The M706 Commando was used in Vietnam mainly for convoy protection. They had a bit more protection than the makeshift gun trucks the troops had been converting with 2 .30 caliber machine guns in a turret. They sometimes had other guns mounted on them to supplement their firepower.

TRUMPETER has released several different versions of the Commando in 72^nd scale and Hobby Boss has done several in 1/35^th scale. In fact, the box art for this kit is actually a build-up of the Hobby Boss kit and shows more details than what comes in the box. But let’s take a look at what is inside.

There are 90+ parts molded on 2 sprues of gray plastic, a separate one-piece upper body, 4 rubber tires and decals. There are no clear parts included. The kit includes lots of extra parts that go with the other versions and none of these are marked as "not used" so make sure you check the parts numbers. There are only 5 steps in the instructions with a Painting & Marking guide on the back with color call outs for several brands. There are no detailed painting instructions other than this guide but that does cover pretty much everything.

Construction starts with a nicely detailed interior, which, unfortunately, like its larger cousins, you can’t see any of unless you make major modifications to the doors. I still painted it up to show you what is there.

The upper body is added and it was a bit trying to squeeze the lower body into it. A little putty was needed on the underside seams. The axles and other bits are added to the body and the turret is made up of only 5 parts but has a large hole in the side for pieces for other versions. I used a number tab off the sprue to fill the gap with a little putty to finish it off.

To give it a bit more detail, I drilled out the lifting rings and the handle on the back deck. It really needs a bit of PE screen for the headlight covers, but overall it looks good.

The painting guide offers two options, both for OD painted Military Police vehicles in Vietnam. A Tamiya rattle can took care of most of the painting. I tried to replicate the view ports by painting them silver and then putting clear green over them. I think my attempt was less than successful, but there you go! The decals went on easily and a flat coat sealed the deal.

I also purchased the V100 version, which the USAF used for base security and hope to open some of the doors on that one to show off the interior.

Thanks to MRC and IPMS/USA for the review sample.