Revell Zil 131 Heavy Utility Truck. 1:35

[Shar2]

Zil 131 Heavy Utility Truck

Revell 1:35

History
The ZiL-131 is a general purpose military truck. It's production commenced in 1966. It replaced the previous ZiL-157. Production ceased in 1994 with nearly 1 000 000 of these military trucks produced. Despite it's age the ZiL-131 is widely used by Russian military, as well as a number of other countries. Vehicle has a conventional layout. The baseline model of the ZiL-131 is a cargo truck. It has a payload capacity of 3 500 kg off-road and 5 000 kg on hard surface roads. It is used to carry troops, cargo and other military equipment. Cargo area is covered with bows and canvas cover. Vehicle can also tow trailers or artillery pieces with a maximum weight of 4 000 kg off-road and 6 500 kg on hard surface roads. An all-metal cab of this truck provides seating for the driver and two passengers. The ZiL-131 is powered by a V8 petrol engine, developing 150 hp. Engine is coupled with a 5-speed manual gearbox. Vehicle has a full-time all-wheel drive; however the front axle can be disconnected on hard surface roads. It is also fitted with a central tyre inflation system. A self-recovery winch was fitted on some models.

The Model
This is a re-pop of the ICM kit released in 2014 and comes in the rather weak open ended box we’ve come to expect from Revell, but with a nice artists impression of the truck in use. Inside, there are six sprues of dark caramel coloured sprues, a sprue of clear, eight vinyl tyres and a small sheet of decals. The parts are well moulded, with no sign of flash and fewer moulding pips than normally found in these types of kit. While the parts look good, the moulded details appear a little soft and indistinct in places.

As with most trucks the build begins with the chassis, but before the work can begin on those there are a number of sub-assemblies required. These include the front, middle and rear cross members, transfer box frame, transfer box and air accumulator tanks. The chassis rails have the front leaf springs and rear suspension mounts pre-moulded into them. With the main chassis structure assembled and the sub-assemblies fitted, the rear corner bumper parts and towing hook are attached along. The fuel tanks are then assembled, each made up of three parts including the fill cap and these are then fitted to their support trays which are in turn attached to the out chassis rails, as are the rear engine mounts.

The engine itself is a good balance of detail and ease of build. The gearbox and block are provided in two halves, with the drive shaft moulded onto one half. The single piece cylinder head is fitted, along with the fuel filter, oil filter, oil cooler, alternator and inlet manifolds. The three accessory drive belts are fitted to the front and finished off with the fan. The completed engine is then fitted into the chassis before the large two piece air filter unit is attached. The exhaust system comes as one long part to which the other half of the silence is attached before the system is attached to the chassis. There is an option to fit a large winch to the front of the chassis and this is made up of eight parts, just make sure the winch drive shaft is connected to the transfer box before gluing the unit in place. With the winch in place the radiator is attached, followed by the front bumper which consists of five parts.

The rear suspension consists of the two rear axles/differentials which are then joined together with the two leaf springs. Each of the six wheels are single piece units to which an air regulator is fitted, followed by the vinyl tyre. The rear wheels are fitted to the rear suspension after which the two gear housings with drive shafts are attached to the top of the differential. The whole assembly is then attached to the suspension mounts on the chassis followed by the fitting of the suspension arms and a lower cross member. The front differential is assembled from two halves and fitted with the gear housing, drive shaft and steering rack, before being fitted to the front leaf springs along with the wheels, shock absorbers and suspension arms. The spare wheel is fitted with a swing arm style fitting then into the two piece wheel cage which also contains the outer panels of the generator box which is finished off with the fitting of the other panels and the whole assembly fitted to the top of the chassis.

Moving onto the cab which is made up of windscreen/front valance, two bonnet sides plus floor pan, and fitted out with the steering column, steering wheel, individual foot pedals, gear sticks, and the seats, which are each made up of the squab, backrest and two armrests/support frames. The rear bulkhead is then fitted with the rear window and attached to the rear of the cab. This is then followed by the windscreen, wiper and roof. The cab doors are separate and poseable whether the modeller wants them opened or closed. They are made up of the door, “glass” and door card, to which the window winder, door handle and grab handle are attached. The doors are then fitted to the cab. The two front wheel arches are fitted with the large headlight cluster into which the clear parts are added, and then attached to the front chassis before the cab sub-assembly is positioned over them. The bonnet and front grille are then fitted, completing the front end of the model.

The final few sections in the instructions deal with the assembly of the truck bed. The bed itself is fitted on the underside with the lateral and longitudinal support beams then, on the upperside with the front, side and rear panels, and has the option of having the interior bench seats posed either folded or extended. The underside rear is fitted out with the rear mudflaps, reflectors and the division board. With the bed assembly attached to the chassis it’s only a matter of attaching the wing mirrors, spotlight, exterior door handles and the tilt rails, which unfortunately come moulded together so there isn’t any way of making a tilt other than scratchbuilding one, thereby finishing the build.

Decals
The small decal sheet contains markings for four vehicles these are:-

• NVA, (East German Army) 1980
• GSTD/GSSD (Soviet Army), East Germany, 1980
• Russian Army, 2000
• Soviet Army, Afghanistan, 1980

The sheet includes instrument decals, division markings, unit markings and vehicle identification numbers.

Conclusion
This appears to be a much simpler build than some of the recent truck releases with seen. That said it still looks like a great kit of this rugged looking truck. Whilst not having that much in the way of different paint schemes, it would make a great practice piece for heavy weathering. It’ll also make for a different quick build between making heavy armour. Highly recommended.

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

[Antoine]

Thanks Dave,

Would be nice with some ZU on the platform.