1/35 M977 HEMTT

"This is going to be a very nice kit", I keep telling myself. Well, it HAS to be a very nice kit. Why?

Let me tell you this. When I buy plastic kits, I try to make sure they do not break the RM100.00 border. Which is not a problem with Chinese or Korean kits such as HobbyBoss, Academy and even Trumpeter. And as such when I saw this model, the M977 HEMTT (Heavy expanded Mobility Tactical Truck) by OSHKOSH, I knew I absolutely had to have it.

Or so I thought. There were two things which stopped me at Hobby HQ; It was out of stock and also, I would need to shell out RM140.00 for it.

And so, nevertheless, as usual, I did not give up. Actually, I had no intention to because this will not be another "I wanted this all many years ago" excuse. So, I waited until the opportunity came again. And came it did after a few months, that is.

So, what is so special about this truck? This is a Military heavy transport truck which can be adapted to different roles, go over any terrain, air-transportable and can handle 13-ton cargoes.

But what I was really interested was the shape of the vehicle itself. granted that in real life it looks huge, but I was paying attention to the front cab. My mind was already working way past overtime, thinking about modifying it to something more post-apocalypse. Something like, the Landmaster from the movie; "Damnation Alley".

Anyway, the only manufacturer for the HEMTT at 1/35 scale is Italeri. Growing up with Airfix, Matchbox, Tamiya and then Academy, I am a bit biased when getting kits not outside these manufacturers. And so, because this was the only kit in that scale, I had to bite the bullet.

First thing is, the size of the box is a bit
deceiving. I mean, for this size, there is
no way the truck is 1/35.

But the box does not lie. The model will be
28 cm long, about an inch short of one feet.

There are a total of five sprues; three goes into the
truck, one for the huge tyres and the fifth are for
the clear parts. I do not expect some photo-etched
parts for this model as with all Hobbyboss and
Academy models these days. It would be a bonus.

Its amazing that all these sprues are all packed within
the box no taller than 2.5 inches!

I am still amazed by the size of the model. Just to
appreciate how large the flatbed is, I used my foot
as comparison

In summary, after looking at the parts, I am quite satisfied. Although this is my first Italeri kit, I did not feel disappointed at all. As the cab area was my main focus, it was quite a pleasant surprise to discover that the driver's door can be posed open or closed. Anyway, its going to storage for awhile until I have the time to examine it more closely. At this time of the year, I am starting to get busy...