Small Scale Military Headquarters

I went over to my local Hobbytown USA store this afternoon, ostensibly to see if the new Merit/JSI Huey had arrived, but unexpectedly found this beauty instead!



I recall seeing something on Merit's facebook page about an upcoming M-ATV MRAP, but was surprised to see it this soon. The retail price was $150, but the vehicle just looked too cool to pass up. Reviewing the pictures on the box showed that it was fully detailed with a full interior, which made me want to get it all the more. Ultimately, I'm very pleased with the purchase. Here are some additional pictures and product review.

Out of the Box & Parts


The model comes packaged in a plastic tray, secured with wire tie-downs. It is largely pre-assembled with only a few small parts to attach, including antennas, spare tire, the side mirrors, the flag thing on the front fender and hitches. These were included separately in a small box. I would recommend using glue to attach the side mirrors and other smaller parts. Assembly is very easy and takes about 5 minutes.

All four doors open (they can be a little stiff to pull out) and the doors are detailed on each side, including latches on the interior panel. The turret hatch also opens. The turret rotates and the MG can traverse and elevate. The MRAP has a detailed cab interior with steering wheel, shift, and gauges detailed in the driver's seat. It has the correct style seats with the belt loops detailed for all passengers. There are also the radio and storage platforms. The Merit M-ATV MRAP is a functional model, not a toy. As such, it is a bit delicate and should be handled with care. There are lots of little parts and appendages sticking out everywhere that could break easily.

Vehicle Interior:


Interior Detail: Driver's Seat


Interior Detail: Passenger Seat


The unfortunate thing is that the Merit M-ATV is 1:16 scale... Would have been a lot neater in 1:18 scale where we have a plethora of modern soldier figures that would go perfectly. Lacking any articulated 1:16 action figures, I elected to use some Unimax Bravo Team US Army figures. These are slightly on the large size for 1:18 scale and don't look too terribly off scale... The MRAP is a large vehicle anyways and referencing pictures online showed that the figures aren't far off for size. The figures were able to squeeze into the M-ATV's interior, with the most difficult figure to place being the driver, due to the steering wheel.

All Crewed Up:


Figures Seated Inside


Figures Seated & Standing


Turret & Gunner Detail:


Figures on the Rear Deck:


Overall, I'm pretty happy with what turned out to be my splurge purchase for today Despite being 1:16 scale, the Merit M-ATV MRAP is a highly detailed and well-thought-out model that captures the look of the actual vehicle. It perhaps could have used a little more weathering, but overall seems to have an accurate US Army paint scheme. Merit included slightly crooked markings (like on the Harrier) which is a bit sloppy, but something I can overlook. If you are looking for some modern armor and want to add an MRAP to your collection, this model is the way to go

I am an aviation Fan but you just gave me the urge to collect modern Armor.

This vehicule is cool ! i don't know why but it remember me the Jurassic Park jeep :



cool review ....

Ahh... I made one from scratch and I could have bought this instead !! How much was it?

It looks great but it is 1/16

Looks fantastic - thanks for the review Tman! The irony of most accurately scaled 1/18 vehicles is that 1/18 figures usually have a hard time squeezing in them. 1/16 gives the necessary space for figs to fit.

And in this case I don't think the difference is too noticeable since M-ATVs are HUGE in real life anyhow - 6-ft geared up soldiers next to an M-ATV always look like to me like little kids climbing into a regular truck



That pic doesn't look too far off from yours in terms of scale!

Thanks for the great review! I do wish it was 1/18.

Looks great. I'll add to the 'it would be nice if it were 1/18' chorus but I'll probably pick one up anyway.

To house figures in it, 1/17th would be probably sufficent and it would be nice for both 1/16 and 1/18 collectors...

Digging up an old thread. Did anyone ever measure the Merit MRAP? It sure doesn't look like it's 1/16 scale to me, despite what it says on the box. Seems smaller.

I’ve never measured it… Packed away now, but it’s definitely bigger than 1/18. 4” figures (as opposed to the 3.75” FOV Bravo Team figures in my old pics from 2015) scale better with the vehicle. For a time I had some of the Joy Toy USMC figures in the Merit M-ATV and they looked more to-scale. Like granch morning his post from 2015, the M-ATV is likely 1/17 scale…

However, one of the best scaled figures I’ve found for the M-ATV was actually the Hasbro GI Joe Roadblock figure (version 24) made for the GI Joe Retaliation movie toy line in 2013. That figure, modeled after Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, was taller and bulkier than the other 1/18 figures in that line, in part because Johnson is a big guy in real life. In a way, The Rock is such a big guy that when modeled as a 1/18 scale action figure, he actually looks more like a 1/17 or 1/16 scale figure

Link to the Roadblock figure I’m talking anout:
https://www.yojoe.com/action/13/roadblock24.shtml

hm......well, I was hoping that Merit goofed in calling it 1/16 or were trying to sell a 1/18 vehicle as 1/16 in some kind of marketing ploy. However, if it's 1/17 that's half the battle I suppose.

The prebuilt model is pretty hard to find now, but I assume the Trumpeter 1/16 kit is the same mold that Merit used?