After looking at the sprues a little closer, here is what I see. Please keep in mind that I have not put any glue to this kit yet. This is just a first impression.
There is definitely enough parts to satisfy the most intense building sadist. And because of the number of parts, wire, hoses, PE being included and some of the parts are in the Brail Scale range, I don’t recommend it to the novice builder. Get some other armor under your belt before you try to tackle this thing.
There are some knockout marks which will need to be filled. Most notibly on the interior of the cab doors. There are also some Monster knockoff marks on the bottom of the trailer platform. (Well, maybe “Monster” is not appropriate. They are large in diameter, but they are not deep.) It’s according to how intense you are if you want to fill these or not. They probably won’t be visible on the finished kit. (I’ll probably fix them. Otherwise I’ll wake up in the middle of the night screaming…I didn’t fill the Knockout Marks!!..I didn’t fill the Knockout Marks!!)
The inside/bottom of some of the parts are not as cleanly cast as the tops/outside of the part. Most notibly there is the inside of the cab and the bottom of the trailer platform. There appear to be scratches on the mold that have transfered to the plastic. It looks like Trumpeter spent their mold money on the “side that shows” and not on the side that’s difficult/impossible to see. As long as it’s not visible, this really doesn’t matter. Only test fitting will tell. I will probably do some sanding on the inside of the cab to clean it up. (It’s a disease, I admit it!)
The tires look good and have good detail on them. The clear parts look decent. There is a “step” on the main front windscreen and the rear windows. But, if there is a rubber seal around these windows on the real vehicle, this may be prototypical because the windows in the doors do not have this “step”.
There are no raised detail on the gages on the dashboard. Nor are there any on the decal sheet. So it’s time to check the references and it’s off to the spare parts box.
One little detail I liked is the “rope and step” steps for the cab. They are actually a step and two pieces of “rope”.
I do have a complaint with the instructions. On both the tractor and the trailer, there are several wires and PVC hoses to connect. The instructions show you where one side of the connection is, but not the other! In other words, you go from an airtank to “where”??? This is not on all of them, but there are enough that it’s frustrating. Some good pictures of the real vehicle will show where these things are suppose to go. Once the build is underway, these connections may become obvious, but just previewing the instructions, they are not.
The kit looks very buildable and so far the reports from other people have been positive. The proof will be in the build.
I’ve always had a weakness for recovery/transport vehicles. I’m mainly a WWII buff. This is one of the few Modern Transporters which really got my attention. The only other kit of this vehicle that I know of is the Accurate Armor kit. A definitely buildable kit for sure, but with a high price tag to boot.
Now if someone (Trumpeter) will produce a kit of the big U.S. OshKosh Transporter for the M1.
Hint…Hint…Hint [;)][;)][;)]