Special Hobby M1278 Heavy Guns Carrier "Joint Light Tactical Vehicle" (MV124) 1:72 Planet Models / CMK / Special Hobby

[Julien]

M1278 Heavy Guns Carrier "Joint Light Tactical Vehicle" (MV124)

1:72 Planet Models / CMK / Special Hobby

 

 

It does not seem that long ago that the Jeep was replaced by the Humvee by the US Army, however that started to happened back in the 80s and now they are looking to partly replace these now, The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle or JLTV for short is a joint US Army/USMC programme to look at replacing some Humvees being used in the tactical role, something they were never designed for. Oshkosh was selected as the winner of the programme in 2015 with their L-ATV.  These vehicles feature a high level of mobility and a much improved level of crew protection.  The US Army & USMC have now declared initial operation capability with the vehicle with over 3000 on order, and planned up to 7000 for each service by 2023. The Army alone has plans to acquire 49000 over the lifetime of the programme across many variants such as weapons carriers, ambulances., recon vehicles and Command & Control  vehicles. The US Air Force is also looking to procure this vehicle.  To date there has been interest from the UK for over 2500 vehicles; and contracts placed from Lithuania, Slovenia and Montenegro. 

 

 

The Kit

This is a new tool kit from Planet models under this brand from Special Hobby. The parts are all cast resin with the windows in clear resin. Smaller parts are provided on a PE fret.  Additional parts are included in this kit for the Heavy Weapons Turret. The quality of the parts is all first class. There is the main chassis, main body, bonnet and rear body parts all as individual casts, the other main parts are the wheels. Ancillary parts are split between resin and PE depending on there size, plus for this boxing the heavy weapons turret.  The vehicle appear quite detailed with a basic interior. Though in 1.72 you will not see much through the small windows (these are all clear resin and will need a polish to get the clarity up) .  The instruction guide is not so much instructions but 4 exploded views showing where all the parts go. Given this and the small nature of some parts it is not recommended for the novice. 

 

 

 

 

 

CAD of this version from Special Hobby

 

 

Markings

No markings are provided in the kit.

 

 

Conclusion

It is good to see new kits of modern vehicles for the small scale modeller. Highly Recommended. 

 

 

Review sample courtesy of