Wings of Intent: Tarmac towing tractor - Adapted 1/72 resin vehicle

(The completed model can be visited here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2023/02/tarmac-tow-tractor-tweaked-zetor-15.html

I liked the look of the towing tractor in these photos, and promptly acquired a Planet/CMK resin 1/72nd release. I am aware that they are not the same tractor, and differ in some details, but I think that being just a prop for photography and changing a couple things it would do.

You may see below that my kit included the wrong photo-etched set. This error seems to stem from a wrong article number. If you see the header of the instructions, you will see MV127, while the photo they include in the instructions of the P.E. set says "MV125". The fret I got is also marked MV125, but corresponds to another vehicle.

I bought this kit from Squadron, and I wrote to them including proof of purchase and asking them to send the right set, so I can continue with the build, as the P.E. details make an important number of the parts needed. We will see how their customer service responds.

The wrong P.E. set:

The parts here have been separated from their casting blocks, and a few sub-assemblies are in progress. The level of detail is fantastic, the casting flawless, and the fit good. The instructions include many drawings, but of the parts already in place, so some head-scratching will be inevitable. A few parts -as it happens with resin kits- are not easily separated and require great care:

You may have noticed a sign on the tractor in the first photo at the header, I printed a scaled one and will be adding it to the model:

Changing the position of a few parts and adding a detail or two will hopefully render a credible model, that if not 100% accurate, will be adding interest to the presentation.

Home-made lights will replace the ones in the kit:

If only Planet airplane kits would have been like this tractor...I have built some of their civil offers, fair kits -that need a bit of TLC- but nothing like the precision and detail of this vehicle. I wish more airplanes would reach this level of quality.

All that could be built without the photo-etched parts has been built. Once more instructions proved lacking on where exactly do the parts go, the specific points where they should be inserted, etc. There are main wheels caps that the instructions have you put on top of the already existing ones, on the exterior, but it made more sense to me to drill them and use them as location devices to glue the wheels to the axles (otherwise the existing hole in the wheel has no detail and is exceedingly big).

Once the photo-etched replacement parts arrive from Squadron, or Planet/CMK, the build will continue, hopefully in time to accompany the completed Beguine Mustang.

New exhaust and ad sign:

I got a prompt reply from Squadron, stating that the full stock of kits they have, all have the same issue. They will communicate with the manufacturers to see how to fix the problem. I also wrote to them.

Somebody was asleep at the wheel... of that tractor in Planet/CMK/Special Hobby 😃!

Thanks to a link sent by Takuji Hosoda I was able to make a more accurate ad sign:

http://72-32vintagespeedmodel.blogspot.com/

Planet/CMK/Special Hobby responded immediately to my email and a replacement (correct) set is on its way. Thanks to all involved.

The correct photo-etched set arrived from the Czech Republic, thanks Planet/CMK/Special Hobby!

The build can continue now. Several photo-etched parts were added, and the modules are ready to be painted separately. This is dictated by the exquisite detail present in this kit, including even the pulleys and fan at the front of the main module. A belt and the fan needs to be added after painting: