Introduced in the 1960s, the MD-3A “Mule” tow tractor is used to move aircraft around on aircraft carrier decks and is equipped with a compressor used for aircraft engine start up. In use until the late 1990s, the Reskit 1/32 scale MD-3A “Mule” tow tractor 3D-printed resin model would be appropriate to display with a variety of 1/32 scale U.S. Navy aircraft, including A-4, F-4, F-14, F-8, EA-6B, and F-18 jets.
I was impressed by the care with which the kit was packaged. Not only were some parts wrapped in bubble wrap, but many parts include protective cages to avoid damage. Even though removing the protective cages adds to the cleanup, it is well worth the extra time because no parts were damaged in my sample.
Carefully remove the printer supports from all of the parts. The resin is brittle, so I used a razor saw, small No. 11 blade, and nippers for the job. I found it better to cut supports, leaving a tiny amount of the support on the piece and filing and sanding the remaining support to get a clean surface. It took me about four hours to get all the parts cleaned and ready for assembly. With a low part count, my cleanup time was rewarded with excellently detailed parts that did not break.
The assembly needs to be done with superglue because resin cannot be bonded with plastic cement. A bit of sanding is required to remove faint print lines on some surfaces. Overall, the parts fit well, but the bottom plates have gaps. These can be filled, but I didn’t bother as the bottom is not visible. The fit of the generator to the back of the tractor required a bit of clamping and seam filling with superglue. Really, I was impressed by the part fit, since resin kits tend to have more fit issues than plastic kits. I slightly enlarged the wheel hub opening on one front wheel so I could push it down to get all wheels in contact with the ground. Bending the suspension would break it, so this slight modification was needed, which could have been my fault and not the kit’s.
Reskit included tow bars and spared no attention to detail on them. Since different aircraft required different tow bars, it is nice to have both long and short types. Also included are two nicely detailed wheel chocks. One is adjusted to fit to the rear wheel of the tractor, and the other can be displayed sitting on top.
You will spend most of your time on finishing this kit. Separate parts for wheels, tires, and seat cushions help ease painting. I also spent several hours on weathering to capture the well-used look of these machines.
The decals went down well over a coat of Tamiya Clear (No. X-22). I used Mr. Mark Setter and Mr. Mark Softer to settle them to the surface. I only managed to trash one small decal in the application process. Too much Mr. Mark Softener ate away the ink and a bit of the film. I cut out the placards from the instrument panel decals, applied these, and painted the rest of the instrument panel because I didn’t think I could successfully get them down over the raised details. I created a simple base using part of the box label and sandpaper for the carrier deck.
Overall, the Reskit 1/32 scale MD-3A “Mule” tow tractor 3D-printed resin model kit builds into an excellent model quickly and without any major issues. I was pleasantly surprised at how well this builds in comparison to other resin kits. Great job Reskit! Maybe not be the best kit for a novice modeler, someone with a bit of experience, especially with resin parts, should have no trouble at all. Now that I have a nice tow tractor in the display case, I think it looks kind of lonely. Maybe a few figures and a dive into the Academy 1/32 scale F-18 in my stash will move up on the future project list. Maybe.