A full build review of the new Tamiya Gama Goat. The kit should see general release to the public in October.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Reminds me of Seinfeld's "Not that there's anything wrong with that"

I'm that intermediate modeler this kit is aimed at, and I'm not ashamed to admit it

Thank you for a good build review.. the kit looks really nice built up!

Hisham

Thanks for the build up
I really like Taniya kits but I really wish they could of made the wheels turn, out of the box.
Yes I am sure PE will come and resin wheels but if you don't want to spend the money, turning wheels would have made it that much better.
I would say though that I am glad Tamiya has released a new 1:35 kit rather than a old rehashed M109 or a updated old Tamiya kit

Very good review, thanks Rick! Nice and clean build.

Mario

Really great review, makes me want to go get one now!

I kept finding myself wishing for things like steerable wheels, drivers floor pedals, etc, but then remembered that each layer of complexity would slow things down just that much more (and give me another chance to make a mistake!) As it was it might be the easiest to build full kit I have ever experienced. Truly a gem that anyone with any interest in the subject or time period should heartily
enjoy.
Cheers,
Rick

Rick,your revien on this kit is great.the build seems to be very good and clean,very nice job.thanks.

That looks pretty neat! So was this used in Vietnam or did the idea just come out of the Vietnam experience?

Below is a video report from the Tokyo Hobby Show that sepnds the first 5 minutes on the Gamma Goat and M151s. They all look pretty.

Link

Great review! Have been looking for this kit for a while.Where are the listing for presale?

Hi, All! Great review, THANKS! I can already envision this vehicle in several different camo schemes! This is a very interesting new subject which I think will be finding it's way into a lot of modellers' collections.

As to the simplicity of this kit, it's kind of refreshing to see that clever engineering keeps the parts-count low. But there are always two sides to that coin. I'd have liked to see a little bit more sophistication in the crew area, especially the gear shift levers and pedals.

I think that the tires could have been molded to simulate a slightly "sagged" or flattened appearance as well. But not quite as over-done like the DRAGON US WWII Half-Track-series' tires that caused such an uproar when those kits first came out. I can remember the A/M companies falling all over themselves in rushing perfectly round "correction" tire sets to market, only to be proved wrong.

Even when tires are inflated to maximum air pressure, they will still be very slightly flattened at the point of road/land-surface contact. I know this to be a fact. When I was gawking at and photographing REAL US Half-Tracks and other wheeled vehicles at WWII re-enactments, I asked the various owners of these vehicles about "tire-sag". To a man, I was informed that their tires were inflated to maximum pressure. There's nothing like inspecting the real thing to settle any arguments over inaccuracies, real or imagined, in any given model kit...

No doubt we'll be seeing the various A/M companies offering resin and PE updates and "correction" kits HOORAY FOR US!!!

Looks good! Quite the surprise to see this article, as I had not known this was on the horizon! I built the PSM Goat early last year, along with the GOER, and was quite content thinking this was the only kit we would see of the M561. Now, maybe a few AM additions for the small things? I'll still build one OOB for competition with the MERDC desert scheme I got to know oh-so-well back in the mid-70s. Noisy things, first time I saw mandatory hearing protection requirements, and after the first time crewing one, I realized "why"!

Good review, Rick. Unfortunately, for me, I enjoy the suspension the most on soft afvs. I can handle the ejector pin marks, but simplified and omitted details are a deal killer. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem scratch building some of the details. The final drawback is build time. I enjoy building and painting equally. Six hours just doesn't strike me as much fun. But, I'm coming up with more cons than pros. I'm sure a great kit, none-the-less and it will fill a gap in OD vehicles.

Saw on the Tamiya Monthly Release poster that the Gama Goat will be released on Saturday, Sept. 28. Major shops like Sunnys and Volks here in Tokyo should have the day before.

Best wishes,
Grant

Thanks Rick for your very useful review.
The news that Tamiya will release a Gamma Goat made my day. The number one on my wishlist!!!
But I am disappointed about that what i see. To me it is a missed chance and i don't understand why Tamiya act that way. We know they can do it much better (e.g. T-54). I am not calling for a kit with so delicate parts that you are not able to deal with. But this is molding standard from the seventies of the last century (e.g. rounded edges,universal joints, shift levers, pioneer tools or winch details). And what about the "missing" parts like clutch-, brake- or accelerator paddels, roof bows or tarps,lever for the winch clutch, indicator lights at the front modul. I can't find an end.
But have a look at the real thing and judge yourself:
real thing

Harald

Hi Harald,

Keep in mind that this kit is more a 'weekend warrior' than a pro-modeler type kit. I am sure that Tamiya spent more than a little time determining exactly who their target audience would be and designed the kit accordingly. If nothing else, it provides a very strong platform on which to super detail to your satisfaction. I would bet we will have a good handful of update sets on the market very soon!

Cheers,
Rick

Just got one for the museum from Tamiya today. It's an early shot, but looks like it's gonna be a fun little build. I'm probably going to scratchbuild a FAAR radar for it too.

I'll post pics as soon as I'm done with the York.

From what I've heard it's a very simplified kit. Heck, even the wheels/tires are simple 2 piece parts.

I wouldn't expect a lot but it's the only game in town. Maybe some AM parts will show us the way?


I'm still getting one.





Jeff

Got the kit. It sure is nice. Compared it with the 3/4 CAV one I'd like to do.
One thing to be aware is that the engine cover in the Tamiya kit is the square edge type with two wide and one narrow set of louvers on each side. The later engine covers has rounded edges. I've heard that it was produced as one piece. The three side louvers are of equal width, but the bottom of the louvers are now stepped. Compared with the middle one, the forward set of louvers has two more lower ones and the rear has two less.
The lifting handle bar is set at a raised angle in the later cover. The earlier handle was horizontal.

Early Engine cover. From Toadman. Note the gas can on the fender. Tamiya doesn't prove it.
http://www.toadmanstankpictures.com/m561_gamma_goat_009.jpg
From Vintage military trucks.
http://www.vintagemilitarytrucks.com/M561-1-Goat.jpg

Late engine cover, from Prime Portal. Photo by Hermann Buhling?
http://data3.primeportal.net/trucks/hans-hermann_buhling/m561_gamma_goat/images/m561_gamma_goat_23_of_87.jpg

I picked up the kit yesterday at Volks, two days earlier than the official release date. 2045 yen plus sales tax, compared to the 2600 yen listed on the box.

Best wishes,
Grant