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A Tale of Three Jeeps

Body

Tamiya and Bronco have very similar ways of making the body. In both cases the front grille is part of the body and the wall behind the engine is a separate part. Other than that, all three manufacturers have similar layouts. A special feature of Bronco is the open stowage bins in the back and the inclusion of the lower part of the gas tank in this part. Detail wise, Bronco is clearly the most detailed. In my opinion DML is the least detailed, especially when it comes to the underside. The underside is detailed only with the gas tank in the case of Tamiya and DML, while Bronco has four additional parts for details.

Moving on the back wall of the engine compartment. As mentioned, DML has this part molded into the body part. There is only one part (sorry, I don’t know what exactly this is) to be added there, and it goes right (viewing from the front), whereas the same part on the other kits goes left, which is correct when comparing to original photos. DML is also missing the horn. Bronco has a nicely hollowed out part, while Tamiya’s needs to be drilled out (if you want to display the engine).

The back plate of the body is similar with all, of course a major difference is that Bronco has the Ford embossing. On the inside, Tamiya and Bronco are similarly detailed, whereas DML is completely bare of any detail. I had a little trouble fitting the Bronco part, as it seemed to be a fraction of a millimeter too wide. Since I didn’t want to sand off the detail on the back plate I sanded down a bit on the other side on the body.

All three radiators include the headlights. Tamiya’s radiator is one part, while the others are two. DML has both the headlights and the convoy lights as clear parts. Unfortunately, the headlights are not hollow. Both of the other kits have clear plastic lenses with nice details included in the Bronco part, whereas the Tamiya part is plain.

Interior

The crew compartments are a mixed bag with – again – Bronco’s being the most complete and having the most parts while Tamiya has the last. Notable absentees with Tamiya are the pedals, while DML does not have the fire extinguisher. Bronco also has the crispest detail and two choices of steering wheel. A nice feature is the texture on the underside of the wheel to get a better grip for the hands. Pedals in Bronco’s and DML’s kits are both made of plastic, contrary to the usual PE parts in after market sets. The dashboard is almost identical in all three cases. There are decals included for the signs on the glove compartment for all three kits. Bronco and DML also have nice decals for the various indicators.

Moving on to the seats, Tamiya has clearly the easiest to build seats, again, they just fall together. I also like the folded canvas under the co-driver’s seat. Of the three kits, I think the seat cushion detail is the best. DML is the fiddliest and the ribs on the back rest are too large in diameter when compared to the real thing. Bronco has the most fiddly attachment points to the body, but it works out quite well in the end.