Scale Model Review: M151A2 Hardtop with Trailer by Academy

M151A2 Hard Top with Trailer by Academy

I've finally got around building models again this year and I've had this one kicking around the house for awhile. My inspiration was that I drove one just like in the Army back in the 80's. It's a M151A2 with a trailer(M416 I believe). If my memory serves me right I don't remember a lot of these that came with the hardtop. Most I saw had the soft-top version. Most scale models I found were of the soft top so when I found it I snapped it up quick. 

The inspiration. My M151A2 in Germany back during the Reagan years.

I consider this my "first car". I had a civilian license before going in the Army but I had to learn all over Again. It is on one of these I learned to drive a manual transmission and it's a wonder it survived that ordeal. After awhile I loved driving them. powered by a sturdy 4 cylinder engine top speed was about 50 mph on the highway(yes we pushed them). We warned they were prone to roll-overs due to high center of gravity. I also learned later it was due to the 4 wheel independent suspension that made them prone to tip. 

 

They were excellent for what I call off pavement driving like dirt roads and in the woods. The knobby tires though I didn't work as well on slippery pavement or snow. I actually had a couple spin outs on snowy slick roads so they had their limitations. 

In the past I haven't done very many military models like this. Maybe a battleship or an old World War 2 plane but that was decades ago. I usually stick to cars of the 1/24-1/25 scale genre so to do a 1/35 scale military model was new to me. 

Pros:

The level of detail impressed me as I went along. I don't think I was expecting a whole lot from such a small kit but the number pieces surprised me. The majority of pieces also fit together quite well. Many models, like the my previous kit a 1/25 scale Impala, had some parts that wouldn't quite fit right and needed work to go together. Excess flash,mold lines and injector marks were minimal. These are imperfections left over from the manufacturing process for those that may be new to scale modelling. 

Cons:

I had a hard time thinking of any to be honest. I did have some issues with the instructions. The kit gives you an option to build a topless version with an M60 mount. Sometimes it wasn't always clear which parts were for a particular version. There were also some extra parts, actually they're listed in the instructions)which could get mixed up. It happened that I put on the wrong dashboard/windshield part. It was only slight difference in appearance on the inside. It wasn't a big deal but could be for those going for extra mile for accuracy and authenticity. This was to be a sentimental shelf display model and not a show contestant so I was fine with it.

Overall I think it came out very well in the end. I'm not sure I'd recommend this as a first build as it's has many tiny pieces that require tweezers to hold them. I actually lost a tiny piece of the engine that because it fell on my basement floor to never be found. Maybe someone with moderate experience would find this a nice challenge. Have fun with it.

Model Bug

Recently I've rekindled my interest model kit building. I've had a couple of kits floating around I finally dived into one of them Before I get to far ahead I'll give a little history of my model building. I first started building them probably around my preteen years. Being like many boys I loved cars so that what I mainly built but on occasion I'd build airplanes or battleships. One of my inspirations was my grandfather whom we lived with. He had a love for the sea so he built old square rigged sailing ships although he did a few other things but the ships were his specialty. I tried the "Mayflower" and Pilgrims would have never made it across a bath tub never mind the the Atlantic in it so I stuck with cars. Eventually grew interested in other things so the hobby fell away. Over the years I'd build one here and there. 

The kit I'm starting with is of a 1958 Chevrolet Impala by AMT. It is 1/25 scale which is the most common ones, along with 1/24 scale, for cars and trucks for those of you not familiar with scale modelling. I got this one several years ago when I owned the modern version on the Impala(a 2000 model). It's also inspired from one of favorite movies "American Graffiti" where one of the cars was a white 1958 Impala which was my favorite in movie. 

One of the first steps was eking out a space to work my project. I had a work bench in the basement that was currently home to several old tower PC's. So I had to find some space in an already cluttered basement for these to go. 

I also took inventory of modelling stuff  I may still have. I had started a 57 Chevy Bel Air several years ago so I did have some stuff already. Unfortunately I needed to buy some more tools and paints. The 57 Chevy though was in sad shape as it's missing pieces from being shuffled around. I'd not sure what I'm going to do with it at this point. Maybe keep it for spare parts of some future project. 

Well I was happy to have found a space work and project to work on. I'll post updates as I move along with it. Have a great day.