just picked up an Italeri M998 HMMWV Desert Patrol kit, Italeri number 249. I've never seen a Humvee in this configuration before. Is this possibly a Marine configuration? Has anyone built this kit and does anyone know where I might find some information on this type? Thanks in advance

It is a troop carrying prototype that was tested by the US Army at the National Training Center (NTC) at Ftt. Irwin, CA. It did not make it into production.

I did a review of this and other Italeri HMMWV kits in the review section. There are several errors in the kit compared to the test vehicle. Most notably, the rear cargo doors on the real truck were full length, similar to a pair of ambulance doors. The kit uses the tailgate the cargo doors only go to the top of the tailgate.

Cool. I figured it was something like that since I couldn't find any pic of it on any ref. photo pages. I appreciate it and I'll look at your review.