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Built Review
135
US SOF GMV Hexagon Turret
US MARSOC/Navy Seals GMV-M Hexagon Turret (LRE-35291)
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by: Mario Matijasic [ MAKI ]

Introduction:

The Ground Mobility Vehicle (GMV) is a special operations version of the Humvee used by the United States Armed Forces. GMV was designed to provide Special Operations Forces (SOF) with a mobility platform capable of infiltrating and operating in low- or mid-intensity conflicts over varied terrain while significantly improving SOF capability to travel unassisted over long distances.

Live Resin has a soft spot for producing SOF-specific vehicle upgrades in 1/35 scale and the latest addition to the company catalogue are several slightly different hexagonal turrets seen on GMVs used by US SOCOM. This review covers the set which delivers the turret in its basic form: US MARSOC/Navy Seals GMV-M Hexagon Turret (LRE-35291).

Review:

The set is supplied in a hard cardboard box featuring two CAD box art images. The one on the front shows the hexagonal turret included in this set (minus the gunner’s shield), while the one on the back displays various turret setups which can be built using different weapon sets and figures available from Live Resin: M2 Machine Gun sets (LRE-35047 – LRE-35051), M143D Minigun sets (LRE-35061 – LRE-35066), Mk47 Grenade Launcher sets (LRE-35070 – LRE-35074), Twin Mount M2 Machine Gun sets (LRE-35289 – LRE-35290), as well as Twin Mount M240 Machine Gun sets (LRE-35301 – LRE-35303). In all honesty, I can’t decide which setup looks the best to me… I wish I could build a couple of GMVs just to use several of these sets.

The box contains zip-lock bag with 21 parts cast in grey resin and 7 pieces in transparent resin. The resin looks really good and I found no imperfections in the cast. The window openings feature a very thin layer of resin which needs to be cleaned carefully using a sharp blade and some sandpaper. The same goes for the turret hatch opening. The carrier blocks are large and could prove a bit difficult to remove, so patience is well worth it in the end. Although I was being very careful, some of the window frames broke in the process. No big deal, these can be easily installed to the turret this way as well.

Assembly:

There are no instructions included in the set. Also, no instructions are available on Live Resin website at the time this review was published. Although the assembly procedure is deducible based on the protrusions and indentations in the corresponding pieces, some kind of assembly guide should be officially offered for this set.

(EDIT: the assembly guide is now available for download at Live Resin website - link)

This review shows the procedure I used for building the set. I annotated the pieces on their carrier blocks and I’m also displaying photos of major subassemblies, noting the position of each part. Most of the pieces feature series of protrusions and indentations which help to optimally align the parts and obtain perfect geometry of the turret. However, I played a bit with dry fitting the main turret pieces to figure out the best assembly sequence… and here’s what I did. I fixed the rear turret wall first, making sure it is level with the turret base and connects well to the ammo rack. Next, I attached side turret walls again making sure they are level with the turret base and fit the rear turret wall. I wish I had couple of extra arms when doing all this, but the final result was well worth the extra hassle. I attached the window frames with clear window pieces last. Some modelers would probably want to leave these off and fix the windows after the turret was painted in order to avoid masking. Please note this set does not include a weapon system… these are available separately from Live Resin.

The set depicts the weapon turret used on US SOCOM GMVs. I didn’t find the official designation for this particular turret, but it is nicknamed “Hexagon” due to its peculiar shape. The reference images show this turret on Navy Seal and MARSOC vehicles, ‘Thor’ being one of the particularly well photographed examples. The finished turret looks impressive and, as far as I can tell, accurately recreates the Hexagon turret in 1/35 scale.

Conclusion:

US MARSOC/Navy Seals GMV-M Hexagon Turret (LRE-35291) from Live Resin represents an armored turret fitted to a range of Special Operations Forces vehicles. The kit consists of 28 pieces cast perfectly in resin, with the windows offered in clear resin. The assembly is not too complex and the kit builds into an amazingly detailed and very realistic rendition of the SOCOM hexagon turret in 1/35 scale.

A big thank you to Yaroslav from Live Resin for this review sample.

SUMMARY
Highs: Perfectly cast in resin and well designed, the set assembled into a very realistic replica of GMV Hexagon turret in 1/35 scale.
Lows: No instructions.
Verdict: Highly recommended.
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: LRE-35291
  Related Link: Live Resin website
  PUBLISHED: Jun 09, 2017
  NATIONALITY: United States
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 93.37%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 93.95%

Our Thanks to Live Resin!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

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About Mario Matijasic (Maki)
FROM: CROATIA HRVATSKA

You wonder how did this addiction start? I was a kid when my dad broght home a 1/72 Concord airplane; we built it together as well as couple of other airplanes after that. This phase was just pure fun: glue, paint, decals in no particular order... everything was finished in a day or two. Then I disc...

Copyright ©2021 text by Mario Matijasic [ MAKI ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

Mario, thank for the review of this significant turret for the MARSOC version of the GMV. I've been going through photos this morning and it looks like Live Resin has again done their homework. The shape and proportions appear spot-on. Anyone wishing to portray the near famous "Thor" or vehicles from the book Level Zero Heroes should be pleased with this release. Now we just need someone to tackle the entire conversion for one of these unique trucks. There are some truly odd features that are not captured in any plastic kit so far that will make one of these vehicles difficult to depict. To the best of my knowledge they are based on the M1165 but have a roof that is tapered on the sides like the M1025 based vehicles. Some of the parts Peter Samofalov still sells through his Shapeways store are, so far, the only option. This turret goes a long way to fill one of the big gaps. My only criticism is the murkiness of the windows and the fact that Live Resin has yet to do any turret with any underside detail. Thanks for the clear photos Mario. Regards, Eric
JUN 08, 2017 - 07:36 PM
Hello, first time see this much fog on glasses, probably it a some problem with this party of transparent resin. I will solve question with much fog of glasses in next days and inform.
JUN 08, 2017 - 11:11 PM
Some of the haziness is probably due to my greasy fingers handling the window pieces. I would definitely clean these before final instalation. Eric, I too would love to see a bigger, more comprehensive conversion for modern GMVs... hopefully we'll see one of those in resin soon. Mario
JUN 08, 2017 - 11:36 PM
This is a great addition and will work so well with the spec operator covered a few days ago!
JUN 09, 2017 - 10:48 PM
   
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