Introduction:

Goodyear is the biggest supplier of tires to the US military, and a sole supplier on the Humvee since the start of the HMMWV program. Their Military Edition of the popular Wrangler MT/R is the newest tire the military is running on the Humvees; it has a diameter of 37" and a width of 12.5", and is mounted on a 16.5" rim. The older generation Wrangler MT was a good tire, however the new MT/R (Maximum Traction / Reinforced) is better in several ways, from enhanced durability to puncture resistance and treadwear.

Review:

Live Resin is a company from Russia, specialized in producing high quality weapon and accessory sets. The company recently delivered number of upgrades for 1/35 scale Humvee models and this review covers their Wrangler/Good Year 37" MT/R tire and wheels set (LRE 35153). For all reviews of Live Resin products on Armorama, please check this link.

The set is packed in a hard cardboard box which features CAD boxart images. The boxart image on the front shows the content of the set with an assembly diagram, stating the wheels are compatible with Humvees and GMVs from all manufacturers (Tamiya, Academy, Bronco, Italeri), while the boxart on the back displays the wheels in more detail, with all 5 wheels included in this set displayed as well.

The box contains a zip-lock bag jam-packed with 25 parts.The parts are cast in grey resin and, as with all Live Resin sets, the cast is absolutely fantastic. I found no evidence of air-bubbles or seam lines, with the pieces featuring loads of fine details wonderfully delivered in scale. The pieces in the set are:

- tire (5x)
- rim (4x)
- spare tire rim (1x)
- hub cap (5x)
- inside rim (5x)
- inside hub pins (5x)

The set represents Goodyear Dura-Wall MT/R 37 X 12.5 X 16.5 tires. The tires feature Goodyear logo and Wrangler MT/R label as well as several other microscopic inscriptions. Check the photos in this review and you might even read the tiny writing “do not mix with Wrangler MT” and “do not mix load range D and E tires”... Wow, exactly like on the real tires! Tire tread pattern is very nicely reproduced and resembles the pattern I saw on the reference images perfectly. The tires are depicted with no sag, which is a plus for me; I found these tires do not bulge easily or have pronounced sag even when they are deflated a bit for off-road duty. The rims feature 24-bolt tandem and include air valve as well. Hub caps are included as separate pieces in this kit.

The tires in this set are 27mm tall and 9mm wide... accurately sized and with amazing details, these tires are absolutely fantastic 1/35 scale rendition of real MT/R tires.

Assembly:

The resin carrier blocks are large so some patience is required while cleaning the pieces. I was very impressed with the intelligent design of tire carriers; instead of a single resin block bound to leave a big “scar” when removed, the tire features several thin carrier stubs which are easily cut off and cleaned, with minimal chance of damaging tire thread pattern… wonderful!

Building the Live Resin tires is extremely easy. The pieces are engineered very cleverly and the fit is perfect. The thing to pay attention to is not attaching hub caps to all tires, as these are fixed to the rear hubs only.

As for fitting the wheels to different 1/35 scale Humvee models, I tried with Tamiya’s offering and found the axle opening should be widened a bit to accept Live Resin tire pin. Bronco makes several M1114 HMMWV models, however, according to the research I did, this Humvee version was never fitted with this particular type of tire. Academy M1151 HMMWV model would probably be your best bet for Live Resin wheel set, but I can’t comment on the fit as I don’t have Academy offering in my stash.

Conclusion:

Wrangler/Good Year 37" MT/R tire and wheels set (LRE 35153) from Live Resin delivers the 1/35 scale version of the latest tire used on M1151 and other heavy Humvee variants. Altogether, this is one of the most impressive sets from Live Resin I reviewed so far… It is perfectly cast with amazing details all around (just look at those tiny writings on the side walls or the wonderfully replicated tire tread pattern). Also, the wheels are dimensionally accurate and very easy to assemble.

I did a search for 1/35 scale MT/R tires from other manufacturers and I can definitely say the Live Resin offerings are cream of the crop. If you need replacement tires for your heavy Humvees look no further, these are the tires you want.