I discovered both a Revell and an Italeri kit of the M977 HEMTT.

- are they the same basic kit (apart from extras) ?
- are there other kits of HEMMT's in 1/35
- are there any resin / PE upgrades or complete kits ? How do these rate ?

and ... most important question : how well can these be considered a correct scale model of the original ? Are there important differences / mistakes in htes kits ?

The Revell of Germany kit is the same as the Italeri one, but it has ammo pods in it. The pods may be from the DML MLRS kit. These three companies have a history of sharing molds.

I don't know about the availability or quality of any PE for the HEMTT series, but Eduard does make a set: http://www.eduard.com/

http://www.eduard.com/products/card_top.php?id_product=242

Its the Revell HEMTT that I just bought...and am anxiously awaiting!! Thanks again for the pics Rob!!

Rob,
Thanks for the wonderful HEMTT pictures you posted.

I'm decided to cancel all my futures M35 plans, and start building a 1/15th HEMTT when I return from my holiday.

I'ts nice to have friends like you :-) . Sure beats going out to look for a real HEMTT to photograph. I don't think there's one in a 1000 miles radius from here - except Bosnia maybe... Since I'm married, I had to scratch such adventures from my list of favorite holiday destinations

Glad to be of assistance, just wait, I have a 63S class this summer and the engine will get taken apart among other things. I believe the victim is usually the old M977.

I look forward to that !
:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

BTW : the M977 seems a bit rusty, too . Is there a regular rust treatment and repair schedule for such thins or is that op to the drivers' initiative ?

For those looking for HEMTT pics, there's also a nice collection on
armouredengineer.
(and quite some other interesting reference pics, too !)

You think that's bad, you should see the HET still in the desert tan from 1991. They are scheduled to go to the paint booth this year. None of my vehicles have assigned drivers, the vast majority of them are designated "training aids" and get taken apart regularly. We do keep some in good condition like the FMTVs and HMMWVs that get used on a daily basis.

Rob,

1) On a scale from 1-10, how would you rate the Italeri/Revell 1/35 kit when it comes to accuracy and being an exact scale copy of the real thing ?

2) if there are important points of difference to rectify, what should I be aware of ?


Thanks,

Jan

I haven't touched my M978 fueler, so I haven't compared it to the real thing. Plus, I don't believe I've ever seen either the M977 or M978 completed as a kit. I'm saving mine for a dio when I retire. Maybe I should try to build it to see what needs to be done. I know there has been talk regarding tire patterns, but during my time in armor battalions we had 39 HEMTT vehicles (18 M977, 20 M978, and 1 M984E1) and there was at least 2 different tire patterns. Tire patterns varied even on the same truck.

Thanks, Rob,
I was just now looking on the internet for a detailed plan of any of the HEMTT trucks... when I came upon the : HEMTT factory website.

All I can say is ... (How can I set this font type to a 60 pt. font ... ? ...) WOW !!!

All I miss is a detailed plan showing the truck from above and BOTH sides. But I ordered a HEMTT brochure from their website and I hope there may be one in there..I'm specially interested in the recovery vehicle. That looks AWESOME !!!

I let you know when Santa brings the brochure in my mail !

Jan

A good set of plans of the M984 would be great ! I'll only start the project in May, so I have some time to find one.
So if you read this, Santa (or Marcel or Rob...), you know in whose chimney to put it ! :-)


When you have secured the area, make sure the enemy knows it too

I got my Revell M977 yesterday, and man there are alots of parts...I can see why they could miss one or two, but the idea of the wheels, they look as the same as in the pics Rob put up.

I got the kit dirt cheap so I haven't really thought of the accuracy part, but I can definitly do some detaling with info!!

I've always wondered what the facination with techincal manuals was. The vast majority of them contain no photos of the actual vehicles and the line drawings are not to any scale and most details are omitted for clarity. Even the parts manuals (usually end in the number -20P or -24P) have just a basic, no detail line drawing of the parts. Take a look at the parts manual page for your refridgerator or lawn mower. Quality of the drawings is about the same.

GreyHunter,

Can you either post the link here for the TM's or send me a PM or e-mail. I have DSL and think it would be interesting to look at, even if I just look at it and pitch it :-) (that is why DSL is sooo great)

BTW Marcel weclome to us!!

I was on the Antwerp IPMS exhibition today. I got to see a copy of HEMTT manuals, and I'm affraid Rob's right on that. Not really useful for scratchbuilding. They guy who collects (and sells) them, told me that the HEMTT painting instructions are quite useful for modelers, though : better than the plans that come in the Italeri leaflet. (but he didn't have any. He'll post me a copy, and I'll be happy to share it if it's any good.

BTW, a small Belgian company (Pro Art Models) brings four upgrade resin kits for the M985 :
- cabin interior
- wheels set
- fueling pump
- exterior parts
Not only does it make the kit look really good, they allow you to show the M985 in fuelling business.
There's no website, and the parts are not available in retail yet, but for those interested, I can give you the email address. (I won't post it in the forum to avoid spam mails).

The German brand MR Models makes 1/35 wheels for the HEMTT, too.

Joe Wallace placed a number of great HEMTT pics on the web ! Scratchbuilders...

I now have some pictures to illustrate Pro-art's upgrade kits. Maybe this can be useful to someone. I don't think they are the right thing to newbies, but this may be a nice bone to chew on for HEMTT builders with prior aftermarket experience.




For more info, I refer to my posts above.
Jan