Matthew Lenton builds the M1114 Up-armored HMMWV from new manufacturer T-Model.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Great review, thanks Matthew! This is exactly what a build review should look like.

This seems to be a great little kit and I've heard nothing but praise about it. The tires obviously need a extra bit of work, and I'm wondering if this is the best way to produce tires in plastic... I think Bronco did something similar in 1/35 for their M1114 but unlike these in braille scale those larger scale wheels can be built without any problems. Perhaps we'll see some resin replacement wheels to fix the problem.

The dissapointing thing is the lack of interior, any kind of comms system and other details, but perhaps that's where aftermarket companies could step in.

Mario

This is a great full build review of a great subject. The model has an amazing amount of detail for 1/72 scale. I agree that the breakdown of the wheels/tires is a bit of over-engineering though. Matthew handled this brilliantly.

Also of note to anyone wishing to build an accurate M1114. The model has louvers for the A/C system on both sides of the slanted roof. This is not the case on the real M1114. The louvers are only on the driver's side of an M1114. This is an oversight that T-Model should have caught. In this day of 3d design this mistake should never have happened. The good thing is it looks as if the louvers will be easy to remove on the passenger side.

Regards,

Eric

Thanks Eric and Mario.




Eric, I regret not picking up on this myself... I suspect T-Model may have been caught out in the same way as me, in that referring to references on Humvees can be quite confusing in terms of the number of variants, many of which look superficially similar, and I believe not even all of those designated M1114 have the A/C. CAD design may well encourage errors like this as I imagine the technician may well draft up the component for one side and then mirror it to produce the design for the corresponding part on the other side - which in this case would be wrong, without then removing the slots.

Your point is perfectly illustrated in this shot from Prime Portal where the roof vent on the driver side confirms this as being an A/C fitted vehicle:


Mario, just to clarify, for the sake of any individuals who only read the forum posts and don't bother reading the review there is of course an interior, but, yes, it is basically limited to what AM General might fit to a civilian vehicle, and contains no military equipment.

Matthew,

Outstanding review and one heck of a model. It is so nice to see companies like T-Model and/or Flyhawk stepping in and catering to the serious small scale modeller while some of the former industry "leaders" have abandoned that market in favour of "quick-builds".

Cheers,
Jan

Great review of a very good model Because it's a scalling Bronco's M1114 scaled down, it has all his bigger brother's mistakes repeated (f.e. lack of the rear winch, weapons ring hole too far at the rear of the roof, too flat weapons's ring base under the roof, strange shape of seats etc.). But again - it's still a very good model. Impressive as a 1/72nd scale.

looks good. I'll try 1:72 scale kit next time.

@ firstcircle Matthew,

Heaven forbid but I find myself returning to your build of this kit to perhaps give me insight and hopefully fortify me for a build as a belated Christmas gift of this kit has found its way to me. As you mention in the review this kit is indeed impressive despite lacking a few military specific internal components. I just hope my dormant skills are up to the challenges it presents when I begin the adventure of constructing it. Again, more so than ever a superbly detailed review, thanks.

Cheers,
Jan

Jan, gosh, that's a very thoughtful present to you by someone who must have "insider knowledge" of your tastes. I am sure that you will enjoy it and won't find it presents too many issues. As usual it is just having patience with two or three areas, and I hope the review does prove of use. I seem to recall that (as usual) I made some mistakes by not paying enough attention to the instructions, so at least you are fore-warned. Remember there is also the feature on the later Frag5 version feature which may also be of interest.

Good luck, and I think it goes without saying that I hope to see the fruits of your labour with this kit.

Matthew

This one?? Very nice kit - .50 could have been better though.

@(firstcircle) Matthew,




Perhaps it is more a case of someone having an elephant like mind (never forgets) and me commenting at some point after seeing one of the reviews of these kits that they looked interesting? Then there is the case of my ordering a Zvezda T-14 kit that failed to arrive at a local merchant only to discover said kit in a present I opened at Christmas?




Your review has already got me concerned about this kit. Those sprue gates to the tire treads look particularly bothersome. I've already read this review a couple of times as well as the feature you've done on the other Hummer. I'm sure I'll be going over them a few more times and jotting down a few notes to myself. Again, my thanks for these two items. :H





@(Biggles2 Leo,

Yes, I seem to recall you also doing a Hummer and writing about adding to its interior. I did a casual search for the posting but haven't found it yet. As for the .50 cal, it does look a bit undersize. I have a spare M2 left over from my review of the Dragon Armoured Jeeps but don't know if it'll be much better.

Not sure when I'll get to this build as I have a couple of other projects on the go but not dealing with Armorama subjects but thank you both for taking the time to comment.

Cheers,
Jan

The Dragon .50 included in their 1/72 M4 kits, and not always used, are better, but might need some modification. The .50 by Flyhawk with their M1A2 is also better, but not too economical to buy the kit just for the gun.