Taowan: Full Metal 1/6th scale M114 UP-ARMORED HMMWV / Humvee coming soon

The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), better known as the Humvee, is a military 4WD motor vehicle created by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles formerly served by smaller Jeeps such as the M151 1⁄4-short-ton (230 kg) MUTT, the M561 "Gama Goat", their M718A1 and M792 ambulance versions, the CUCV, and other light trucks. The HMMWV has become the vehicular backbone of U.S. forces around the world. Over 10,000 were employed by coalition forces during the Iraq War. [source: wiki]

This Taowan: Full Metal 1/6th scale M114 UP-ARMORED HMMWV is expected to be released soon – officially in July 2012. I wonder how much this beauty will cost? I wonder if the shipping cost will be more than the actual 1/6th scale vehicle ;p This is something I can only dream of and drool about haha Can you even imagine the size of that thing? I'll need another house just to put it. We don't all have garages here in Singapore. Most of us stay in apartments (American English) / flats (British English) and space is definitely a constraint but I gotta say "This 1/6th scale M114 HMMWV is a beauty." I'm totally blown away.

click for a bigger and better view :)

The HMMWV was designed primarily for personnel and light cargo transport behind front lines, not as a front line fighting vehicle. While losses were relatively low in conventional operations, such as the Gulf War, both vehicles and crews suffered considerable damage and losses during the Battle of Mogadishu due to the nature of the urban engagement. After Somalia, the military recognized a need for a more protected HMMWV and AM General developed the M1114, an armored HMMWV to withstand small arms fire.

click for a bigger and better view :)

The armor on most up-armored HMMWVs holds up well against lateral attacks, when the blast is distributed in all different directions, but offers little protection from a mine blast below the truck, such as buried IEDs and land mines. Explosively formed penetrators (EFPs) can also defeat the armor kits, causing casualties.

The soldier manning the exposed crew-served weapon on top of the vehicle is extremely vulnerable. In response, many HMMWVs have been fitted with basic gun shields or turrets, as was the case with M113 APCs after they were first deployed in Vietnam.