This is an old kit from Italeri. This is a US Army M-977 HEMTT, a 10 ton truck.
First of all, it’s the same as the usual truck plastic model that I build from the frame of the body length. The parts are somewhat distorted.
The work around here, the chassis frame and the axle are bonded. There are many wheels and many axles are connected. Considering the fine adjustment with the grounding surface, I would like to reinforce it with superglue after positioning the equilibrium with the ground after assembling it. At this stage, I think I can make fine adjustments by twisting with a little force.
Is that the engine in the back of the driver’s seat? And parts of the lower part of the car body such as the fuel tank are attached.
There are a lot of tire parts. This time, in addition to the 8-wheel truck, there are extra tires on the right side, so there are 9 in total.
(2025/05/25)
The reason why I pulled out this old kit is because I wanted to put on Michelin tires that were cast from Bronco and Trumpeter track plastic models a long time ago. Now that I think about it, it was quite troublesome to make a mold like this. I don’t want to do it anymore. But I had a spare tire that I cast in bulk before, and I’m glad I didn’t throw it away when I moved. I mean, if I had a preference for tires when I bought a kit, I should have bought a kit with my favorite tires from the beginning.
I lost the part of the handrail in the process of assembling it, and I couldn’t find it, so I made my own with an extension runner, and I found it soon after it was installed. I lost the part of the handrail in the process of assembling it, and I couldn’t find it, so I made my own with an extension runner, and I found it soon after it was installed. It’s a little annoying to find the original after making a replacement myself.
Each tire is a lump of resin, so it is quite heavy. As expected, the strength cannot be maintained by pointing with the axle, so I made a hole in the middle of the tire with the same diameter as the axle and pierced it. I plan to cut out the protruding part and shape it before painting. Even if there is a bump in the middle, it looks like a bolt installed, so I don’t think I need to worry so much.
As always with trucks, the inside of the driver’s seat is painted first and then sealed by gluing glass windows. Is it true that the inside of the car was designated as dark green? I was going to make a car for the Iraqi war, so the outside was dark yellow or sand yellow, so I painted the inside dark yellow. The seats are olive drab and the steering is painted black.
Masking the glass part, which takes a lot of time, is troublesome later, so I did it now. The headlight parts were surprisingly good.
(2025/05/28)
The box was old and worn out, and the accuracy of the parts was not so good, so I made it without thinking about the details. But as the assembly nears completion, it is powerful and looks surprisingly good. I was surprised that the box was small but the assembled body was quite big.
It will be more powerful if the tires are big and wide. Because I cast it myself, there are some parts that didn’t shape well and there are many air bubbles, but I filled them with putty as much as possible.
A large crane is installed at the rear of the vehicle. This is stretchable, but the rope hanging from the pulley is attached, so if I stretch the crane too much, the angle of the pulley will be strange, so it’s better not to move it.
If I look carefully, this truck has a high height and seems to be able to climb over some obstacles. It looks like an off-road car with deep anti-skid tires, and it’s a little more durable on non-paved roads.
The side mirror protrudes so much that it comes off right away when I bump it when I turn it around.
It’s a very big carrier. I’m going to put an imaginary cargo on it with stylo foam and put a sheet over it. I think it’s cool to be carrying something like a working car.
(2025/05/31)
I’m thinking of cutting the stylo foam suitably, putting it on the loading platform, covering it with tissue, and soaking it in diluted woodworking bond to harden it. If I pass some nylon string over the top, it will look like packing. I bought a woodworking bond at a 100 yen shop before, and the inside of it separated and became unusable within a few months, so I chose a Konishi Bond brand product this time. I might have been unlucky with the 100 yen store, but the price is only a little different, so I thought this one was more reliable.
I thought a thick one would have been better than a tissue. But I think it would have been better to use two tissues and four thin sheets of paper. It will be a little stronger.
I primed it with black once the package dried. I also primed the luggage part and it became a pretty strong cloth. However, it was a little difficult to put the color on because the car body color was bright when it was primed with black.
The rope holding the luggage was tight before painting, but it seems to have loosened a little after underpainting. Do they stretch with thinner? It’s nylon yarn. It’s not cool if it floats too much, so I modified it to look a little bit stuck to the luggage. It took a lot of time to paint after putting a lot of rope. I put a waterproof cover on the whole load, so I couldn’t put a lot of decals on the loading platform because they were covered.
I painted the luggage cover in the image of a truck that normally runs in Japan.
The drive transmitting part on the underside of the car body is complicated, and it is quite difficult to paint. However, it is a part that cannot be seen at all to leave it usually, so it is difficult to decide how much to paint. This kind of transport vehicle is likely to be used up until it is worn out, so I think it would be better to use heavy weathering. After that, it will be complete if weathering and small parts are painted.
(2025/06/02)
The Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (M -977 HEMTT) is one of the largest tactical vehicle series operated by the US Army and is a very important part of the logistics support. Among the HEMTT series, the M-977 is considered a basic model and is designed mainly for transporting goods and equipment. This vehicle was developed by the Oshkosh Corporation in the early 1980s and has since been widely used by the U.S. Army.
The best features of the M-977 are its high mobility and loading capacity. The HEMTT series has 8-wheel drive (8×8) for driving in harsh off-road environments. Its massive tires and suspension systems are designed to handle a variety of terrain, including mud, desert, and snowfields, and can be used anywhere from the battlefield to the logistical base.
The M-977 is equipped with a flat cargo bed and crane (standard in the M977A2 and later versions) for fast and efficient transport of munitions, fuel, food and communications equipment. In addition to the standard cargo version, there is also a wide variety of models, including fuel transport models (tank trucks), tow truck models, and missile transport models.
Powered by a diesel engine, it boasts high output and high torque. The transmission is automatic, so that soldiers do not have to perform complicated operations. With a maximum cargo capacity of more than 9 tons, the large cargo space is essential for large-scale resupply operations. The design philosophy of the HEMTT is not just to create a “big truck” but to create a “supply line to survive.” No matter how harsh the conditions are on the front line, if fuel and ammunition do not arrive in a timely manner, it is impossible to continue fighting. The M-977 functions as the lifeline of this logistics operation.
This time, I let it wear Michelin tires because of my personal preference. Large military vehicles such as the M-977 require durable off-road tyres as standard equipment to cope with a wide range of terrain. Oshkosh has contracts with several companies (Goodyear, Michelin, Continental, for example.) to supply HEMTT tires, and tire specifications may change depending on the mission and deployment area. So, even if you change tires as you like, it doesn’t look different from the actual vehicle.
This time, the M-977 is the U.S. military deployed in Saudi Arabia in 1991, so it’s a vehicle from the Gulf War that we miss nowadays. Considering that, this HEMTT series has been active for quite a long time.
The luggage cover is a bit more wrinkled than I expected, but it feels like carrying heavy luggage.
The orange siren stands out the most. It is a nice accent because it is a plain color vehicle.
A lot of decals are used around the crane, and when I put them on, I feel more precise. Where do they operate? It’s hard to see and work from the driver’s seat, so I guess this is around here.
Changing the round tires from the kit to the angular ones from Michelin will make the whole model look very different. It can be said that the big 8 wheel drive tire is the main part of this kit, and moreover, there is a spare tire, so it has a big presence. When I actually assemble the kit, there are parts that are not accurate enough. But the finished work was big and powerful.
(2025/06/04)
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