M983A2 HEMTT tractor with M870A1 lowboy
May 31, 2019 15:42:13 GMT -6
BUCKY, JCON, and 1 more like this
Post by Beekster on May 31, 2019 15:42:13 GMT -6
Lookie what just arrived from China, beating out any possibility of tariffs:
Cost less than $90 including shipping. This is Trumpy's rather well-regarded HEMTT in the tractor version with the M870A1 Construction Equipment Transporter trailer. The box art dutifully shows one of these rigs schlepping an imposing-looking bulldozer. Unfortunately for modelers, there's only one modern 'dozer variant kitted and that is the awesome D9R. That bad boy is sadly much too heavy for this rig, weighing in at 50 tons ready for work. The M870A1 has a 40-ton capacity for off-road use. I suppose you could load a damaged D9R with tracks and other bits removed and still stay within the approved weight limits.
The kit includes a reasonably complete Detroit Diesel 8V-92 engine which will barely be seen, and a decent cab interior. There are armored cab kits from the aftermarket in resin if you want to build an armored truck. The kit depicts one of the winch-equipped trucks, which means it has a box on the right side of the frame with a self-recovery winch in it. A quick perusal of the instructions reveals shackles for the front of the truck...but no winch cable or cable end. Hmmm...either a cable end must be scrounged from somewhere, or the recovery winch deleted. That's not a big deal as not all trucks have recovery winches. They do all have a 22.5-ton hydraulic winch to pull loads onto the trailer.
The M870A1 trailer looks to be a nicely detailed piece of kit, too. It has an impressive number of cross-rails which ought to keep the trailer deck square and level. As you know, trailers that warp are a pet peeve of mine. The trailer is one of those designs where the gooseneck folds down forward to allow the load to drive or be pulled onto the trailer deck. The instructions are quite clear that this will be workable. Two pins marked "no cement" are used to prop it up in road mode, and are removed (stored somewhere? I don't know...) to lay the gooseneck flat. Lots of diorama possibilities here, including having the HEMTT lined up behind the trailer using snatch blocks and the main winch to drag a damaged D9R aboard. The instructions aren't entirely clear on this, but it appears the outriggers will be able to move, too. This trailer has a dozen folding outriggers on each side that can be swung out and fitted with extra wooden deck planks to make for a wider load deck. If the trailer has any real weakness, it is that the wooden deck is nicely replicated in plastic. No, cutting it out to use real wood instead is not repeat not advised.
The only real whiff that Trumpy did here is the decals. Markings for two rigs are provided, one each in NATO camouflage and desert sand. But the marking are for tractors of two Air Defense Artillery outfits (these tractors also tow Patriot missile batteries). As depicted on the box, this combination of tractor and trailer is used by Engineer outfits, not ADA. So something needs to be done there.
I do know that there are three Brigade Engineer Battalions assigned (one each) to the three Stryker Brigade Combat Teams up at JBLM, which are all part of 2nd ID. One of those, the 898th BEB, is a Washington Army National Guard outfit. I'd sure like to know if they use these rigs, or if another transport unit of 2 ID does (or did). The Stryker brigades do use the M1132 Stryker Engineer Squad Vehicle and the Buffalo Mine-Protected Clearance Vehicle. Either of those would make a plausible load for an engineer outfit. Both fall well within the weight capacity of the trailer, and both are kitted in plastic in 1/35 scale. I think you see where this is going, whenever it gets going.
Cost less than $90 including shipping. This is Trumpy's rather well-regarded HEMTT in the tractor version with the M870A1 Construction Equipment Transporter trailer. The box art dutifully shows one of these rigs schlepping an imposing-looking bulldozer. Unfortunately for modelers, there's only one modern 'dozer variant kitted and that is the awesome D9R. That bad boy is sadly much too heavy for this rig, weighing in at 50 tons ready for work. The M870A1 has a 40-ton capacity for off-road use. I suppose you could load a damaged D9R with tracks and other bits removed and still stay within the approved weight limits.
The kit includes a reasonably complete Detroit Diesel 8V-92 engine which will barely be seen, and a decent cab interior. There are armored cab kits from the aftermarket in resin if you want to build an armored truck. The kit depicts one of the winch-equipped trucks, which means it has a box on the right side of the frame with a self-recovery winch in it. A quick perusal of the instructions reveals shackles for the front of the truck...but no winch cable or cable end. Hmmm...either a cable end must be scrounged from somewhere, or the recovery winch deleted. That's not a big deal as not all trucks have recovery winches. They do all have a 22.5-ton hydraulic winch to pull loads onto the trailer.
The M870A1 trailer looks to be a nicely detailed piece of kit, too. It has an impressive number of cross-rails which ought to keep the trailer deck square and level. As you know, trailers that warp are a pet peeve of mine. The trailer is one of those designs where the gooseneck folds down forward to allow the load to drive or be pulled onto the trailer deck. The instructions are quite clear that this will be workable. Two pins marked "no cement" are used to prop it up in road mode, and are removed (stored somewhere? I don't know...) to lay the gooseneck flat. Lots of diorama possibilities here, including having the HEMTT lined up behind the trailer using snatch blocks and the main winch to drag a damaged D9R aboard. The instructions aren't entirely clear on this, but it appears the outriggers will be able to move, too. This trailer has a dozen folding outriggers on each side that can be swung out and fitted with extra wooden deck planks to make for a wider load deck. If the trailer has any real weakness, it is that the wooden deck is nicely replicated in plastic. No, cutting it out to use real wood instead is not repeat not advised.
The only real whiff that Trumpy did here is the decals. Markings for two rigs are provided, one each in NATO camouflage and desert sand. But the marking are for tractors of two Air Defense Artillery outfits (these tractors also tow Patriot missile batteries). As depicted on the box, this combination of tractor and trailer is used by Engineer outfits, not ADA. So something needs to be done there.
I do know that there are three Brigade Engineer Battalions assigned (one each) to the three Stryker Brigade Combat Teams up at JBLM, which are all part of 2nd ID. One of those, the 898th BEB, is a Washington Army National Guard outfit. I'd sure like to know if they use these rigs, or if another transport unit of 2 ID does (or did). The Stryker brigades do use the M1132 Stryker Engineer Squad Vehicle and the Buffalo Mine-Protected Clearance Vehicle. Either of those would make a plausible load for an engineer outfit. Both fall well within the weight capacity of the trailer, and both are kitted in plastic in 1/35 scale. I think you see where this is going, whenever it gets going.
