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AC-40-137A Soviet Firetruck


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This is ICM's recently released AC-40 Firetruck, which is a re-tool of their previous Zil-131 truck. The real thing dates back to the early '70's, although the 137A upgrade represented by the kit first appeared in '84. They're still in extensive use in Russia and the former bloc countries, and the marking option I went with is for a fairly current vehicle based in Vinnytsia, Ukraine.

 

It's a pretty good kit overall, although a few errors with the parts and instructions seem to have crept in during the re-tooling from the basic Zil truck. The only really weak point are the vinyl tyres, which I had to essentially melt to remove the ragged moulding line around the tread. They'd be much better swapped with resin replacements. The real things seem to be quite patchy and faded, so I tried to represent that with the paint job and weathering.

 

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                         Thanks for looking

                         Andy:cat:

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Ooh very nice Andy! I recently did the ZiL-131 and it makes for a great build indeed. I did swap out the wheels/tyres for resin ones. I must say you did a great job on the kit tyres which are terrible. I have this kit on my wish list, you did a superb job on it! I love the faded look and the swapped out panels 👍

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Thanks everyone.

 

4 hours ago, JeroenS said:

Ooh very nice Andy! I recently did the ZiL-131 and it makes for a great build indeed. I did swap out the wheels/tyres for resin ones. I must say you did a great job on the kit tyres which are terrible. I have this kit on my wish list, you did a superb job on it! I love the faded look and the swapped out panels 👍

 

Thanks Jeroen,

If you do get one there are a couple of errors to deal with. The exhaust pipe in step 97 needs to be fitted before the rear floor plate - the instructions have these steps reveresed which would make it impossible to fit the pipe.

You also need to enlarge the opening in the back wall of the pump chamber to allow the prop shaft to pass through - ICM have made the opening too small.

 

Andy:cat:

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Refugee from Chernobyl?

Very realistic job in that. I like the old Russian trucks, but you don't want to stand downwind of them. Reminiscent of a 1950's British truck with no catalytic converter.

I'd forgotten how polluted our roads used to be.

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Thanks for the comments everyone.

 

19 hours ago, DAG058 said:

Was this for a magazine? The fading on the red looks perfect. And the overall weathering is amazing. How long did this one take you from start to finish?

It was done for a review, but not for a magazine. You can see the build here. It probably took about 4-5 weeks in total, but I was splitting the time between other builds as well.

 

Andy:cat:

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On 14/12/2020 at 19:58, Homer said:

Love those Russian big trucks ,you have built a very realistic vehicle, well done 👏

Not really very big in real life :) saw them as a kid since I'm Russian 

grew up playing near fire station and those AC40 (137A) were there 

it's the same size as some Leyland Retriever or AEC Matador 

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Stunning Work! love the weathering of it 

although Fire Trucks are always very clean, this one is special and have all the rights remain dirty! :)  looks like it returned from some HOT party ;)  

fire fighting is hard job so not surprised 

 

as I can see by the markings this is from Ukraine (city of Vinnitsa) something early 2000's 

top notch work! 

Edited by Sosezi
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