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Czech Master's Kits (CMK) is to release in February 2020 a 1/48th MD-3 Ground Power Unit (GPU) kit - ref. 129-8058 Source: https://www.specialhobby.eu/en/our-own-production/cmk-kits/md-3-ground-power-unit.html V.P.

Red Roo Resin has just released 1/48th and 1/72nd Deutz Ground Power Unit 3D printed kits. The Deutz Ground Power Unit which was used by the RAAF from the 1950s through to the 1990s and could be found on all RAAF bases. - 1/48 - ref. RRK48005 - https://www.redroomodels.com/product/deutz-ground-power-unit-1-48-scale/ - 1/72 - ref. RRK72013 - https://www.redroomodels.com/product/deutz-ground-power-unit-1-72/ V.P.

APA-50M ‘ZiL-131’ (72815) 1:72 ICM via Hannants Ltd The military ZiL-131 chassis was a 6x6 general purpose truck chassis that was capable of lugging 3.5 tonnes, developed from the earlier ZiL-130 civilian truck. Its versatility made it useful for many tasks when suitably fitted out with an appropriate cab and load area for the assigned task. The power was provided by a 7 litre V8 petrol engine that gave it a top speed of 50mph under ideal conditions, but it was off-road with all six wheels under power that it came into its own, although 6-7mpg was far from economical compared to a modern vehicle. The cabs were fitted with standard Soviet-era equipment to give the drivers a sense of familiarity, although cost-saving was probably a bigger motivator to those making the decisions. It was often seen around airfields undertaking various tasks, and the APA-50M was a mobile power unit that served in both military and civilian situations. It was fitted with an additional large diesel engine sited in the boxed-in load bed area, which was used to generate sufficient power to keep aircraft running while their engines weren’t burning fuel. It was hooked to its customer via a hefty umbilical, and the chugging diesel would generate the power for starting the engines, or to power the aircraft’s avionics without its own engines having to be started, which was both expensive in terms of jet fuel used, noisy and often dangerous for ground crew venturing behind the aircraft. The driver and crew of the vehicle didn’t even have to get out of their cab to control or adjust the generator, as all the controls were conveniently situated in the cab, possibly because it would often be bitterly cold on Soviet airfields for a good portion of the year, so staying ‘indoors’ was always preferable to avoid frost-bite. The Kit This range of kits was originally started by little-known company Omega-K as a truck with canvas tilt in the 90s, before the tooling was taken over at the turn of the millennium by ICM, since when it has been re-released many times and with various alterations to the basic kit and its chassis. This boxing arrives in a relatively small top-opening box that has a captive lid to the lower tray, and inside are five sprues and two loose cab parts in grey styrene, a clear sprue, a small decal sheet and the instruction manual, with colour profiles on the rear pages showing the decal options. Even though its base kit is of a certain age, the detail is excellent throughout, and small amounts of flash are easily removed to expose that detail. Construction begins with the one-piece ladder chassis, which first has two supports removed from each side that are marked in red for your ease. The underside of the engine, transfer box, drive-shafts and various tanks are installed around the ladder, then the twin axles at the rear and single front axle are both inserted below the rails on leaf-spring suspension with the axles interlinked by numerous drive-shaft elements, and a steering link for the front. Underneath, the twin exhaust pipes merge into a muffler then make their way out to the rear as a single pipe, near to a large towing hitch. The six road wheels are all moulded in two halves with chevron tread, and have a separate hub cap for extra detail, with just the seam to clean up in the middle, conveniently located at the centre of the tread pattern. If you want to add some weighting to them, a quick swipe with a coarse sanding stick should do the trick, after which you can glue the wheels with the flat-spot at the bottom. The cab is a really nice crisp moulding that has a little flash here and there, but it’s well worth the effort to remove it, after which the cab floor with various controls and the wheels are inserted from below, then the crystal-clear windows, windscreen and headlamps are inserted to the front, with cages finely moulded, although suffering a little flash that will take care to remove, but again it’s worth the effort. Door mirrors, a small spotlight and a fire extinguisher on the rear corner finish off the detailing of the cab, after which the load box is begun. The floor panel is bracketed by a front and end bulkhead before the sides are added, then two narrow sections of roof, and an upstand with separate roof and curved sides are attached to the centre section, giving the roof a stepped surface. A pair of rails are glued to the edges of the lower roof section, quickly finishing it off, then the three subassemblies can be mated by fixing the cab and body to the chassis, whilst adding the chunky front bumper iron, a section of treadplate between the outer sections behind the bumper, and adding a couple of towing/tie-down hooks to either side of the radiator. Markings There are three decal options on the sheet, with two green examples, and one in bright yellow for a little variation. From the box you can build one of the following: 738th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Zaporozhye, 1982 Unknown Military Unit, Soviet Armed Forces, 1980s Civil Aviation of the USSR, 1980s The decals are printed by ICM’s usual partners, and consist of dials, number plates, warning chevrons, stencils and a few other small decals, with good register, sharpness and solid colours. Conclusion This little kit will look great hooked up to any Cold War Soviet jet or civil aircraft in 1:72, adding a little human scale and interest to your model. Detail is excellent for the size and age of the kit, with just a little flash to work on. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of

Northstarmodels LLC has just released a 1/48th AV-2M Soviet Russian airfield Ground Power Unit resin kit - ref. Source: https://northstarmodels.com/product/148-soviet-russian-dual-channel-airfield-rectifier-av-2m/ V.P.