Part 2: The Build

Trumpeter has you start with building the frame and attaching the cross braces, also attaching a partial representation of an engine, and the transfer case. One thing to note is that there are mold seams on the tops of each rail that needs to be sanded down to ensure a good fit of parts for later steps. The rear cross brace (part A24) has you attaching marker lights (parts D6) and Hose attachments (parts B3) and pintle hook. Those three steps, I would recommend attaching them at the end as they are susceptible to being broken off during construction. Part B3 should be detached from the sprue very carefully as you could cut off the D shape attachment which is part of the sprue. Step 2. You would start attaching shocks and leaf spring hangers. The thing to note in this step is care is needed when detaching parts F6 from the sprue as you can accidentally cut off a positive locating pin that is part of the sprue that helps hold the anti-sway bar in step 5. I would recommend one would hold off until step 5 as it would help in positively attaching it to the bottom of the shock and help align it better. Step 3 has you build and attach the rear light housings, exhaust, and two cross braces. When building the light housings I recommend leaving off the clear lights (parts D3, D6, D8.) for ease of painting. Attaching the exhaust should also be done last also as I had on numerous occasions broke part PE5. Part F37 should be attached at this point as it slowly gets covered up by other parts later in the build. Step 4 has you do three sub assemblies. There is a prominent mold seam down each leaf spring. The first step is putting the leaf springs together. The only problem I encountered here was attaching the front springs to the frame. I would first attach the rear portion then let it dry, then attach the front portion and clamp it down, as mine kept pulling up. Next step is doing the rear axle. The only caution here is attaching parts F1, one should try to keep them level. Next is the front axle. Like the rear, the same caution with parts B43. Step 5 has you start putting the front bumper together along with attaching the axles to the frame. When doing the front bumper, I would suggest not attaching part A11 until after painting whole model as it is easier to paint with having to mask off parts D12 and D11. Now is the time to attach the shock absorbers to the frame and then adding the axles as you get a better alignment of both. The second sub assembly is building a "fluid" tank. There a no major problems putting it together other than the usual seam

Step 6 is putting the air/fuel tanks together. Construction of the air tanks was simple and parts fit very nicely. The fuel tank was engineered nicely, but it suffered a major mold flaw on part A22 which resulted in sanding to get rid of a mold mark and also sanding away some detail which could be restored with a bit of thin styrene strip(see photo).

In Step 7, there are three sub-assemblies that consist of wheels, toolbox, winch. There is a very prominent seam down each tire, sanding kind of takes care of this problem. Putting the rims together was a very easy process and found no problems. If you want rotating wheels, you need to carefully glue E7 to E4 without getting any glue on E5. I did discover that you could carefully stretch the vinyl wheels over the rims. The toolbox presented no problems during assembly. Putting the winch together, one has to exercise caution as a mishap could happen. After putting parts B55,B7,and B47 together be very aware of a point in part B47 and where its orientation of it when adding parts B37 and B74 to it. In the diagram, the point is pointed up when adding parts to previously made assembly. If not done carefully, it will hamper the fit to the frame. Step 8 there was no major problems as everything fit fine. However I would not attach the big tool storage box to the frame yet, as not installing yet eases painting the inside frame. Step 9. Construction of the bed begins here. The bottom of the bed, Part G1, was slightly bowed in my example but not so much to be a big problem. I did find some small sink marks on the insides of the bed sides, a small amount of filler would take care of that. Parts H3 also had small sink marks on there exposed faces. The bed hooks, parts H9, are small and very fragile and I would highly recommend leaving them off until step 18. Care should be exercised when removing them from the sprue but you do get 6 extras.

Steps 10,11,12. Building the seat here went very smoothly, the only problems I did encounter was a mold seam on the tops of G9 and G12, careful sanding should take care of that problem. I did notice that all the PE parts were a bit narrow when attaching them to the seats and frame when folded at their fold marks. The biggest decision here is whether you want seats up or down. Step 13 is in two assemblies, first for attaching the seat and second for attaching the dash and inside grill detail. The one thing I would strongly suggest is not attaching parts C34 as they are very prone to broken off and waiting till the end to attach them. The dash detail here is basic and somewhat a controversy on other websites the photos here are the kit and the real thing, I did see a different dash on the Armorama website, so I would check your references carefully. Left mine as is since this is a review.

Steps 14,15. Putting together the interior detail here is very basic, consist of pedals, steering column, dash, seats, two storage boxes, and an extinguisher.

Step 16 has you add marker lights, windows, grille, and mirrors. What I did, was leave out the windows until after painting along with the marker lights while everything else was attached. About the marker lights, I did come across two different sets when looking at pictures of vehicle serving in Iraq and here at home. I notice the vehicles painted in Desert tan had a simple rectangle cover while the tri-colors had the ones represented in the kit. Details inside the cab are just about non-existent so for now some scratch building is a must here if you want doors details and such. Otherwise no problems fitting parts together.

Steps 17, 18, and 19 could've been lumped together. Step 17 has you put the cab to the floor I did not glue mine as the fit is tight also I painted entire truck before adding windows. I did notice a gaping hole in the back of the cab and used very thin plastic styrene to cover it up. The spare tire rack has a very vague instruction on attaching B1 to B65, I did mine 90 degree to B65,. The Box from step 8 should now be attached to the bottom of the bed but not to the frame until after painting. The spare tire rack, minus the tire, can be attached to the frame.

After painting, I applied the decals which were very thin and responded well to Microscale setting solutions. The white serials were opaque and did not show the base colors. After that I would then attach the bed, all clear parts (D6 from step1; D3, D6, D8 from step 3; D11 and D12 from step 5; D2, D6 and all windows from step 16), and the various small details (B3 and B75 from step 1; Exhaust and PE5 from step 3; Bumper cover A11 from step 5; C34 from step 13) that could've been broken off or hampered painting during construction and painting. Conclusion I did enjoy building this kit as it finally fills a void in Modern Armor. After building so much WW II subjects it was nice to take a break. The kit scales out very close (off only by a couple millimeters width wise)to the actual vehicle according to measurements posted on Global Securities website. This kit would make a wonderful addition to anybody's model collection and I would highly recommend it to all. Other than the minor flaws mentioned, it is a perfect build. Thanks to Stevens International and IPMS for allowing me to build and review this kit and Global Security for using the technical layouts for the M1078. Special thanks to Vladimir Yakubov for allowing me to post some of his walk-around of the M1078 and Mark Aldrich for going out and taking pictures of the interior details of the M1078 for me. My thanks to Mike Bass and Stevens International for the chance to review this great kit..