ICM ZiL-131 with Trailer (72817) 1:72

[Mike]

ZiL-131 with Trailer (72817)

1:72 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd

 

 

The military ZiL-131 chassis was a 6x6 general purpose truck chassis that was capable of transporting 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 more 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.  Their presence in many of the former Soviet states is almost ubiquitous, and they have provided excellent support for the military of Ukraine, providing transport of goods, equipment and troops to and from the front in their fight against the aggressor that invaded their country in 2022.

 

 

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 seven sprues and three loose cab parts in grey styrene, three clear sprues, a large decal sheet and two instruction manuals, with colour profiles on the rear pages showing the decal options.  Even though the base kit is of a certain age, the detail is excellent throughout, and whilst there is some flash evident in places, it is easily removed to expose the detail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the six road wheels that 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 where it won’t be damaged.  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 ladder chassis is a single moulding, adding the underside of the engine, transfer box, drive-shafts and various tanks 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 downpipes from the manifold merge into a muffler then make their way out to the side as a single pipe, over one of the rear axles to exit between them, then installing a winch with motor at the front, and a towing hook to the rear of the chassis.

 

The cab is a nice slide-moulding that has a little flash here and there, but it’s well worth the effort to remove it, as I found out when I tested one by scraping the seams.  After this, the cab floor with various controls and steering wheel is inserted from below, then the 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 load box is another single moulding that will need a little cleaning up to remove the moulding seams, especially the seam on the top of the roof, subsequently adding two vents along the centre and grab-rails at the edges, a ladder to one side, clear windows parts from the inside, a spare tyre and other small parts at the rear, and two circular vents in the walls.  The floor is added as the three sections of the model are mated, fixing the cab and load box to the chassis, whilst adding the chunky bumper iron to the front, the twin two-part fuel tanks in front of the rear axles, and adding a pair of towing/tie-down hooks to either side of the radiator.  A number plate holder, mudguard and rear light cluster are fitted under the rear of the load box, and the shelf high up on the front is detailed with five parts that provide facilities to the load box.

 

The trailer has its own ladder chassis that has four leaf-springs mounted in the corners, fitting the towing arm on two brackets under the front, leaving the arm mobile without glue.  Two axles are fixed under the paired springs, and chassis rail extensions are added to the tops of the ladder, locating them via lugs and notches, fitting two-part wheels to the ends of the axles to complete the running gear.  The trailer body is made from six faces, fixing windows inside three of the walls, and skylights on the diagonal portions of the roof.  The completed body has a two-part stowage box fitted under one side, a box on the rear next to the double-doors, and facilities for heating and cooling the interior high up on the front wall, which includes a two-part tank.  The chassis is glued to the underside of the body on four pegs to complete the model.

 

 

Markings

There are two decal options on the sheet that depict the two different digital camouflage schemes, the more subtle option introduced the year before the invasion.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• Armed Forces of Ukraine
• Armed Forces of Ukraine, camouflage version from 2021

 

 

 

Decals are by ICM’s usual partners, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas.

 

 

Conclusion

There’s a little flash to scrape away here and there, but it’s worth it to get to the detail, which is pretty good for the scale and the age of the original kit.  The added trailer gives extra length and interest to the model, and with some sympathetic painting and weathering the completed model should look good.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd.

 

Review sample courtesy of

 

[Pedro52]

Got one of these in the stash and commited for @JOCKNEY in the Ukraine GB. Which reminds me I must make start on it.

[JOCKNEY]

Looks terrific especially that one piece cab 

 

Cheers Pat