Dual construction Review: Russian Army Tractors Set: KZKT 537L & MAZ 537
Manufacturer: Takom
1/72nd Scale
Type: Polystyrene and photo-etch multimedia Kit
Available from Takom's distributors worldwide
I’ve built a few Takom kits and aside from
being very well engineered kits, Takom’s choice of subject has also been quite
refreshing with some left field choices that have not been released as styrene
kits before. Takom has gone slightly left field again, moving away from 1/35
scale, and now into the world of 1/72nd scale.
Takom has chosen the MAZ 537 tractor to be
their first kit in 1/72, releasing two boxings, one with a trailer as a tank
transporter, and this second boxing consisting of two tractors, the MAZ 537,
and its derivative the KZKT 537L cargo truck with a tray on the back.
The MAZ 537 is a military artillery tractor
and is used to tow a variety of loads but often seen as a tank transporter towing
a trailer, however, this boxing only gives you the tractor. Four marking options
are provided with two green, one yellow, and one vehicle camouflaged in yellow
and green.
The KZKT 537L is a variant of the MAZ and is
an airfield ballast tractor used for towing a variety of aircraft such as the
AN-22. Three schemes are provided for this vehicle and the camouflage schemes
on these vehicles are quite interesting.
Construction starts with the chassis frame
which are straight forward affairs, with a bevelled front on the MAZ 537 being
the only difference between the two chassis’. Details are fairly simple with
just the drive train, and suspension arms for the wheels, and the fit presents
minimal problems. The PE squares go on the ends of the leaf spring suspension,
but the ones under the tray will be completely invisible.
The interior is the same for both vehicles and
pretty basic with just the seat, dashboard and steering wheel. Some basic dials
are moulded on for the instrument panel but this will be pretty much invisible
once you close up the cabin, so you don’t even need to paint them if you don’t
want to.
The engine compartment is located behind
the driver’s compartment, although no engine is provided but it will be
invisible with the back cover is in place.
Both cabins come in a shell with the
headlights being the only difference between the two. The doors are supplied in
clear so all you need to do is mask off the windows to paint, but the downside
is that you can’t have the windows open or partially open unless you want to do
precision cutting.
The wheels are straight forward with plastic
rims and vinyl tyres. The tread pattern on the tyres are the same for both
vehicles, but there is a seam on each of the tyres which are quite hard to
remove in vinyl. They are a fairly tight fit on their axles so you can just
screw them on, but the problem with that is trying to make sure all the wheels
are straight so you may be better off doing a bit of sanding and gluing them
on.
There two kits really do go together very
easily, although the details are on the simple side, but this is 1/72 scale,
and these models give you a very good base to start for additional detailing if
you so wish. The wiper blades come in PE, but that is an unavoidable detail
because they would be drastically over-scale if they were attempted in styrene.
For the Maz, I just couldn’t go past the
classical green scheme so I followed the Mig Ammo colour recommendations in the
instructions and decided on the Hungarian markings. I lightly dusted the models
using Abteilung oils, but it comes up a bit heavy in the photos, particularly
on the windscreen.
The KZKT was an easy choice with the
vehicle with the big black and yellow markings on the front fender. The scheme
is green with black outlined blue/grey patches. Once again, I followed the Mig
Ammo colour recommendations, but for the black outlines, I decided a Gundam
marker offered the easiest solution, although I found that drawing lines on a
small model is not as easy as drawing on paper. Once again, I weathered with
Abteilung oils, and again, the weathering comes up a bit heavy in the photos
compared to what you see in real life.
Overall, while 1/72 is not my preferred
scale for vehicles, these are some very large vehicles and come out to a size
similar to a 1/48 WW2 tank. They go together very easily, and are a nice quick
build, although it is a bit of a shame to have the MAZ not towing anything.
Takom has recently announced a new line called Takom Blitz which is designed
with quick and easy assembly in mind. I wonder if this first venture into 1/72
is a hint of what Takom Blitz is?
Paul Lee
Thanks to Takom for sending this kit to Paul to build and review
