CDW

And a lot depends on how well cured the paint. Well cured paint is much more resistant to removal vs: freshly painted plastic. If I screw up a paint job and strip it within a few days after laying down the paint, it comes off with relative ease. Old models that have been painted for years can take days (soaking) to strip the paint. 
As you mentioned alcohol will remove Tamiya paint for sure.

Great looking tractor. Molds look fantastic.

Great looking tractor. Molds look fantastic.

And a lot depends on how well cured the paint. Well cured paint is much more resistant to removal vs: freshly painted plastic. If I screw up a paint job and strip it within a few days after laying down the paint, it comes off with relative ease. Old models that have been painted for years can take days (soaking) to strip the paint. 
As you mentioned alcohol will remove Tamiya paint for sure.

Paint has dried and cured, first a fitting to make sure everything is copacetic before I start on the details......
Still in subassemblies, fitted to make sure everything is straight and tight....

Right front view....

Left front view....

Closeup of bow & sprocket details....

Side details.....

Skid lift & rear hull details......

And a low angle left quarter street level view......
 
Next up, Decals and Tracks.....

Thank you Ken...
 
I talked to Woody over at Archer several times before deciding on what I was going to do on the louvers. In 1/35 scale they are a difficult proposition. They are there, a prominent feature, under certain light conditions they disappear and under other conditions they stand out. But, I will cover them when I get into scratching the M-18.....

EG, nice work.
 
Don't forget Archer Transfers for some of your details, such as those louvers. https://www.archertransfers.com/index.html
You can go into the model rail section for the louvers. https://www.archertransfers.com/SurfaceDetailsHOscale.html
I know it says HO scale, but the resin decals show lengths in actual dimensions.

Final prepping for the second spray session, TRACKS! 

Two sets of AFV Club AF35046 T91E3 workable track.... (same track used on the M41 Walker Bulldog)

The tracks are high pressure injection molded in individual links, 160+ links with separate rubber track shoes. My impression is it is lucky I needed two sets,the number of links with flash is high about 15% of the set, I tried to clean it off but unfortunately that didn't go so well, it is hard to distinguish the flash from the pivot pin so trimming the flash usually results in trimming the pin also. the track links cannot be forced together cause they come apart when it is time to bend them around the wheels. So essentially those flashed links are useless. It takes 87 links to make a single track for my M8, it would be less with an M41 so I guess they send extras. Good thing given the rate of unuseable links.

One set assembled, the long length is what is needed to track one side.

Very flexible, you do have to be careful as they will separate under pressure

Looks and movement are very close to the real deal....
 
There is one more part missing from the kit. The M18 Generator that is usually carried on the back on the skid loader. Not all M8 HST's had a generator, in fact within a year and a half of entering service with the AA battalions the M18's were shifted to M7 generator trailers and the skid was used for personnel supplies or more ammo. An M18 Generator was a 30KW power supply, it was capable of powering a whole battery of M51's (4 guns) plus it's director (also mounted on an M7 trailer) This is why they discontinued carrying them on the back of the M8.

But I'm building an example of the complete system as initially issued/used.

So I need an M18 generator..... Luckily I have both the operators manual TM-9-617, (trailer mounted) and the depot repair manual TM-9-1617. Thank god I found them online because it is the only source of pictures of this particular piece of equipment.

Also to my great enjoyment the depot manual has a scaled measured drawing of the base frame and a picture of the finished frame weldment. Now the resulting model has to be scaled to the model of course. (we do want it to fit don't we) which will be a tiny bit shorter than the dimensions called out in the print.... That is one of the vagaries of scratch-building for an already designed model you have to adjust what your adding to fit the model....


Right Front

Left Rear

Left side open panels

Right side open panels

Frame weldment

Measured Drawing of the Frame....
 
Next, A basic idea of where we are at this point in the build....

And a lot depends on how well cured the paint. Well cured paint is much more resistant to removal vs: freshly painted plastic. If I screw up a paint job and strip it within a few days after laying down the paint, it comes off with relative ease. Old models that have been painted for years can take days (soaking) to strip the paint. 
As you mentioned alcohol will remove Tamiya paint for sure.

And a lot depends on how well cured the paint. Well cured paint is much more resistant to removal vs: freshly painted plastic. If I screw up a paint job and strip it within a few days after laying down the paint, it comes off with relative ease. Old models that have been painted for years can take days (soaking) to strip the paint. 
As you mentioned alcohol will remove Tamiya paint for sure.

You can sometimes use 90% isopropel alcohol to remove paint and decals. But it all depends on the paint, too. Different paints react differently. Best bet is to try it out on a test piece.

Thanks Kevin. 
I first used several coats of Tamiya white primer thinned with Mr. Color leveling thinner at a ratio of 1 part primer to 3 parts thinner, wet sanding between coats. Then the color, then the clear coat. Clear coat gets mixed in a ratio similar to the primer, 1 part paint to 3 parts thinner.  

Maybe one of us should test whether liquid chlorine might work safely on chromed plastic. I always have liquid chlorine on hand for our swimming pool. Over the next few days, will make it a point to try that on some scrap chrome pieces to test it out. Liquid chlorine is an undiluted version of bleach but one has to be extra careful with it as it can create quite strong fumes. 

Great kit, great photos. The Skysweeper brings back lots of good memories. Renwal kits were way ahead of their time in terms of detail, though they were complicated for younger modelers back then. Didn't Renwal also do a model of the M-8 sold separately? Some did, because I remember building it.
 

Great kit, great photos. The Skysweeper brings back lots of good memories. Renwal kits were way ahead of their time in terms of detail, though they were complicated for younger modelers back then. Didn't Renwal also do a model of the M-8 sold separately? Some did, because I remember building it.
 

Thanks Kevin. 
I first used several coats of Tamiya white primer thinned with Mr. Color leveling thinner at a ratio of 1 part primer to 3 parts thinner, wet sanding between coats. Then the color, then the clear coat. Clear coat gets mixed in a ratio similar to the primer, 1 part paint to 3 parts thinner.  

Thanks Edward. 
 
Outdoor lighting gives a much better rendition of the actual color of the model.
When I went to mix my clear coat system, I found out my bottle of hardener had actually solidified completely, making it unusable. Now I know this stuff has a shelf life. I had used the 2K clear coat system on a few different models over the course of the past year, but by now, it had perished.
In lieu of the 2K clear coat system, I used Mr Color gloss clear for the clear coat finish observed on the model as it stands now.
 

Final subassembly before paint....
And, as a teaser, A shot of the subject model at this stage of assembly. Still in subassemblies, just prefitted before paint to make sure everything fits the way it should. After this we will be in it's first drab dress....

Cab pre-fitted to the deck, deck fitted to the hull with some of the body superstructure fitted in place.... I built the blade as a subassembly cause like the front plate, there is a lot of detail that will not be readily seen once assembled.... And at this point a note. this kit is right up there on the accurate detail end of the scale, equal to ANYTHING produced today. I am very impressed at the level of detail and the crisp clean molding. I would recommend it to anyone as a fine example of the M8A1 HST. This effort by Nitto is far and away better than their M4 HST in accuracy and manufacture.... Unfortunately it is not manufactured anymore, but Bluetank has the Nitto molds and has re-released this kit several years ago, it is still available at a reasonable price, and makes a fine addition to any artillery prime mover lineup.
 
Well, here she is, a new suit of clothes.....

I pulled all the superstructure off the back as they need to be painted individually. There are underneath places that need painted which wouldn't happen with the body completely assembled....
Need to let the paint cure for 24 hours before I can do any details or touch-ups.......
 
At this time I went thru the Kit from this point forward looking for any problem areas that may be laying in wait while the paint cured. Noticed that the M2 .50 cal was missing, the mount is here, what they call an ammo box is here but the gun is nowhere to be seen. All I can think of since the bags were sealed closed (mfgr. stapled) it must have fell off during bagging. OH Well! I went and found a replacement online... Asuka Browning M2 Machine Gun Set B w/Cradle. Said to be the best, better than resin & photoetch so I guess we will see. As I was prepping the remaining parts for spraying, I was looking at the body and thought something is missing....... but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.... 

Reels......

The M51 Skysweeper used two main sets of cabling, one set ran from the Generator to the Gun and the other from the Gun to the Director. And the kit has no reels.......
So where do I find reference to period US Army cable reels???? Google doesn't help, it shows current reels and those commercially available, nothing WWII/Korea vintage.....
So who in the US Army used Cable Reels? the Signal Corp of course! I searched on Signal corp operations and imagery and came up with two photos of what I needed to make....

France 1944, Signal Corps troops repairing the telephone system. A standard 22"dia cable reel is at the base of the pole.

Korea 1952 I believe, telephone work at an airbase. four standard 22" cable reels in the back of a cable service truck.

Making reels is fairly simple, two disks and a tube, 3/8ths tube and .020" sheet styrene cut in a 5/8th circle drilled thru the center to accept the rod......

Mounted in the Reel Holder, looks like they will suffice, but need more details.

.025 styrene rod used to replicate the six stiffener spokes on the reel....

Showing the method of glueing the stiffeners in place using liquid cement......

Almost finished with the stiffeners, a simple six spoke pattern flush with the disk edge....

Inner bearing disks glued over the center of the spokes and drilled, and the beginnings of attaching the rims of the reels.....

Mounted on the rod in the reel holders.

Ready for final sanding and paint..... The wide reel held the power cable and the narrow one held the director cable. Now I need to find a suitable material to simulate the cables. Standard wire doesn't cut it....
 
Next up, more Painting and Assembly, Tracks and looking forward to the Generator set which is not included in the kit.....
 
 

This kit has been out there for a while, initially it was a motorized kit and had full operating suspension and a true rubberband track. The kit I have has everything from the older kit except the electric motors and drives. Reading reviews of this kit numerous reviewers stated that one needed to acquire a Walker Bulldog kit (Tamiya) to get the correct sprocket for the track which would have to be aftermarket, and, more than one set because the M-8 has one more road wheel than the M-41 making the track lengths 15% longer... So I bought the M-41 and the two track sets.... 
 

As you can see it is a full blown M-8A1 with the T-48 Body and Dozer blade.... Perfect fit for my M-51 Skysweeper
As I had been working on it, I decided to lock the operating suspension in place taking the ride height off the Tamiya M-41 hull....
 

Road wheels and return rollers on, unpainted, it's close to the point of painting it overall Olive Drab. I found out that the return rollers did not have rubber tires on them so they will be painted steel, the road wheels of course get a coat of rubber....
 
I build model armor as a series of sub-assemblies, Hull, Deck, Superstructure, Gun, Turret, Tracks etc. once the major subassemblies are done they are painted. (usually rattlecan for the base coat) US army vehicles of the period are painted the ubiquitous US Army Olive Drab overall as the base coat of paint from the manufacturer. The only markings being the registration number stenciled to the sides. (insignias and unit markings are added in the field) as I'm building I check what I have for decals and what is needed on the field units.... I don't build combat mud hogs or specific units so I need a clean set as an example of general usage to get the right look. So yesterday I spent half the day searching the internet for generic US Army stars & lettering, WWII/Korean war vintage in 1/35th scale. I settled on the Microscale #13-11 stars & letter/numbersets. One would be enough, but Microscale has a $20 minimum so I had to buy three sets. which is ok cause I have a number of old kits (and some new ones) that do not have US markings. (or what they do have sucks so bad I wouldn't embarrass myself by using them)

Nitto unfortunately does not offer US markings in decals. or rather they don't include stars as depicted clearly in the box art. I checked this out with the M4 HST kit I also have and they provide the rising sun flag for the Japanese versions but no US Stars. (and the reg numbers would look like they were painted by hand with a small brush) Totally and completely unusable.
 

Forward body, crew & engine compartments, upper left are the internal bulkheads, upper middle right are the engine compartment grilles, they will be hand painted black and dry brushed OD Green to show the grill structure.
 

This pic shows the sub-assemblies at this point, Cab in the upper right glass installed in the bulkheads upper center and below that the incomplete front engine plate which gets mounted to the lower hull before painting. All that is left is the copper rod and hooks to be installed.

Completed cab structure, all the little bits in place (those brush guards around the windows were a bear to get correct. the windows will be installed after the paint job. you'll notice the scuffed up look on the top of the drivers cab, it had three molded on track links that I had to take off, they were out of scale and looked like blobs besides they were upside down. with all the extra track links I have they will look much better and have the correct number of 4 links.

Before you can paint the hull, we have to mount the idler wheel and sprockets. this is an image comparing the rubber track sprockets, (in the center) and the scale Tamiya M-41 sprockets. I had an issue with the scale sprockets cause they didn't mount to the axle the same way the operating sprocket does. The hole in the scale sprocket is too small, so I drilled it out a bit larger than the operating sprocket, cut off a 1/8th inch length of mocha straw pushed it into the hole which now slips over the axle with no play. A little Formula 560 to affix it all together and we are good to go...

And finally the lower hull with the idlers & drive sprockets in place and a completed front bulkhead. At this point I would start mounting the hydraulics for the dozer blade and it would get a bit crowded so this is where the paint comes in.....
 
More subassemblies coming......
 
EG

Renwal didn't do the M-8 they did quite a few but not the HST's. Nitto did the HST's with this one and an M-4 (which was wildly incorrect and out of scale to boot) They were doing things no one else was even thinking of like a 1/32 scale Atomic Annie.... (which is a HUGE kit, I have it in my stash) and of course what was considered the most detailed armor kit of the day.... (the kit that got me into modeling dreams)
 
This of course is the revel re-release box art... I never got to build this one but it did set of my muse.... Then I saw this one...

Again a re-release Revell box, but I have an original in my stash now.  Revell acquired the Renwal molds way back in '76.... Only recently have they started re-releasing them..... Thankfully, they haven't changed them...
 

Thanks Edward. 
 
Outdoor lighting gives a much better rendition of the actual color of the model.
When I went to mix my clear coat system, I found out my bottle of hardener had actually solidified completely, making it unusable. Now I know this stuff has a shelf life. I had used the 2K clear coat system on a few different models over the course of the past year, but by now, it had perished.
In lieu of the 2K clear coat system, I used Mr Color gloss clear for the clear coat finish observed on the model as it stands now.
 

Maybe one of us should test whether liquid chlorine might work safely on chromed plastic. I always have liquid chlorine on hand for our swimming pool. Over the next few days, will make it a point to try that on some scrap chrome pieces to test it out. Liquid chlorine is an undiluted version of bleach but one has to be extra careful with it as it can create quite strong fumes. 

Thanks Kevin. 
I first used several coats of Tamiya white primer thinned with Mr. Color leveling thinner at a ratio of 1 part primer to 3 parts thinner, wet sanding between coats. Then the color, then the clear coat. Clear coat gets mixed in a ratio similar to the primer, 1 part paint to 3 parts thinner.  

Great kit, great photos. The Skysweeper brings back lots of good memories. Renwal kits were way ahead of their time in terms of detail, though they were complicated for younger modelers back then. Didn't Renwal also do a model of the M-8 sold separately? Some did, because I remember building it.
 

Great kit, great photos. The Skysweeper brings back lots of good memories. Renwal kits were way ahead of their time in terms of detail, though they were complicated for younger modelers back then. Didn't Renwal also do a model of the M-8 sold separately? Some did, because I remember building it.