Humvee
M1025
Ref :
Tamiya #35263
The M1025 is the armed
version of the Humvee. It is fitted with an armored cabin and has
a ring mount for the weapon. The latter can be a M249 Minimi (or
SAW Squad Automatic Weapon), a .50cal M2 HMG or a 40mm Mk19 AGL.
When in service with the USMC, the M1025 is fitted with a fording
kit (long muffler and air intake) enabling it to ford rivers or
exiting the landing craft near the shores.
The kit is produced by
Tamiya and comes with the usual quality standard. It proposes two
versions (Army and USMC) and four decorations (Desert Storm and
KFOR). The molding is nice and accurate and few details need to
be added.
The interior
needs to be detailed at the front seats and in the cargo
compartment. The doors are detailed by adding the door locking
system and the window opening system. At the driver station, the
pedals must be added as well as the headlights foot-switch. In
front of the front passenger seat, the heater system under the
dashboard should be done as its two pipes are clearly seen on the
pics. The heater properly speaking is made of plastic card and
old spare parts. The radio set support is thinned and the radio
replaced by a set from the Pro Art Models Sincgars kit.
In the rear compartment we need to add the various brackets for the ammo boxes, jerrycans and water tanks. The straps are made of lead foil. The tripod brackets are made of plastic card. It is noticeable that only one weapon is issued with each vehicle. So it is not realistic to show the spare weapon stowed. The equipment mainly comes from the Tamiya US modern gear set.
The hatchback being open, its inner face should be detailed, the jacks come from the Tamiya Humvee TOW kit. In fact, in this version Tamiya has issued an opened door as an option, but this one being uparmored it does not fit the M1025. The lower rear compartment hatch is completed with its retaining system and its "wings" have been emptied as evidently shown on pics. The last improvement concerns the pioneer tool rack under the rear bumper . Tamiya having forgotten the tools retaining rods, these latter are made of plastic rods. The latches are added as well.
All these modifications are done with the help of the Verlinden Warchines dedicated to the various Humvee variants.