Model FMC Skidder Project

The buggy project would be fun to do, but I do not have the time or resources to attempt that big a project right now.  Let's shelve it for another time (I may try something over the summer) and try a different project

FMC Tracked Skidder

In the 1970's, the Industrial Conglomerate FMC attempted to enter the forestry market by making a tracked skidder.  Using the undercarriage of the Military's M113 tracked APC (that FMC also built), the FMC skidders were and still are eye-catching on the work site. Because of their low profile and light weight, they are commonly used in both swampy and steep terrain, where wheeled skidders would either be unsafe or impractical to use. 

They did have a fair share of problems, mainly in that the APC undercarriage was intended for high-speed travel, not heavy pulling.  Sprockets and road wheels would break, track pads and pins would bend, and the maintenance costs on the undercarriage were astronomical. As a result, these skidders quickly grew an infamy that kept them in niche markets.

In the 1990's FMC started to spin off their divisions, and sold the manufacturing rights of the skidder to their main Canadian dealer in Nelson, B.C..  The dealer (Now known as KMC) makes a living reconditioning older machines and building new skidders with modern technology and engines.

This project will build a scale model of a 210CA skidder, the more iconic of the FMC skidders notable for its stylized hood.

Planning and Parts Selection

Since I have determined the skidder uses the drivetrain off a M113, I figure "Kitbashing" a M113 tank model kit would be the easiest way to get the parts to model the undercarriage. The most common kit is in 1/35 scale, so that should give me a lot of options. The upper half of the machine will be modeled using hobby-grade styrene.

Some quick searching on the internet got me four kits:

• Academy M113A2 - Academy's model is preferred by other modellers for being the most detailed model.  Also interesting to note is the m113 model has pieces to model the engine and interior, which is a plus.

• AFV Club M548 Cargo carrier - the M548 is a M113 built for cargo / heavy artillery duty - basically a tracked pickup truck.  While not as "detailed" as the academy model, What's noteworthy about it is the roadwheels are spaced apart a little, just like the FMC Skidder.

• Verlinden M113 Dozer Kit - This will be the "Stacking blade"

• Friulmodel ATL-17 Metal Track - this gets me some working track to use.  It is not prototypical - the skidder tracks did not have rubber pads on them and had grousers at the piviot point - but this should be acceptable for now - at least until I figure out resin-casting on my own :-)

 Some of my Christmas bonus went to getting the service manuals on the skidder, so now I know how it's put together.  Suppliers like Plastruct and Evergreen sell styrene in all sorts of shapes, so fabricating the upper half of the skidder would be a relatively easy process.

The kits are in the mail, so I'll have to wait before I do anything.  Man, I am excited!

Other posts on this Project:

• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4