When I got fed up with trying to paint all nooks and crannies of an ordinary kit of a modern MBT I decided that an airbrush was in my future.
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No issue at all with a spray can or airbrush. Anywhere that can be seen, and some areas that can’t will easily be covered. I build all my models as complete as possible and then spray then.
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Batch of today:
New base for the MHC.
Some transfer cases.
Rims and the M1074A1 cargo box and fuel tank.
And I put her on her wheels for the first time.
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Hi Andy,
Looks so good to me, I really look forward to being able to buy the kit.
Regards Thomas
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Parts glued on and without flatbed:
Now this is a big, and impressive truck!
After this I’m going to hibernate and build some kits for my own. Lol
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Now that looks totally cool.
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Hi Andy,
Another detail, the hydraulic stabilizers should be extended, when the crane is active. Will you make the stabilizers in two versions, extended and compressed?
Regards
Thomas
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You can do that perfectly with the crane from Italeri.
I don’t really see the benefit of redesigning the entire crane.
Except for me being on the pc for a extra few days.
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He is talking about the stabilizer legs on the frame, not the crane itself. They extend out and down when the crane is in operation to provide a wider base and stabilize the truck, so the crane doesn’t pull it down on one side or pull it over (if the load is heavy enough).
You can see them extended below.
I extended them out using square styrene tubing on my M985A2. The Italeri pistons are separate and can be built extended down.
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oh, ok - I understand now.
No problem!
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These prints are amazing, but I know what’s going happen as soon as i start down the modification road they will finally make the kit.
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That’s what I was thinking too, but I have done 3 HEMTT conversions/scratch-builds so far and the kits still have not come…
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Are the cranes on the M1074 and the M985 not the same? It seems to me, like the crane on the M1074 has four subelements, while the crane on the M985 only has three?
Regards Thomas
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I thought they were the same too. Hmm.
Apparently the M1074 /M1074A1 PLS crane is longer, with 4 sections. Makes sense since it has to reach the end of the flatrack (red arrow), which is longer than the standard M977/M985 cargo bed.
From the TM.
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I know for a fact Trumpeter is not going to make a kit of these trucks, nor is Italeri in the near future.
They both think to few people would buy these to justify the costs of making a plastic injection mold. (which makes some sense)
And having studied the kits up close, it would require a complete retooling.
But Trumpeter does want to buy the work from me, to start 3d printing these themselves. So I don’t see any benefit in doing that. I cannot imagine they would bring it out cheaper or better.
Italeri was going to get back to me about the subject, they left the door to plastic injection molding a very small bit open. But I doubt they are going to do it.
I hope so, but I doubt it.
Personally I think the interest is just not there, or they don’t see these are all different trucks.
Either way the conversation with both Trumpeter and Italeri are weird at moments.
The Trumpeter guy was a real representative of the company by the way, he send me videos and pictures of the company inside to prove it.
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Let me burn thru the 30 odd kits I have in the cue, and I’ll be on this. The family accountant said i need to build some to buy some.
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^^ Very nice. Hobby Link Japan website says expected to be released in Jan '24, taking pre-orders now.
I wouldn’t count out Trumpeter (I 
Kit, Hobby Boss, et al) as doing more HEMTT kits. They seem to be selling. They have come out with obscure ones in the past too; M1142 Fire Truck, HEMTT A3 w/CRAMS, THAAD, above LVSR, etc., etc…
Maybe they wanted to compare them with what they already were/are working on to make sure they have them right. The above hints at that to me.
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Wow, I did not know that kit was in development.
Great, now I can wait designing the LVSR and MKR line. Lol
Time to build some things for myself then.
I’ll buy the kit when it comes out in 2024.
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Good concept, but is it “Private-Proof”?
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