows.

Building tips

Degrease the fret first and separate the parts with a sharp scalpel on a hard surface. Make the bends in a bender or between razor blades. They are glued with cyanoacrylate in a minimal quantity; plastic cement will not join metal. Apply a primer suitable for metal before painting. Because this was a field improvisation, it pays to emphasize the edges of the teeth with a polished metal sheen and to suggest coarser welds at the joints — the structure never looked factory clean.

Who the set is for

• modelers building American hardware of 1944 in 1:48 scale
• builders of dioramas of the Normandy fighting
• those who want to set a model apart with a characteristic field accessory
• modelers with experience of photo-etched parts