DML 1/35
M55 Quad Gun Trailer

DML saw fit last year to provide us with a nicely done new mold M16 MGMC antiaircraft halftrack with a very beautiful Maxson powered turret with four .50 caliber M2HB machine guns, and for those who wanted that turret for conversion purposes now offers it as a separate kit with the lightweight M55 airborne trailer.

The Maxson turret is a real gem, consisting of 75 parts with a clear sight and an extra seven-piece gunner figure tailor-made for the mount. Each machine gun is “slide molded” and offers an open ammo feed door option and spare canister magazines. The mount also comes with the batteries and “donkey” engine for electric power.

The trailer is petite and nicely done, with the small rubber tires portrayed by two-piece moldings with a tire and center on one side and a separate center on the other so seams are minimized. It even includes separate reflectors and a nice taillight.

Unfortunately the M55 was not a high use item, as it was too fragile for long-distance movement and was originally designed for airborne use with short-range movement provided by a jeep. As such, those used tended to be semi-fixed emplacements where the trailer was used to tow it into position and park it. DML should have made the kit of the larger M45 four-wheel general purpose trailer which was also used for items like generators and searchlights, as they could have both gotten more kits out of that trailer as well as a universal mount which appears to have been used into Korea.

Finishing directions show basically little more than a choice between OD or OD with white squiggles for use during the Battle of the Bulge. Two choices of ammo can decals (white or yellow) are provided on a sheet from Cartograf.

Overall, this is a nice kit and for those who want to make Vietnam era conversions a cheaper way to get this nice turret for those projects, but the bigger trailer would have been a better choice.

Thanks to Freddie Leung for the review sample.

Sprue layout:

• E 10 M16 clear styrene
• P 34 M16 Maxson turret components
• Q 20x2 M16 - two machine guns and ammo cans
• R 38 M55 airborne trailer
• R 7 Gunner figure
• MA 1 Etched brass