Wiffy M6 High Speed Tractor

[Wardukw]

Righto then ,,for absolute yonks i've wanted a M6 HST ,.,,,i've had the M4 and M5 as kits before but since i loves the big stuff i wanted a M6 ,,now of course does anyone make a plastic M6 which 1 can be found or 2 doesn't come with a massive price and isn't made of resin ...both answers there is nope ,,,,so i'll have to build my own wiffy version but since i think you blokes know me well enough by now even tho its a wiffy build i want to do look pretty bloody close to the real thing but with a wiffy touch .
Here's where the fun begins ...the M6 is a damn big vehicle ...its a 35ish ton artillery tractor and its measurements so it ...here's a couple of comparison ones to give ya an idea .
32a87db45cf6dafd2a2164719cc5143f by Phill Harrison, on Flickr
M4 HST     
 Length: 5.16 m (17 ft)
Width: 2.46 m (8 ft)
Height: 2.51 m (8 ft)
Combat Weight: 16.3 t (36,000 lbs)
0286190326090819 by Phill Harrison, on Flickr
M4 A3E8 Sherman tank
Length: 19 feet 5 inches (5.9 meters)
Width: 8 feet 4 inches (2.5 meters)
Height: 8 feet 0 inches (2.4 meters)
Weight: 32 tons (29,000 kg)
54295969564_b0c6e593b6_z by Phill Harrison, on Flickr
M6 HST
Length: 21 ft 6 in (6.55 m)
Width: 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m)
Height: 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m)
Weight: 76,000 lb (34.5 t)

Its a big ol girl this thing and here's where my original plans went straight out the window    
Now i was going to use a modified M4 Easy 8 Sherman hull until i checked out the measurements and then found that nope ,,that's not gonna work without pretty much rebuilding the entire hull ,,which is now looking like a very good possibility...scratch building a new one is very much on the cards here me thinks .
I am going to use the Easy 8's suspension units but these are going to be modded quite abit as they are very different from the real things ,,the wheels are totally different and the only thing they have which is the same as the Easy 8's road wheels is that they are round 
But since this is wiffy world the E8's road wheels are gonna work very nicely 
The tracks are also a problem as they aren't like any other other tracks i've seen on a US WW2 tank or even after that so i'm going completely off the rails with this issue ...M1 Abrams tracks and drive sprockets ,,they've got the width and they look ok ,,they are rubber chevron type or better known as T156 in the armour world ..now to solve this problem this is going to be a post war vehicle being used to move heavy trailers offroad as i can't think of anything better   
I'll post pics of the Trumpeter tracks i'm gonna have to use and it's bloody scary when ya see just how many bits there are   
This idea has been around for many many yrs and now after something turned up in the mail today from my mate Tony i've now got a Hobbyboss M4 HST ..which is annoying as a bloody great mate in the States scored me one too ...so now when i get that one i'll need to do something very cool with it ..can't have 2 M6 HST's ..Oh a heavy version of the M$ HST ..a heavy upgrade 

[Wardukw]

A update already and this update was discovered like 2 minutes ago 
I found pics of the M6 with rubber chevron tracks which is very cool because the pics i was working from shows metal chevron tracks so now ,,not so off the rails ,,well not that far off em 

[Old Wombat]

I think you'd be better off using a M4 or M5 hull as your starting point & widening it (two cuts, through the windscreens) because, apart from being wider, the front crew section of the M6 is almost identical to that of the M4/5, lengthen the widened lower hull, then use modified HVSS suspension from a Sherman, & scratch build the boxes behind the cab/radiator/engine compartment.

Don't know if you have this, but it may help: https://www.afvdatabase.com/usa/pics/hstm6/hstm6.html

[Wardukw]

I think you'd be better off using a M4 or M5 hull as your starting point & widening it (two cuts, through the windscreens) because, apart from being wider, the front crew section of the M6 is almost identical to that of the M4/5, lengthen the widened lower hull, then use modified HVSS suspension from a Sherman, & scratch build the boxes behind the cab/radiator/engine compartment.

Don't know if you have this, but it may help: https://www.afvdatabase.com/usa/pics/hstm6/hstm6.html

Womby mate thanks for that web site link but i beat ya too it 
Its pretty damn good thats for sure ,,did you check out the belt drives for the cooling fans   
Talk about bloody complicated 
The problem trying to use the M4's hull is that it's far to short ..the M6 is like 1400mm longer than the M4 and the hull isn't long enough to mount the third set if suspension plus the rear return roller assembly ..even the drive assembly is different ..i've looked at the M6's hull and mate they ain't even close to each other with there layouts.
With all the cuts i'd have to make in the M4's hull i'd bet good money that i'd cock it up ,,looking at it more and more its accurately going to be easier to just make a brand new one ...and i dont loose the M4 hull so i can build something with that 
The body work ,,,oh yeah ..i'm kinda scared hacking that up ..its those window frames which worry me mate ,,so i'm kinda thinking of cheating 
Your band on with the back end ,,,will custom build a new ammo box for this ..oh you've seen the original engine i'll bet  which is freaking scary for those who haven't i'm going with a V12 which is kinda on par with the original which is 2x6cyl engines side be side .

[buzzbomb]

Hey nice project.
Really freaky bit, just did a walk around on that M4A3E8 just days ago outside Borden st barracks in Vancouver. Sits right next to a Ram Mk II tank

[Rick Lowe]

It's only 4 feet longer and 2 wider than the M4 HST,  IRL. And only 2 feet more than the Sherman in each dimension (and the extra seems to be at the rear, anyway).

Have you got any of the Sherman kits that come as flat panels to make the lower hull with?
Starting with one of those and just replacing the bottom with something wider might work. And you'd have the mounts for the suspension already there to use - much easier, trust me (qv my M-51 conversion...    )
Or just the one cut lengthwise in a one-piece Sherman lower hull, extend out to the correct width with spacers and plate over the gap.  Boom!

[Wardukw]

Hey nice project.
Really freaky bit, just did a walk around on that M4A3E8 just days ago outside Borden st barracks in Vancouver. Sits right next to a Ram Mk II tank

Really cool when that happens ain't it Bri ..coincidence ?? Hmmm ??   

It's only 4 feet longer and 2 wider than the M4 HST,  IRL. And only 2 feet more than the Sherman in each dimension (and the extra seems to be at the rear, anyway).

Have you got any of the Sherman kits that come as flat panels to make the lower hull with?
Starting with one of those and just replacing the bottom with something wider might work. And you'd have the mounts for the suspension already there to use - much easier, trust me (qv my M-51 conversion...    )
Or just the one cut lengthwise in a one-piece Sherman lower hull, extend out to the correct width with spacers and plate over the gap.  Boom!

Rick mate i wish it was that easy ,,i've got a few Sherman hulls to play with so there's no problem's there ..the problem is that the suspension on the M6 isn't in the same place as the easy 8's ...they are further apart and with the M6 having a completely different finial drive to the Sherman that makes the front of the hull completely different too ...even tho this is going to be wiffied up the butt i still want it to have a close look to the size of the M^ .
Your bang on about the spacing of the suspension units tho ,,they will definitely need to spaced off the hull to algin with the tracks ,,thats not going to be to much of a mission i should hope ,,even tho i do get the feeling i'm saying far to soon 
Since i'm going to stuff an engine in to this thing aswell i'm gonna have to build the hull as close to the original as i can just so it looks right proportion wise ..that will ruin the entire look of this if i don't get the look right . 

[frank2056]

This is an interesting project! The wheels are going to be tough to match, unless you decide it's borrowing the M4A3E8 gear. For the hull, it may be easier to just cut the lower section out of styrene sheet then add the running gear attachment points from the Sherman. The upper hull will probably have to be scatchbuilt, anyway.

[Wardukw]

This is an interesting project! The wheels are going to be tough to match, unless you decide it's borrowing the M4A3E8 gear. For the hull, it may be easier to just cut the lower section out of styrene sheet then add the running gear attachment points from the Sherman. The upper hull will probably have to be scatchbuilt, anyway.

That's pretty much what I'm gonna be doing mate ...because the wheel stations are not in the same place ..being only slightly different in spacing ..it's easier to hack the mounts off the easy 8 hull and mount em to new plastic..the hull I'm going to destroy is twisted and cracked  from an Italeri kit ..which is also giving up it's suspension 
The funnest part will be building the rear idler wheel .
That site Guy put up is a massive help ..ive kinda nicked a ton of pics of it 🤔 😬
I've gotta go thru that site to see if there's a measurement for that rear wheel as I've got a AFV Club M3 Stuart suspension set which I'm going to take the 4 rear idler wheels from ..course there different but of course they are 😆
My rulers are in for a good workout with this one .

[Joe CalPo]

Oh my!  I built one of those as a youth, and it ended up in a battle with a firecracker.  Now I wish I still had it.

[Rick Lowe]

Yeah, when all's said and done, sometimes it's easier to start with a blank canvas - or box, as in this case. 
Be interesting to see the progression.

[zenrat]

To add to the coincidences ("there is no coincidence" - Robert Anton Wilson) yesterday I got an e-mail from BNA telling me the Hobby Boss M4 HST was back in stock.
Now, i've since got one from elsewhere, but...   

[Old Wombat]

Just to piss you off a bit ... 



https://www.bnamodelworld.com/military-vehicles-tanks-balaton-modell-bal-bm3570r-1-35-m6-high-speed-tractor-with-resin-track

[Rick Lowe]

Just to piss you off a bit ... 

Looking at the price, not too much of that... 
Scratchbuilding is a much better option, specially if it's going to be a whiff anyway.

[Wardukw]

Just to piss you off a bit ... 



https://www.bnamodelworld.com/military-vehicles-tanks-balaton-modell-bal-bm3570r-1-35-m6-high-speed-tractor-with-resin-track

Piss me off ?? no not really ,,sadden me to the core ,,yeah ,,,saddened that this is a model which will never see my stash or shelf ,,that's a dream model that is ,,there's also a 3D printed kit out there to bud of the M6 and it's oh so very nice 
Rick's dead right of course ,, scratch building is the only way and man oh man its a Wiff for sure ,,there's so many parts which are different from anything else the US made ,,the entirte suspension for starters ,,it shares absolutely nothing with anyother  vehicles ,,and there's no way i an make those parts ..i'll be posting some pics of where this is at today ...it's getting there ,,but man it's a long way from finished thats for sure