Kit: No. US 25
Scale: 1/76
Manufacturer: Milicast, distributed by Allied Armor, P.O. Box 892, Auburn, IN 46706, 219-925-8072
Price: $29.50
Comments: Cast resin, 24 parts.
THE SECOND-GENERATION AMTRAC (amphibious tractor), or LVT (landing vehicle, tracked), was nicknamed the Water Buffalo. Larger than its LVT-1 predecessor, the LVT-2 had improved suspension and track to provide a smoother ride on land, and greater longevity. It could roll along at 25 mph on land and swim at 6 mph.
Milicast’s AMTRAC is cast in light green resin, providing parts to model either the LVT-2 or the armored LVT(A)-2. The moldings are crisp with a minimum of flash and air bubbles. My sample’s .30- and .50-cal. machine-gun barrels were warped, so I replaced them with styrene rod.
Instructions consist of general building hints, a parts list, side- and top-view drawings, and two detail sketches. The drawings have letter designations keyed to the parts list. Although this made part locations easy to understand, it also left room for error. The skate rail (F) is shown only as a bold line around the edge of the crew compartment on the top-view drawing. You might think it mounts on top of the opening’s edge, but it should mount inside the opening. The parts list includes a .30-cal. water-cooled machine gun, but none was included in my sample.
Assembly was smooth, despite no clear parts sequence in the instructions. Building could have been faster, but I had to confirm part locations with the drawings and photos in Jim Mesko’s AMTRACS in Action (Squadron/Signal). The edges of my main hull had deep gaps that needed filling, but otherwise construction was uneventful. You’ll need tweezers and a magnifier to handle the small mooring rails and guns.
Without color instructions, I painted the model with Testor Model Master olive drab, weathered with gunmetal and brown, and added grime with pastel chalk. No decals were provided.
The finished model scales well with my references. I spent slightly more than four hours building and painting my AMTRAC. Experienced modelers will be able to get around the sketchy instructions, and beginners should have practice with resin parts before plopping this kit on their workbenches.
Phil Kirchmeier