Introduction:
The Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) is an 8 x 8 off-road tactical truck used by the US Army. The HEMTT first went into service in 1985, and is available in a variety of configurations, including cargo, tanker, tractor and wrecker.
Many of these HEMTT variants are available as 1/35 scale plastic kits. Produced by Italeri and Trumpeter, these kits feature vinyl tires… soft in detail and difficult to paint and weather realistically, many modelers prefer to swap vinyl tires with resin replacement wheels. And where to get the best resin replacement wheels? Of course, at DEF Model!
Review:
DEF Model recently released two sets of HEMTT resin replacement wheels. This review covers their M977 HEMTT Michelin "XL" 1990 Sagged Wheel Set (DW35135).
The set comes in a hard cardboard box measuring 14 x 11 x 4 cm. The front of the box features an image showing the resin wheels installed on the HEMTT model and stating the set includes 13 resin parts and easy wheel masks.
Opening the box reveals a big plastic bag with resin pieces, masking sheets and masking instruction leaflet.
I inspected the resin pieces first. There are 8 road wheels, a spare wheel and 4 adapters. The resin looks superb, with a lot of details beautifully defined and not a single casting imperfection that I could find. This set definitely proves that DEF Model casting quality is second to none.
Check out the details! Just a reminder, these are 1/35 scale wheels.
The casting blocks are very easy to remove. These are attached to the bottom of the road wheels, on the ground contact, and cleaning the blocks should not damage any details or leave a visible scar once the wheels are installed on the vehicle. The casting block on the spare tire is intelligently designed and its several attachment points follow the tire tread. A careful cleanup should minimize the need to recreate the complex tread pattern.
The tire represented in this set is 16.00R20 Michelin XL, the tactical vehicle radial tire with the dimensions of 1348 x 406 mm (53.1 x 16 in), and the approved rim width of 254 mm (10 in). This particular Michelin tire was used in the early years of HEMTT service up until the Gulf War.
Comparing the DEF Model 1/35 scale tire to the images of the real Michelin XL, I found a really good match. The tire tread is authentically delivered as well as the sidewall embossed details. The inscriptions MICHELIN XL, 16.00R20 XL are sharp and can be easily read under magnification. The thing I particularly like is the “stressed skin” effect… due to the flexible radial sidewalls, this effect is clearly visible on real tires when compressed by the weight of the vehicle. The rim bolt pattern is nicely reproduced, with the bolt heads well defined as well. Finally, the DEF Model tire is sized to 38,20 x 11,40 mm, a fraction of a millimeter less than the real tire in 1/35 scale.
Front wheels:
Rear wheels:
Spare tire:
The road wheels feature a slight compression where the tire contacts the ground, depicting realistically the weight of the vehicle.
This set includes 8 slightly different road wheels, labeled on their casting blocks from A to H. Due to the asymmetrical directional tire tread, wheels A-D should be installed to the right side of the vehicle, while the wheels E-H to the left side of the vehicle. Moreover, due to the rim difference, wheels A-B and E-F depict front wheels, while C-D and G-H are rear wheels. Each wheel is differently oriented regarding the ground contact tire compression, as well as the rim, which ensures the wheels fitted to the same side of the vehicle do not look identical and repetitive, adding to the realism of the model.
Fitting the wheels:
This wheel set is designed to fit both Italeri and Trumpeter models. The set is a direct wheel replacement for Italeri model. However, if used with the Trumpeter model, the rear wheels need a specific adapter supplied in the DEF Model set. Image on DEF website could provide some help: link.
Wheel masks:
Five pre-cut masking sheets are included in this kit. The masks are of help when painting the wheels, allowing airbrushing without overspray. The instruction leaflet shows two different ways of applying the masks and painting the wheels.
Conclusion:
M977 HEMTT Michelin "XL" 1990 Sagged Wheel Set (DW35135) from DEF Model delivers 8 road wheels and a spare tire designed to upgrade Italeri and Trumpeter models. The wheels are perfectly cast with loads of details impressively delivered in resin. The Michelin XL tire is realistically reproduced and well sized. The road wheels are depicted with a slight compression at ground contact and offered in slightly different orientations so the model doesn’t end up with all four wheels on one side looking the same.
Altogether, I can highly recommend this set for anyone wishing to improve their HEMTT model.
A big thanks to DEF Model for this review sample.
