TMN: Preview: G7107 1,5T 4X4 Cargo Truck with Trailer from MiniArt 35th scale

MiniArt has combined their G7107 1,5T 4X4 Cargo Truck & "Ben Hur" trailer with new decals to make a great new set. We see the CADs, markings, sprue layout & profiles in our preview...

Preview: G7107 1,5T 4X4 Cargo Truck with Trailer from Miniart 35th scale

G7107 1,5T 4X4 Cargo Truck with Trailer

From MiniArt

Kit No #35372

1/35th scale

Three colour variants are included in this kit

Photo-etch parts are included

Product Link on the MiniArt Website

The subject: The U.S. Army G7107 4X4 1,5t Cargo Truck & "Ben Hur" Trailer
As part of the G506 series of trucks, the G7107 is well known and widely released in 1/35th scale model circles, but not so detailed as this one, we think. The G7107 is the basic cargo truck of the G506 series, with a standard 9-foot bed.

A Brazilian Expeditionary Force G7107 4X4 1,5t Cargo Truck in Italy 1945

The G7107 Cargo Truck was produced with cargo beds made of both wood and metal. It was a medium four-wheel-drive truck used by the United States Army and its allies during and after World War II. This series came in standard cargo, as well as many specialist-type bodies. They became standard 1.5-tonne 4x4 trucks for the US Army and Army Air Corps during World War II.

A series of G7107 at the front of this convoy from the US Army Service 12th Armored Division 7th Army, 1943

For power, the G506 used a Chevrolet BV-1001-UP, a 235 cu in (3.9 L) overhead valve inline-six-cylinder gasoline engine developing 83 hp (62 kW) at 3,100 rpm and 184 lbf⋅ft (249 N⋅m) of torque at 1,000 rpm. During World War II, the US military purchased a total of 167,373 four-by-four 1 1⁄2-tonne trucks, and Chevrolet supplied the great majority of them. About 47,000 of the G7107 and G7117 model trucks were shipped to the Soviet Union as part of the Lend-Lease programme. The Soviet Red Army's logistics/transport capabilities improved dramatically in the spring and summer of 1943 largely as a result of the steady supply of American-made trucks (such as Studebaker US6s and the Chevrolet G506s) for the USSR.

That same layout of the kit with a metal frame and wooden sides on the G7107...

The G506 had a ladder frame with two live beam axles on semi-elliptic leaf springs. GM banjo-type axles were used; these axles were also used in later GMC CCKW 2+1⁄2-tonne (2,268 kg) trucks. There were three wheelbases: the 125 in (318 cm) extra short wheelbase used only on the G7128 Bomb servicer, the 145 in (368 cm) short wheelbase (a majority of production), and the 175 in (444 cm) long wheelbase. All models had hydraulic brakes with vacuum boost, 7.50-20" tyres, and dual rear tyres.

Germans captured and used these trucks in large numbers from the Soviet lend-lease vehicles, including this Chevrolet G7107. Note the Notek light on the left fender. Kursk, 1943.

Almost all G-506s had closed Chevrolet cabs, shared with the closed cab versions of the GMC CCKW—except for three models. A panel van version was built for the Army Signal Corps, open cabs were used on bomb servicers and cab-over-engine types were used for long-bodied cargo trucks. The pilot models had flat top panels of the front fender, but production trucks had arches over at the fender crowns

The "Ben Hur" trailer:

The ‘Ben Hur’ 1-ton WWII U.S. Army trailer was produced by many manufacturers during the WWII. It was produced with a wood body from mid-1942, but later was changed back to steel construction. This trailer was towed by most trucks in the range of 1 1/2 ton or larger but often by armored personal carriers and halftracks as well. Its primary purpose was to transport general cargo, but the Signal Corps modified it to carry several different types of generators.

The Ben Hur trailer was nicknamed after its major manufacturer, the Ben Hur Mfg. Co., although there were many other companies that produced it between 1941 and 1945.

The G518 One-Ton cargo trailer, known as the "Ben Hur" trailer, was made to tow behind 2.5 ton trucks but during the war could be found being towed behind 1-ton to 7.5-ton trucks and even some armoured vehicles.

The trailer consisted of an 8-foot-long x 4-foot-wide steel or wood box mounted on a single-axle trailer. Usually the trailer was covered with a frame and tarpaulin.

Variations of the trailer were used to haul fire pumps, mobile kitchens, generators, and other goods. These trailers were built from 1941 to 1945.

G518 Trailers were made by the following companies: American Bantam, Ben Hur, Century Boat Works, Checker, Dorsey, Gertenslager, Henney, Hercules Body, Highland Body & Trailer, Hobbs, Hyde, Mifflinburg Body, Naburs, Nash Kelvinator, Omaha Standard Body, Pke, Queen City, Redman, Steel Products, Strick, Transportation Equipment Corp, Truck Engineering Corporation, Willys Overland, Winter Weiss, Baker, Covered Waggon Co., Keystone, and Streich. These trailers were built from 1941 to 1945. Payload and gross weight vary with the calibre of ammunition carried.

The kit: Miniart's new 35th scale G7107 1,5T 4X4 Cargo Truck With Trailer
MiniArt combine both of these two kits with new decals to make a great new combo for the modeller.

We have some CAD images of the kit to show you that indicate a lot of the features of this forthcoming kit...

The truck comes with the metal welded tray type with steel railings or without. The two radiator grilles have three ways of assembling them.

-The front grille for the front is made from Photo-etch - MiniArt supply tools to bend this in the correct manner

-The cab comes in several curved parts that join at seams to make construction easier. The roof itself is a single part.

-The full chassis, engine, running gear, suspension and linkages for the truck are included

-A spare wheel is, of course, included. The full engine bay is provided in this boxing.

-Passenger doors, the hood and the tailgate can be posed open or closed. Also, the bonnet (hood) is, of course, able to be opened to show off that lovely engine compartment. The steel wire mesh is provided in these photo-etched parts, as are the battery brackets. The rear cargo door can also be posed open.