Box called it "Eager Beaver" which at time of release might have been great for product recognition but in reality a nickname that has nothing in common with the animal or vehicle.
I built one of these kits years ago pretty much OOB and gave it to my friend in Sierra Vista, AZ before leaving on my next duty assignment to Wiesbaden, Germany.
I acquired another of this kit several years ago with the intention of pairing it up with an Italeri/Testors 105mm howitzer kit but nothing ever progressed on that project.
Several months back at the Seattle IPMS club meeting someone left a partially built kit on the "free stuff" table. I opted to take the kit home with me. It sat for a time until my Muse convinced me to start tinkering with the kit.
My first objective was to put a piece of plastic over the open back side of the fuel tank. That was easy enough and it now passes casual observation as being a fuel tank. Next objective was to create some depth to the vehicle battery box and the OVM/OVE (On-Vehicle Material/On-Vehicle Equipment) storage boxes located under the truck cab. Scraps from the parts stash were sourced and fitted. Additional bits of Evergreen plastic were added to suggest supports.
The kit rubber tyres and rims/wheels were next on the list of things that needed to be addressed. Having a "surplus" of Glencoe 1/15th scale wheels it was an obvious choice though I did consider using the wheels from the Tamiya M561 Gama Goat for a time I decided the Glencoe wheels were the best choice. No major modifications were necessary to the wheels so that was the quick part of the modification. The axle stubs on the other hand had to be carefully shortened by several millimeters to allow the Glencoe Mule wheels to fit securely. Slow.and cautious won the battle. I was so pleased with the Glencoe replacement wheels that I pulled out my other Monogram Eager Beaver truck kit and did the same wheel swap.
Attached images showing WIP over the past year or so:
***Edit to address spelling mistakes created by the OP being uploaded from my phone where PHAT PHINGERS and tiny touchscreen keyboards are not compatible. -- jjf
