New 1/35 Tamiya: M561 Gama Goat

Ok I did it, wasn't in stock at the LHS so I ordered it online....C'mon UPS   cant wait to get my hands on the weird little bugger. I'll have to post some pics of the build if my phone will cooperate.  

Having recently built one of these kits, all I can say is get one! Sure, it's an ugly vehicle, but it's so ugly that it becomes cool. And like any new Tamiya kit, thet pretty much just fall together.

I will probably finish mine as an 82nd AB vehicle, using the decals that come with the kit.

we  hdd them in 3-33 AR in kirchgoens (the other "THE ROCK"). as a tank co xo for a loooong 6 months before taking the mortar platoon, loved the tanker goer, not so much the cargo one. certainly were a *** to road march, max speed wqas 15mph. we were road marching to friedburg to rail load when one got a flat. fortunately my csc M-578 was in the rear so we used it to lift the front end and fix it and still made railhead though the shoulder on the autbahn was worse for wear.;

Yup, I remember the GOER. We still had them in the mid-late 80s at Ft Polk. Then came the HMMETT around 87 or so...

I'll get one, also.

Does anyone remember the GOER vehicle?  It was like a Gama Goat on steroids, but did not have a forward axle.  Very unsafe vehicle.  Last time I saw one was at Baumholder in 1976-77 time period.  Would like to see that in plastic.

Curt

I'll definitely have to get one as well. It's probably the first "must get" Tamiya kit (to me) since their M60A3.

Nice, just viewed the review on the kit and they say it has decals for the us army in 1976....wonder if that's 1st cav decals....that would be perfect. The last half of 77 I was assigned to a camouflage paint crew....we painted all the vehicles in the 1st cav. that was a sweet gig...no formations, no inspections and we worked only at night.

Yes, I will definitely be getting one as well

I do believe I will...you?

Are you gonna get one of the kits?

Never thought I'd see one of those things again(the goat). As a wheel and track mechanic stationed at Ft Hood from 75-78 I used to work on those strange little buggers. They had the worst gear shifting apparatus I've even seen on a vehicle. Was kinda like trying to move a sledgehammer thru a pail of rocks. And the noise that diesel made, my ears still ring. When I saw that kit at armorcon this year sure brought back memories.

  Former spec 4, E company 27th maint btn 1st cav  

Thank you Gentlemen.

Pete

Here you go.

gurth.home.xs4all.nl/.../merdc.html

This article gives you all the different color combos for MERDC camo and many popular hobby color equivalants.

Good luck and be sure to show us when you are done.

Here's a link to my camouflage manual from 1976. There are some color samples on the pages.

gallery3.kitmaker.net/.../14775

I have 2 Gama goat kits here, one almost done  and the other waiting to see what appears from the aftermarket boys.

Does anyone know what the fs nos are for the 4 colour scheme on the Goat?

It can be posed in such a way as to show it's off road capabilities but I would have liked to be able to had the front and rear axles steering.

Pete

I was always under the impression that the 82nd had the M16A2 for Grenada and were the first to use them in combat. But looking at photos now, I guess not... I know that my old mech unit, the 4/6 Inf, had M-16A1s in Panama in 1989.

Interesting photo- M-16A1 with K-pots and Kevlar vests.

This was standard for the 82nd in Op Urgent Fury (Grenada).  The K-pot was just issued and only the 82nd had them.  M16A2's were not really in use until the late '80s to early '90s.  Some active units still hade M16A1s when they deployed to ODS '90.

No, the wire cutters could still found occasionally. Interesting photo- M-16A1 with K-pots and Kevlar vests. Modified grill... BDE HQ-6 bumper codes, Beret flash from Brigade/Division HQ troops, the RTO  climbing in the back... that is a brigade commander's ride, Yes that is a 151A2, the amber lamps on the countoured front fenders are a feature of the A2

I don't want to hijack this thread, but I like this photo. Looks like the wire cutter hadn't gone out of style in 1983. I believe this is an A2.  82nd AB.

Bronto

Are there more sprue shots of the M151A1?  Did they correctly change the suspension for the A1 or is it another half ***ed "update" like the Academy M151A1?

Based on the above pic, the A1 rear suspension parts are all there.  They are the two pieces below the grill on the right side.    From what else I can see, it looks like they did a pretty complete rework to make an accurate M151A1.  I will be getting a few to se how correct they are.

Oh I loved driving them... maybe that's why I have had jeeps for the past 15 years. But I would have sure hated getting my boot stuck in the grill. I did miss being able to push start on HMMWVs...

My old man used to hate those M151s. He said that one of the bad things about it was when it would break down, you would get your boot stuck in the grill when you kicked it.

That was the only sprue shot on that website. I could not answer you about how much they changed the suspension. I see new parts for that on the sprues, but having never been under an A1, let alone driven one, in person I can not vouch for the accuracy.

Are there more sprue shots of the M151A1?  Did they correctly change the suspension for the A1 or is it another half ***ed "update" like the Academy M151A1?

An open grill with a seperate radiator on the 151 would be nice. Academy did it on their 151s, although those are all newer mold kits. Seperate grab handles would be ok, but seperate tie down points and tool straps are overkill for many modelers. Those tiny finicky things are best left to the AM folks. Tamiya for the past few decades has been about engineering and fit/ease of assembly. Heck, as you see, the other manufacturers arent even touching the Goat. And those 151 kits date back to the early 80s originally.

While the subject is very welcome, looking at those sprue shots it would be nice for Tamiya to step up their detail level to other companies.  I am still seeing 1980's details like molded on grab handles, tool straps and tie downs, one piece clunky drive-train and solid engine grills.

And since this thread is about the Goat kit after all...

Interesting... on my tablet, I get the message for bandwidth. On my desktop those images show up fine...

but here is another go at them from another site

Tamiya kit 332 M151A2 Grenada invasion 1983

Tamiya kit 334 M151A1 Vietnam War

Nice... I will have see if I can find and post those images from elsewhere...