M56B1 Maintenance Truck

[Warren D]

This is another Hobby Link 1/35 scale kit.  It's the last Hobby Link kit I have and I'm not likely buying any more.  I decided to build it up while I had experience with these still fresh in my mind.  Had the usual issues with warped parts.  The soft top was warped badly at the front left corner and no amount of heating and bending would straighten it out.  I dug out the other one from the Mr. Nice Guntruck kit (it was extra) but it had the same warp in the exact same place.  I found a soft top from the Roden kit I used for "Malfunction" and was surprized it fit!  It actually fit very well with only a small adjustment at the front corners.  I realized after I took the pics that I forgot the winch cable, so that will get added sometime in the future.  Paint is Tamiya over Pollyscale black primer.  The color is my own mix, coming close to the Vietnam correct 24087.

 

[Jim B]

Looks like you fought the good fight & pulled it off.  Very nice looking M56B1.  Well done.

[Warren D]

3 hours ago, Jim B said:

Looks like you fought the good fight & pulled it off.  Very nice looking M56B1.  Well done.

Thanks Jim, I'm not sure I won the good fight but the results are acceptable.  Ran into a guy I know who has one at a MV show this past weekend.  His doesn't have the tall exhaust stack.  I may have to consult the Tech manuals and see what they are supposed to look like.  The mirror brackets are a bit odd but that's what came in the kit.

[Mike 1017]

Most Excellent

[stavanzer]

Cool M37 Variant.

Great job on the build, even if you did struggle some.

 

Good Show.

[Warren D]

On 7/29/2025 at 9:39 AM, Mike 1017 said:

Most Excellent

Thank you!

On 7/29/2025 at 10:47 AM, stavanzer said:

Cool M37 Variant.

Great job on the build, even if you did struggle some.

 

Good Show.

Thanks!

[Warren D]

I decided I didn't like the way the mirrors looked and couldn't find any photos of them so I changed them to the stock M37 style.  I also got the winch cable wrapped and removed the tall exhaust stack as I couldn't verify it's use on the M56.