E.T. Model as well as releasing etched update sets has also started releasing resin updates with this set providing resin replacement wheels for the Trumpeter M1078 Light Medium Tactical Vehicle (LMTV) Kit #01004.

The set consists of five wheels cast in a light cream resin, four for the vehicle and one spare.
The standard of casting is very good with clean crisp details and no blemishes such as air holes or the like, the only cleanup required is the casting blocks on each wheel.

The contact point for the casting block corresponds with the slightly flattened ground contact area of the tyre which becomes evident once the casting block is removed. you can use a razor saw or large clippers to remove the casting block and then trim with a #11 blade which shouldn't be problem with the wheels then ready for use.

The wheels are actually resin reproductions of the Trumpeter kit wheels and include the kit wheels rims (parts E3, E4) along with the vinyl tyre in the single resin casting. Thankfully the mould seams around the kit vinyl tyre have been removed on the cast wheels which saves you the trouble of trying to clean this yourself from the vinyl tyre.

The only minor casting issue is due to the habit of vinyl tyres not sitting snugly to the kit wheel rims and this results in one side of the tyre sitting slightly "away" from the rim more than the other side of the rim. This really is difficult to notice from some angles and will just look like shadow and there is little you can do about anyway, it's also difficult to notice on the images below unless you look really closely and so probably won't be an issue once fitted to the kit.

All other details are cleanly reproduced including the chunky tread and sidewall details including the fine data embossing, with the rim/hub detail being the same as on the kit other than the three locating holes on the kit rims being filled in on the resin wheels for a cleaner appearance. The amount of 'weighting' on the wheels is not excessive and consists of basically just the flattened road contact area without any noticeable side wall bulging.

Resin parts.



There is a problem with the spare wheel as it should have the outer circle of rim bolts as these hold the rim segments together with just the central circle of open holes, this comes about by the wheels just being a reproduction of the incorrect Trumpeter spare.

Fitting the resin wheels to the Trumpeter LMTV kit is very straightforward and doesn't require any alterations to the kit parts.
As the resin wheels include the kit rims all you need do is fit the kit brake drums (parts E5, E2/6) to the back of the resin wheel and then fit the wheels to the truck axles as per the kit instructions, nothing could be easier.

This is a very simply update with the resin wheels cleanly cast without any blemishes and very subtle 'weighting' of the tyres as well as saving you the trouble of removing the moulding seam from the kit vinyl tyres. The only real issue is the incorrectly depicted spare with the missing outer ring or rim bolts that should be there.

Being reproductions of the kit wheels makes fitting the kit wheel parts straightforward with everything fitting perfectly and if you prefer not to use the kit vinyl wheels, these are the perfect replacement.

Highly recommended

FMTV Trucks in detail Present Vehicle Line No.G21 Wings & Wheels Publications

 

Thanks to E.T. Model for the review set