Nordland AMPS

The Much Maligned Italeri HMMWVs
by: Rob Gronovius

Introduction

In the mid 1980s, the US Army replaced its aging M151A1/A2 (a.k.a. “Jeep”) and its omnipresent, M416/M416A1 ¼ ton cargo trailer, combination with the new M998-series High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) manufactured by AM General. Pronounced “Humvee” or called “Hummer”, this vehicle became the Army’s workhorse and was put into service in about a dozen variants, some differing only by the addition of a winch for recovery operations.

Italeri produces several HMMWV variants and other companies re-box the basic Italeri kit adding parts to create their own unique variants. Despite inaccuracy problems the kits are well engineered, fit well and look good. The Italeri HMMWVs are pleasures to build and look like HMMWVs when completed.

M998 Hummer #247

In 1988, Italeri produced its first HMMWV model. It was kit number 247 and called “M998 Hummer.” The kit was, in fact, an M966 Armored TOW (tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided missile) Carrier. The nomenclature of the vehicle was not the only error the kit had.

The kit represented a pre-production prototype and had several errors. First of all, the front bumper of the production HMMWV has three circular holes in it; the Italeri kit had four. The front bumper is also missing the two “U” shackles and brackets. Next the windshield wiper blades of the HMMWV hang in a straight line with the wiper arm. Italeri molds the wiper blades at an angle so they remain parallel to the top of the windshield frame. Early Italeri HMMWVs are also missing the three oval indentations found below each door on the sides of the chassis. Italeri corrected this on later models. Another item missing is the air vent grill for the crew compartment. This is located on the right side of the chassis, just forward of the front passenger door. Italeri HMMWVs do not have “AM GENERAL” embossed in the tailgate, but that omission may be due to licensing reasons.

Other short comings to the Italeri kit are simplified interior details such as the driver and passenger seat assemblies and the missing heater. The doors are given the option of being opened; however, the “B” pillar is not included and would show if the doors were opened. Both the gunner’s hatch and cargo hatch are molded closed with no option to pose them open. The gunner’s hatch is also molded in reverse [thanks Marcel]. There is just an empty shell inside the vehicle. Missing are the radio rack, gunner’s stand and other storage racks common to a TOW HMMWV. Italeri omits the pioneer tool rack that stores under the rear bumper.

The tread patterns on the kit tires do not match either the older bias ply tire pattern or the newer radial tires. Also the front and rear hubs on the actual vehicle differ, Italeri gives the same hub for all four wheels.

Additionally, the kit decals depict a USMC vehicle; however, the wading exhaust and raised air cleaner are not provided in any Italeri based kit. Therefore no Italeri kit can be built into a true USMC vehicle. This kit was also boxed by Testors in the yellow box and was kit number 830. The box top featured photos of the assembled kit.

M998 HMMWV Desert Patrol Hummer #249

The next kit Italeri produced was the M998 HMMWV Desert Patrol Hummer kit number 249. This kit is a prototype of a ten man squad carrier tested at the US Army’s National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California. It was armed with an M2 Browning .50 caliber machine gun. Although it is an interesting variant, the vehicle was not put into production.

This model is the same basic kit as kit #247, the only difference being the “B” sprue that provides the squared hard top roof of the model and weapons station. There is also an additional clear part added for the rear window. The model suffers from the same basic problems as the other Italeri HMMWVs like lack of interior details, wipers, front bumper and wheels. Other problems with this variant are the rear bumper and rear troop doors. On the prototype, the tailgate is replaced by a pair of doors that go from the top of the roof to the bottom of the cargo bed allowing easy entry into the troop compartment. Since the kit utilizes the same lower chassis as all Italeri HMMWVs, the tailgate remains in place and the troop doors go to the top of the tailgate. Additionally, the kit is missing the rear bumper found on the prototype. It is like the type fitted to the S250 carrier, ambulance and prime mover variants. The cargo racks and straps that adorn the sides of the prototype are also missing, and would require reshaping of the rear sides of the hard top.

Strangely, even though the prototype was tested by and for the US Army at the NTC, the decals depict a USMC vehicle.

Special Forces Stinger Hummer #254

This kit is basically a plain Jane 2-door M1038 (M998 with a winch) with no rear troop seats, canvas roof or doors. The kit is one of the better Italeri variants; it includes the “B” pillar not found in any other Italeri based kit. It also includes the rear door covers and folded down seat backs to properly model a 2-door truck. The use of the winch instead corrects the four-holed front bumper problem.

Being a soft top without the canvas top brings unique problems. For instance, the plywood board that covers the interior between the driver and passenger seats is missing. This detail is missing from all Italeri HMMWVs, but since there is no top or doors on this one, it is more noticeable. This item can be easily added with a piece of sheet styrene. Also missing are the two rubber bumpers that are just inside of the windshield wiper pivot points. These bumpers are only found on soft top HMMWVs (M998/1038) and keep the windshield from rattling if it was tied down (rarely done). Also missing is the two tie downs that are between the hood grill and the windshield (also found on soft tops only) and the corresponding tie downs and straps on the inside edge of the windshield frame.

A couple of omissions can be explained away. The interior cargo bulkhead is missing. This is a thick aluminum insert that fits behind the driver and front passenger seats. It is designed to keep cargo in the bed from sliding forward into the crew compartment. This bulkhead is sometimes removed in 2-door vehicles. The missing radio rack can be attributed to no radio because there is no antenna mount.

The front and hood grills on earlier Italeri kits represent the armored type found on hard top HMMWVs. The armored front grill has metal louvers visible through the grill; the soft top’s grill has wire mesh visible. The top grill of the hard top has narrow metal slats; the soft top’s grill has wider slats and is made out of fiberglass. The fiberglass grill on the actual vehicle is sometimes replaced with the armored type because some units carry a roll of concertina wire here. The fiberglass grill breaks under the weight and movement of the roll of wire. The front grills can be drilled out and a piece of mesh inserted from the inside.

The item that makes this HMMWV different from a regular one is the four Stinger anti-aircraft missile mount. There are not any photographs available of this Stinger mount so the accuracy can’t be readily determined.

This is one of the few Italeri HMMWV kits that come with extras such as an M-60 machine gun, M-16 rifles, ALICE packs, Kevlar helmets and 5 gallon fuel cans. Decals depict a generic US Army HMMWV with no bumper numbers provided.

Commando Hum-V #273

The name of this kit must have been lost in translation. It represents one of the more common HMMWV configurations, the 4-door soft top with rear cargo cover. Commanders, staff officers and NCOs commonly use this vehicle. Many are equipped with several radios for command and control on different radio nets (brigade, battalion, company, etc.).

There are two versions of this kit. The older version is molded in dark olive green and a newer version in tan. As with the previous HMMWV errors, this vehicle has the same sparse interior detail, missing windshield bumpers, and grill errors. The old green version has the armored hood grill; the new tan one has a correct fiberglass grill. The tan one also has the six oval indents added on each side of the chassis as well as the air vent grill added to the right side. A new front bumper with three holes is included to replace the incorrect one. A variety of antenna mounts are included, a nice touch is the addition of the foam padding around lower portion of the antennas. This was so the antenna did not rub through the canvas covers while tied down. The decals depict a USAF air liaison officer (ALO) vehicle during Desert Storm. It is nice to see a company go back and modify an existing mold to correct inaccuracies.

M-1036 HMMWV with TOW Launcher #369

This kit is a modified reissue of Italeri’s first HMMWV kit #247. Among the changes is the addition of the six oval indents, right side air vent and a front winch to replace the incorrect four holed front bumper. One modification of the kit now makes top hood grill wrong. It was changed from the correct armored type to the unarmored fiberglass type. Swapping the hood with an older kit’s hood easily rectifies this. Italeri also adds the optional brush guard to this kit. There are several variations of the actual brush guard depending on supplier so the accuracy of this particular one is immaterial.

Another addition is a small circular rear view mirror added to the old style rear view mirror. Too bad Italeri didn’t change the rear view mirrors on their kits to the now more common “West Coast” style rear view mirrors. The reversed gunner’s hatch remains unchanged, but at least the decals in this kit represent two different US Army vehicles (although the directions incorrectly identify the Desert Storm variant as a USMC vehicle) and include a set of Military Vehicle Delineators (MVDs), ever present on USAREUR equipment.

Hummer Avenger #6387

The Italeri Avenger has the modified chassis and hood grill. The hood grill is now the fiberglass type and the six indents and air vent were added. This is not a re-box of the Esci Avenger and although the vehicle chassis is the same as their family of HMMWVs, the Avenger turret is all-new. This is the one Italeri HMMWV I do not own and have only inspected the kit briefly in the box.

Revell of Germany Boxed HMMWVs

Revell of Germany re-boxed the Italeri kit with new parts for the 2-door and cargo compartment. The Revell of Germany kits verify the existence of a third, intermediate modified mold. The molds used have the newer modifications with the six oval indents on the chassis sides and the soft-top type hood grill. The chassis is missing the crew compartment air vent grill on the right side though.

HMMWV M998 Cargo/Troop Carrier #03013

The M998 in this configuration is the typical “First Sergeant” variant. Many of these savvy senior NCOs have since added the rear canvas cover or built some type of plywood cover on the cargo compartment. The soft-top and troop seats are nicely done and even include the metal cargo bulkhead. This part is molded with the back of the soft-top cover and the “B” pillar is not included, so a topless variant can’t be built out-of-box. Also missing is the troop strap that runs along the rear of the cargo compartment and antennas (Top’s gotta have comms!). The kit does include the correct three-holed bumper and an optional brush guard. There are four decal options, all for USAREUR vehicles in the 3-color NATO pattern.

HMMWV M1038 Cargo w/Canvas #03027

The M1038 is a better deal than the M998 kit. The M1038 comes with both the cargo cover and the troop seats. It does not include the 3-holed bumper and brush guard of the M998 kit. Instead, it includes an antenna and mount as well as the recovery winch. As with the M998 kit, the M1038 kit includes four decal options for USAREUR vehicles in the 1990s. The vehicle pictured above is the exact HMMWV that I was assigned while an observer/controller (OC) during REFORGER 90, the great “Nerf Ball War”. The white sign with “16” was my umpire team.

Tamiya Hummer with M242 Bushmaster #35143

Some of you are wondering, “What is this kit doing here?” The lineage of the Tamiya HMMWV is the Italeri kit. It is a “one-of” prototype that was not accepted into service and the prototype was reconverted back into the standard HMMWV. For this reason, there are not many reference photos of the vehicle. The interior of the kit has the same faults as the older Italeri HMMWVs and since there are no photos of the Bushmaster interior readily available, it is difficult to determine the accuracy of the M242 mount. The bumper is the incorrect four-holed version, but photographs of the actual vehicle show that the chassis does not have the six indents on the frame. The doors, however, do not match the early prototype pattern shown on photographs in the references listed below. Decals are provided for a 3-color NATO scheme US Army vehicle or a desert camouflaged USMC vehicle. This mean looking Hummer is a good kit for the “what if” crowd and is becoming rare, even after its recent re-release.

Conclusion

Although not the best HMMWV kit ever made, the Italeri kits are the only ones readily available and except for the Avenger (still under $20), are relatively inexpensive. They look best when built buttoned up since this hides the sparse interior. Some of the criticisms of earlier Italeri HMMWV kits did not fall on deaf ears and they did make several modifications to the molds. I recommend most of the kits as fun builds that are good for the novice armor builder or a cross-over kit for the car modeler.

Model List

Italeri M998 Hummer #247, OOP
Italeri M998 HMMWV Desert Patrol Hummer #249
Italeri Special Forces Stinger Hummer #254, OOP
Italeri Commando Hum-V #273
Italeri M-1036 HMMWV with TOW Launcher #369
Italeri Hummer Avenger #6387
Testors M998 Hummer #830, OOP
Revell of Germany HMMWV M998 Cargo/Troop Carrier #03013
Revell of Germany HMMWV M1038 Cargo w/Canvas #0389
Tamiya Hummer with M242 Bushmaster #35143

References

TM 9-2320-280-10 Operator’s Manual for Truck, Utility: Cargo/Troop Carrier, 1 ¼ Ton, 4X4, M998 (EM 0030)
Hummer The Next Generation, Michael Green, MBI Publishing Company
Hummer Humvee in Action, Jim Mesko, Squadron/Signal Publications

The Much Maligned Italeri HMMWVs by: Rob Gronovius

The Much Maligned Italeri HMMWVs
by: Rob Gronovius