USMC LAV-25 Piranha

The Trumpeter USMC LAV-25 is nicely detailed kit. I really enjoyed the many small pieces that this kit offers, such as highly detailed suspension and drive train, propellers and rudders, many hand/foot holds, compartment latches and handles, light covers, etc. The kit also has one piece rubber tires (Only the eight for the vehicle, not the extra one hanging on the side as the box art indicates). The tires needed a bit of work to clean up the seam joints, but look very nice on the finished model. The kit comes with four modern U.S. Marines with realistic poses and detailed weapons. Again, contrary to what the box art shows, the kit does not include a vehicle commander, just the infantrymen. I was somewhat disappointed in the mold joins on several of the parts, especially the shocks and suspension assemblies, as they were not lined up correctly and took some work to scrape and sand them into shape. I also had trouble attempting to use the clear periscope port covers. I was never able to attach them correctly to the model and eventually gave up in frustration and just painted the insides of the periscope ports instead. Still, even with these small complaints, the model turned out very nice and I would recommend it if you don't mind a little extra work.

This was my first time build an LAV but it was a pleasure to build.

I had some fitment issues, and the tires were difficult to put on. Other than that the kit turned out pretty well to me. It's well detailed for the price. I wish I knew how small some of the pieces were before I purchased it, but it wasn't that big of a hurdle. I wouldn't recommend this kit for beginners since there's a lot of small parts that are some what difficult to put on.