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As a
WWII Jeep owner and long time military vehicle enthusiast, I was
asked to review the DM replica. First, a little trivia. The request for
bids on the "1/4 ton 4x4 truck" was released by the Army in June,
1940. The first company to respond with a vehicle which became
the grandaddy of all WWII jeeps was the American Bantam Car
Company. Ford and Willys followed with their prototypes. The
army had each company build 1,500 pre-production vehicles for
testing. As a result of testing and politics, Willys won.
Because war
was imminent, Ford was persuaded to also produce jeeps.
Willys-Overland advertised they designed the Jeep; this was
contested and they lost. Willys, however, first trademarked the
"Jeep" name.
I estimate the model to be a '44 or '45 Willys MB, based on the
dashboard. The detail is quite good. The model has combat
wheels, tire pump under the folding rear seat, starting crank behind
the rear seat, fire extinguisher by the clutch pedal, adn oil can on
the firewall, to name a few details. The underside faithfully
replicates the 4WD system will all lines, brackets and connecting
rods in place. It is fascinating to watch the steering mechanism
which is easily done due to the openness of the undercarriage.
Here are a couple of minor faults.
The metal portion of the
windshield frame (below the
glass) is too high. The black-out
driving light on the left front fender
has a red lens, it should be black.
A late MB with the two-bold
spare tire carrier should have a
support under the spare and the
tire should tilt backwards for some canvas top clearance. The
curvature of the hood and cowl sides is too abrupt. Rubber around
the windshield glass and between the windshield frame and the
cowl should be painted black. All in all, though, most members of
the Military Vehicle club were enthusiastic, wanting to know how
to get one! (06/30/1998)
(06/30/1998)
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