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In-Box Review
135
Humvee Wheels, Aggressive pattern with new rims

by: Pawel Krupowicz [ VODNIK ]

introduction

Tamiya kit wheels represent the early style of rims and tires. While such older wheels are still used, majority of Humvees now have newer type wheels on them. Wheels in Blast set are those newer "aggressive" pattern wheels. Just as most of Blast Models sets, those wheels also come in a small clear plastic container and resealable zip-bag inside. There are only four complete wheels inside, molded in cream resin. Wheels are marked with small numbers on the inner side of rims and on a small paper insert is a drawing with instructions showing proper location of each wheel.

Wheels are cleanly molded with just a hint of flash. Molding quality is flawless. No air bubbles are present at all. Resin pouring gates are very small, so the area of tread pattern affected by their presence is minimal.

Blast wheels are designed with Tamiya kit in mind, so they attach to the axles the same way as original kit wheels did. No modifications to Tamiya parts are necessary.

First problem with Blast product is not immediately noticeable, but if you try too read manufacturer's logo on tires you realize that it was misspelled on one side of tire. It says "Goo Year" instead of "Good Year". Unfortunately the error was made on the outer side of tires, while logos on the inner, not visible side, are correct. In reality however manufacturer's logo on tires is rarely visible at all, so the easiest fix is to simply sand the logos off Blast tires completely. This way they will actually look more accurate, even if a little less "cool".

Rims in Blast wheels look like they were based on kit parts, but the outer ring of bolts was modified with 12 bolts instead of original eight. This is correct for new style rims, but those new bolts protrude significantly further from the rim in reality, while Blast made them the same size as in Tamiya kit.

Aggressive tread pattern is quite well reproduced, although not fully accurate. It is a bit simplified, but looks acceptably. The problem however is that Blast tires are a bit too narrow. They are significantly narrower than Tamiya kit wheels, but this actually is correct as in reality new tires are also narrower than older ones. But Blast unfortunately went a little bit too far in reducing the width of their tires and appearance of their wheels is not quite right. This is not a glaring error, but still noticeable.


in conclusion
Despite some flaws, Blast Models Humvee wheels are still a very product, worth recommendation. They were designed for Tamiya kit, so it is extremely easy to use them with this model. Blast Models mentioned some time ago that they will correct Good Year logo error in later production batches of wheel sets, but they need to sell the initial batch first. Anyway - do not reject this product only because of this small spelling error, as it is really not that significant. More important is the slightly incorrect width of tires, but this problem is also not big enough to change overall good value this set presents.


Review sample was purchased directly from Blast Models.

Reviews of other Blast Models detail sets for Tamiya Humvee:
- Late type weapons ring with OIF modifications and smoke dischargers - BL35050K
- OIF Hummer Accessories - BL35051K
- Armored doors for OIF Hummer - BL35052K
SUMMARY
Blast Models were the first company to release the resin wheels set dedicated for Tamiya Humvee models. Because of different design of axles in those kits, older wheels designed for Italeri and Academy Humvees required serious modification of model parts to fit. Blast Models wheels are of different type then those included in Tamiya kit.
Percentage Rating
70%
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: 35027K
  Suggested Retail: €10.00
  Related Link: Blast Models website
  PUBLISHED: Jul 02, 2004
  NATIONALITY: United States
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 82.20%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 89.80%

About Pawel Krupowicz (Vodnik)
FROM: WARSZAWA, POLAND

As first lines of this bio appear under all my reviews, I feel it is important that I start with this information: In March 2005 I ventured into the other side of modeling "industry" - I was not only building model kits, but also helping design them as a consultant for Dragon Models Ltd.. These days...

Copyright ©2021 text by Pawel Krupowicz [ VODNIK ]. All rights reserved.


   
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Photos
Click image to enlarge
  • 35027-06
    On the left is old style wheel, on the right and on top is the new style one. In the middle is Blast resin wheel. As you can see old style tires were indeed significantly wider than new style ones, but Blast wheel is a bit too narrow anyway.
  • 35027-05
    Blast tires are noticeably narrower than Tamiya kit ones.
  • 35027-07
  • 35027-04
    Comparison with Tamiya kit wheel. Note that there are bolts added to the rim. The diameter of the resin wheel is the same as kit wheel.
  • 35027-03
    Note misspelled company logo on outer side of tires.
  • 35027-02
    Contents of the set.
  • 35027-01
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