Kit: No. 292
Scale: 1/35
Manufacturer: Italeri, distributed by Testor, 620 Buckbee St., Rockford, IL 61104-4891, phone 815-962-6654
Price: $32
Comments: Injection molded, 208 parts, decals.
Developed in the 1970s the M977 HEMTT (Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck) serves the U.S. Army in such variations as the M978 fuel truck, the M983 truck tractor, and the M984A1 recovery vehicle. The Army has bought thousands of the 10-ton-capacity trucks.
Molded in tan styrene, the parts of Italeri's M977 have many ejector-pin marks - most won't show, but the contest builder will spend considerable time removing those that do.
Assembling the frame is tricky - it's easy to build in warp, and with all of the protrusions on the frame, it's impossible to clamp it to a flat surface. Install the rear cross brace (assembly B in step 1) far enough back or you'll have trouble later installing the crane platform.
While gluing the upper frame rails (parts 18e and 19e) to the frame, I bound the cargo bed (part 103e) to the rails with rubber bands to make sure everything would line up properly when the glue set. The axle-mounting locations are not precise, so I temporarily slid the wheels on to make sure all axles were straight, and all eight wheels touched the ground.
Since the axles mount to the tops of the springs, you can't let the vehicle sit on the wheels until the axles dry. I propped up each end of the frame and left the wheels suspended until the axle joints were well set.
The large fuel tank on the driver's side lacks the prominent filler cap, so I punched one out of thin sheet styrene. In step 7, the bar (part 57a) is 1/8" too long. One front shock (part 67a) is shown mounted on the inside of the frame, but the part is set up to mount outside. Either modify the part or mount it outside the frame.
None of the photos I have of the M977 show the rotary beacon on the roof of the cab, so consider it optional equipment. Test fit the engine compartment to the frame, and make sure pipe 56b fits between the filter and the engine platform. I didn't and had to replace it with wire.
The interior of the cargo bed is marred by several ejector-pin marks and sinkholes. Either fill them or cover them with sheet styrene. To match photos, I left off the davit for loading and unloading the spare tire, leaving only the upright tube.
I painted my truck with Floquil US Desert Storm sand. Even with the major subassemblies left off, it was difficult to get paint into all areas of the frame. The decals went on well, but the rear mud-flap insignias are smaller than shown in the instructions. I centered them on the flaps. The black stencils are correct for the Desert Storm vehicle, but won't work on the black areas of the tricolored scheme.
When attaching the cab, test fit the front shield (part 117b) before the glue sets. Mine didn't fit flush at the bottom.
Reference material on the Oshkosh truck isn't easy to find, but I obtained a brochure from Oshkosh and also used Concord Publications' U.S. Military Wheeled Vehicles. The finished model almost perfectly matches the dimensions in the brochure, but the Oshkosh logos are missing from the mud flaps and hood. The tire treads don't match any in the photos.
It took 15 hours to complete the model, about average for a model this complex. If you've had experience fixing minor fit problems, you should have no trouble building this kit.
John Plzak