Huffers MD-1
Flight Deck Tractor

North Star Models, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Luke Pitt

Eduard's 1/72 Avia B.534 IV serie Weekend Edition is available online from Squadron.com

Aircraft carriers have limited deck space in which to position and move aircraft.  This is where a rather unsung workhorse of US Naval Aviation come into its own.

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To move these aircraft around, the US Navy uses flight deck tractors. The introduction of jet aircraft to US Navy flight decks in the 1950s posed a whole new set of problems with flight deck tractors.

The US Navy introduced the MD-1 flight deck tractor which was the first equipped with a gas turbine unit to assist in starting the modern jet powered aircraft. For this reason they become known by the name “huffer.”

Huffers served on the served on Essex / Oriskany, Midway and Forrestal / Kitty Hawk class carriers of the U.S. Navy until the mid-1960s. They were also used by the Royal Canadian Navy aboard the HMCS Bonaventure.

This new kit from North Star is rather neat and comprises 52 limited run plastic parts over three sprues , 8 resin parts, 13 photo-etched parts and one decal sheet.

When one thinks of limited run, you might be tempted to think “low quality”. This is simply not the case here as the parts are very well moulded.

I particularly like how the wheels are done as they have overcome the age old problem of no tread detail on the wheels by providing the wheels as multiple flat disks. The system is not new but it’s the first time I have seen this approach in a limited run kit.

The model quite frankly is a little gem and deserves every success.

Thanks to North Star Models for the review samples.

Review Text Copyright © 2017 by Luke Pitt
Page Created 14 August, 2016
Last updated 7 December, 2017

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