As a WWII Jeep owner and long time military vehicle enthusiast, I was asked to review the DM replica. First, a little trivia. The request for bids on the "1/4 ton 4x4 truck" was released by the Army in June, 1940. The first company to respond with a vehicle which became the grandaddy of all WWII jeeps was the American Bantam Car Company. Ford and Willys followed with their prototypes. The army had each company build 1,500 pre-production vehicles for testing. As a result of testing and politics, Willys won.

Because war was imminent, Ford was persuaded to also produce jeeps. Willys-Overland advertised they designed the Jeep; this was contested and they lost. Willys, however, first trademarked the "Jeep" name.

I estimate the model to be a '44 or '45 Willys MB, based on the dashboard. The detail is quite good. The model has combat wheels, tire pump under the folding rear seat, starting crank behind the rear seat, fire extinguisher by the clutch pedal, adn oil can on the firewall, to name a few details. The underside faithfully replicates the 4WD system will all lines, brackets and connecting rods in place. It is fascinating to watch the steering mechanism which is easily done due to the openness of the undercarriage.

Here are a couple of minor faults. The metal portion of the windshield frame (below the glass) is too high. The black-out driving light on the left front fender has a red lens, it should be black. A late MB with the two-bold spare tire carrier should have a support under the spare and the tire should tilt backwards for some canvas top clearance. The curvature of the hood and cowl sides is too abrupt. Rubber around the windshield glass and between the windshield frame and the cowl should be painted black. All in all, though, most members of the Military Vehicle club were enthusiastic, wanting to know how to get one! (06/30/1998)

-Jay Olins