Fowler B4 Tractor

 One of the purchases from last years Partisan was another obscure Syborg 15mm offering, the mighty Fowler B4 Tractor. Also known as a steam engine...

Who doesn't love  steam engine? They used to be a regular feature at fairs when I was a kid. This model is suitably chunky, and the funnel is so tall it will need a special box to live in.

This really is a lovely 3D print. Yes, there are some striations but it has tons of detail and cut-ins. I slapped a lot of PVA over the curved bits and the striations largely vanished. It was a really clean model with no hanging fibres and looks the part with no assembly required.

I pondered over what colour to paint it. I took some inspiration from the steamroller in the Dads Army film (which was mainly a dirty black) but in the end did it in a heavy wash of Bronze Green over a dark grey basecoat. It came out as a dark green/grey colour, which looked OK. This photo is probably the closest to how it actually looks. 

It got some mud and a drybrush of dust which instantly lightened it up. More mud went on the wheels and I picked out the treads in gunmetal, they remind me of the wheels on my 60 pdr. I picked out some of the metal details in brass.

Unfortunately I hadn't got this painted in time for my Mons game, so the 60 pdrs had to make do with a normal tow. I am sure I'll be able to write a game a round it at some point.