U.S M911 C-HET (8x6) & M747 Heavy Equipment Semi-Trailer

Meng Model, 1/35 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Summary

Introduction

The Oshkosh M911 is a heavy-load truck produced by the Oshkosh Corporation in the 1970s, and used by the US Army.

In the second half of the 1970s, the US Army procured 1,000 of the heavy-haul truck together with the four-axle M747 semitrailer for road transportation of Main Battle Tanks and other heavy loads.

The Oshkosh M911 was also used with the US Army units stationed in Europe.

The Oshkosh M911 has a crew of three, weighs 18.2 tonnes, and has a payload capacity of 68.95 tonnes.

The Oshkosh M911 is powered by a 12,060 cm3, 435 hp V8 diesel engine with turbocharger.*

When Tamiya released their 1:35 scale Dragon Wagon in 1998, I wrote: “This is not a model. It is a demonstration of power”.

Over the intervening 20 years, we have seen an escalating war of kit detail, tiny parts and complexity. It is not uncommon to find new military model releases with greater than 1,000 or even 1,500 parts.

Despite the prevalence of these mega-kits, there are some subjects that radiate a wow factor regardless of parts count.

The Dragon Wagon was one of these.

Meng’s brand-new U.S M911 and Semi-Trailer is undoubtedly another.

FirstLook

Meng’s 1:35 scale U.S M911 C-HET (8x6) & M747 Heavy Equipment Semi-Trailer comprises 852 parts on 15 sand coloured sprues, 30 parts in clear, two photo-etched frets, six metal axles, 30 soft vinyl tyres, six vinyl shock absorbers, five pre-sized and self-adhesive mirrors, 28 polythene caps, a roll of twisted wire, lengths of red and blue covered wire, self-adhesive masks for the windows and decals for two options.

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The multi-media parts are used very effectively.

Features of the kit include removable trailer, movable loading ramps, the front wheels may be posed to taste, the trailer’s centre wheels may be posed in the raised or lowered position thanks to alternative air spring parts, cab doors are separate and may be posed open or closed and more.

Moulding quality of the plastic parts is first rate.

I’m not usually a fan of vinyl tyres but these ones look very good with raised lettering and crisp tread detail. The separate tyres will certainly make painting the wheels easier.

The photo-etched frets offer a modest 25 parts. The tread plate and front grille are the highlights here.

Self-adhesive masks are provided for the windows. The outlines are printed onto the masks and you’ll need to cut these out with a sharp knife or small scissors before application.

Metal parts are provided for the winch cable, trailer axles and pneumatic lines.

The self-adhesive mirrors are a nice touch too.

The decal sheet is quite small, and most of the markings are placards and stencils.

Two marking options are offered – one in overall Sand and one in three-colour Euro camouflage.

Conclusion

Meng’s 1:35 scale U.S M911 C-HET (8x6) & M747 Heavy Equipment Semi-Trailer is a large and deeply impressive kit.

It will be a remarkable model by itself, but its appeal will be even greater if a tank is added as payload, either on the trailer or in the process of being loaded.

Either way, Meng’s big 1:35 scale M911 and M747 package will be an absorbing project for experienced modellers.

* Historical background adapted from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oshkosh_M911

Thanks to Meng Model for the sample www.meng-model.com