Ural 4320 Soviet Army Truck

AER Kit # 7215

Many of my modeling friends have great interests in soft-skinned military vehicles, so recently I've been trying to expand my horizons a bit by trying more truck kits, even though they're not quite as appealing to me as armored vehicles. I bought this truck from AER last year, and thought it would be a good topic for a kit Preview.

The kit is based on the earlier BM-21 Grad, released by Modelism. In fact, it shares most of the same parts, with only a couple unique to this version, as well as lacking the rocket launchers from that earlier kit. As with the Grad, this model is rather poorly made, with very sparse detail. There is a lot of flash on my sample, as well as numerous sinkmarks. The clear parts are clear in name only, but with some polishing, should be pretty good. While I am not turned on by rubber tires, at least they have pretty good tread detail, much better than on the styrene parts. The engine grill is simplistic, and there is next to no detail within the driving compartment. The outside walls of the cargo bed have a decent wood pattern molded on, but the inside is bare.

Markings are included for six nationalities, and the decals are printed thin, and in pretty good register.

Although this kit is not as good as other truck kits in the market, for those modelers who have proper references, and enjoy scratchbuilding details, it will probably turn into a pretty decent replica. Considering the parts breakdown of the kit, and my lack of references, I don't know if the completed model scales out to 1/72nd or not.