This is a drawing of a tractor attached to Linderg's 1:48 SM-62 Snark missile kit:



Does anyone recognize it? Is it a model of a real thing or was it made up by Lindberg? It resembles Cletrack M2 a bit, so I thought maybe it's a bigger model from the same manufacturer, but so far wasn't able to find a single photo of it.

It's a Cletrac M2 tractor, primarily used for aviation towing purposes during WWII. The Cleveland Farm Tractor Company produced them in mass just before and during the war, and they were in use into the 60's. The company name "CLETRAC" was done in an "arch" on the radiator housing top before and during the war. The company was founded to produce agricultural equipment in 1918. There is also a representation of this tractor in the Monogram 1/48 B-24 kit. The Snark Missile kit has a very un-detailed representation, so does the Monogram kit, but it's a good place to start. The real thing had a "rubber band" type one piece track-- so the kit is ok in that department, but it's pretty bare bones.
VR, Russ

Unfortunately, it is not. It looks similar, but it's a different model. The chassis is the first giveaway. There are 3 support rollers, while M2 had only 2. Also that thingie that holds rollers together looks totally different. Almost any other detail is different in this model. Only the general layout of the tractor is similar to M2.

1942 M2 High-Speed Tractor Cletrac MG-1





Maybe the instructions and/or the old kit is wrong?
/ Robin

My first B-24 kit came with one of these tractors. I must have liked construction/heavy equipment even back then (1962) because I held on to the tractor a lot longer than I kept that B-24!

I dint say it was an accurate representation-- but that's what it's supposed to represent-- the Cletrac M2-- both Monogram and Lindberg have taken great liberties to simplify the molding process. Remember-- both the Snark and B-24 kits are products of the late 60s and early 70s.
VR, Russ

No guys, trust me, this is not a Cletrac. Monogram's Cletrac was simplified but it still looked like a Cletrac. Here is a picture:



It's low quality but shows the tractor built OOB.

And here is Lindberg's tractor (it's actually the best photo of a finished model in the Internet):



It's a different thing. Looks exactly like on the picture I posted, trust me, I cut if off the sprues yesterday. It's somewhat similar to Cletrac but it's a different model, not a copypasta from Monogram.

Well, I guess it was made up by Lindberg...

Your guess is right-- it's Lindberg's interpretation of a Cletrac-- it has all the same features-- they are just simplified to facilitate the molding process. It sure wouldn't be the first time a manufacturer took "liberties" or shortcuts with a kit design-- the folks buying this kit in the 60's weren't as concerned with accuracy as we are today. So they didn't want to waste time and money detailing one of the less important accessories. These missiles were placed in a fixed site at Presque Isle Maine, and were in service less than a year-- Lindberg was trying to cash in on thier "coolness" with the kids at the time. The Lindberg kit markings depict the test missiles at the Cape Canaveral test range in Florida. It makes sense a Cletrac would have been used to position the launcher, but again, Lindberg wasn't to concerened with accuracy-- so I guess your first premise about it being a "fantasy" is correct-- but it's supposed to be a Cletrac. I built this kit about ten years ago for a customer-- and used the frame and tracks as a basis for scratchbuilding a passable Cletrac out of sheet styrene and parts from the scrapbox. But you might be able to get a copy of the 1/48 Monogram Cletrac that came with the B-24 kit-- maybe some folks won't need it for thier builds-- it's a lot better, but it's got lots of issues too.
VR, Russ

Previously unpublished photo of B-17G and Cletrac:
Second SAD, Station 127, US Army Air Force, March 7, 1944, Tail number H2 37891

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