I am looking at buying Italeri's M977 cargo HEMTT and/or M978 tanker HEMTT and am not finding much in the way of information on either. I saw a review of the M978 but was wondering about the M977. Is it a good kit? What is in the interior? Does it contain the rear crane? What would need to be done to bring it up to OIF standards? Any recommendations on AM wheels (cost, details, etc)?

How are the Pro Art resin kits?

Basically I am looking for any and all information about this before I buy it.

Thanks in advance
Jeff

The Italeri kit is pretty good. It does include the rear crane. Only thing that needs attention is the tires. They ae O.K., but would look better with resin replacements. CAM does a set of resin wheels for about $20. Nothing is needed to bring it up to OIF standards. The HEMMT really hasn't changed much over the years. Sorry, don't know anything about the Pro Art resin sets or it.

I think they are the only game in town. That is for a reasonable amount of money!
capnjock

Thanks, Gino. I looked at the one in your gallery and it doesn't look too bad. Two follow-ups:

What about decals? Since the kit is decaled for ODS and before, is there any replacements available, HEMTT specific or generic?

I have seen some HEMTTs with ring-mounted turrets. Is this just a hole cut in the roof and a ring mount welded on or is this a factory mod?

Jeff

There is a removable panel in the roof and a standard ring mount attaches to points on the cab frame. I used to have scans in the old motor pool gallery. They are probably on my home PC.

You can put basically any generic bumper numbers on them. Most heavy units have HEMMTs in their HQ company. MLRS has them in each battery as ammo trucks. I think engineers have them in each company as well.




Sabot covered the ring mount, basically, the top panel unbolts, and a new panel with the hole and a rubber bumper around it is installed. The ring mount is attached to the cab with square stock legs that attach two on the front and one rear. They are all part of a kit that can be ordered and installed by the unit. Italeri has molded the removable panel as part of the roof. All you would need to do is cut a circular hole in it and build up a ring around it. Then make the legs attached to s standard ring mount. Shouldn't be too hard.

Good luck.

I've built the M977 a while ago and there are basically two things I didn't like about the kit: the tires and steering detail. The tires are just wrong and should be replaced right away - besides the ones mentioned by Gino, I think Tank Workshop makes a set or two. Second - there is no steering links or any of the steering mechanism - comparing to a real HEMTT, the kit looks very empty and should be heavily detailed in this area - in my opinion. On the other hand, the fit is pretty good - especially the cab.

If you buy the fuel version you can paint it up in UK cammo colours it's been selected as the replacement for the aging Foden fleet of tankers which have also fallen foul of new EU saftey regs

Thanks for all the info.

Jeff

I might be able to help a bit with the ring mount area. Take a look at this picture:

http://data.primeportal.net/ngops/don/cng030605/DSC00170.JPG

And here is one that is not modified up for the ring mount. You can see the panel that must be removed:

http://data.primeportal.net/ngops/don/cng040205/Dsc00710.jpg

There are plenty more pictures on the site if you need reference.

Hope this helps

Don Busack

The italeri fuel tanker cannot be painted in british colours as suggested because this version is not being put in service by the british forces.The MOD has selected a completely new design by Oshkosh that is based on the MTVR.This looks look a smaller version off the HET.
Check out the Oshkosh website for lots of nice pics!

Paul