Introduction:

The legacy series HMMWV comprises many different trucks that continue to serve many purposes in the military services of the world. They range from a basic truck with a canvas top, a shelter carrier, to armament carriers with aluminum roofs. The basic vehicle carries from two to five troops in the main cabin and some variants can carry troops in the canvas covered bed. The engine in the legacy HMMWV series is a 6.2L V8.

Black Dog offers Engine M1025 Humvee (T35210), intended to be used with either the Tamiya M1025, kit no 35263 or the Tamiya M1046, kit no 35267.

Box Contents:

This is a single media kit comprising just three resin parts. The engine and radiator assembly are one piece while the main air intake hose/manifold and the water hose are the other two parts. It comes in a nice, but very oversized heavy cardstock, end opening box. The parts were in a single plastic zipper bag. The box was loaded with foam peanuts to protect the parts from damage during shipping.

Instructions:

The instructions can be described in a single word, none! I guess you need to study reference photos and the image on the box top. The lack of instructions is going to really make this a more difficult kit for those with fewer kits under their belts. There is quite a bit of surgery required on the Tamiya kits to use this addition. A less experienced modeler may some difficulty figuring out what material needs to be removed from the kit parts. One interesting thing to note is that the areas that require removal from the Tamiya parts are shown in their instructions as requiring black paint and are shown as dark gray in the drawings.

Review:

Disclaimer, I purchased this kit and am under no obligation to Black Dog. The kit is cast in a firm, medium gray resin. The resin cuts and sands well. There is one huge casting plug attached to the main part and smaller plugs attached to the other two pieces. The plug attached to the main part is not easy to remove and there a nasty seam to remove from the underside, and around the edges of the part. I think there was a bit of mold slip on my sample. I had to pick out a few blobs of mold rubber from the recesses of the main casting. There were a couple of resin blobs that are the result of the mold being damaged. There were also a couple of nasty, large bubbles on the bottom of the casting as well. Only one of these bubbles on my sample will require fixing. If you want to detail up the driver’s foot well, you will need to clean up the casting in this area very well. With all of the beautiful detail on this part, I think Black Dog could have added detail to both of the foot wells. The kit appears to have been created on actual, modified Tamiya parts. That being said, the main casting is slightly too narrow once fitted to the Tamiya body shell. This could be due to shrinkage of the resin castings. One part that is missing from this and every HMMWV kit is the shield that protects the air cleaner in the wheel well. This would have been another detail that would have been easy to add.

Detail:

Looking at photos of HMMWV engines, it is obvious that there was a substantial amount of difference in the engines as production progressed. The castings are extremely well done and the detail that is depicted is sharp and appears accurate. All of the major structures, hoses and wiring are present in the kit. The belts that turn the accessories on the engine are one the details that are missing. Once the main parts are assembled you will also need to add a couple of smaller wires that cross the engine.

Conclusion:

This is a great addition to any legacy HMMWV model for a maintenance scene or to depict a breakdown. The detail is beautiful and up to today’s high standards.