VEHICLE HISTORY

Developed immediately after the end of World War II, the ZiS-151 truck was one of an entirely new, second-generation of trucks produced domestically to meet the military and commercial needs of the Soviet Union.

Manufacture of trucks began in Russia in the early 1930s with such vehicles as the GAZ-AA, ZiS-5, and others. They remained in production through WWII, the national crisis being no time to introduce entirely new types of trucks onto the assembly lines which were already stretched far beyond capacity. Of the half-million lend-lease vehicles shipped to the Soviet Union during WWII, fully 400,000 of them were trucks.

The influence of these American-made vehicles, particularly the GMC trucks, was reflected in the new post-war Russian manufacture. The ZiS-151 was later known as the ZiL-151 after the Zavod imeni Stalin was de-Stalinized and renamed in honor of its long-time chief designer and director Likatschov.

A well-designed 6x6 medium duty vehicle, it had an on-road cargo capacity of 4,500kg and an off-road capacity of 2,500 kg. A powerful towing vehicle, it was the prime mover for the M-38 and M-43 field howitzers, medium anti-tank guns and a number of types of anti-aircraft guns. It also was used as a bridge-laying vehicle. With the advent of the missile age, modified ZiL-151 tractors were used to haul the first Soviet air defense missiles, the SA-1 Guild.

ZiL trucks also appeared with different body designs and served as mobile command posts, communications centers, and katyusha-style rocket launchers such as the BM-13 and BM-24. The chassis was the basis for the BTR-152 armored personnel carrier of the 1950's-70's. With hundreds of thousands of ZiL-151 trucks made and delivered to all of the Warsaw Pact countries and the Soviet Union's Arab client states, the vehicle was clearly one of the most important trucks ever made and certainly the premier truck of the 1950's.

The ZiL-151 was 6.93 meters long, 2.32 meters wide and 2.31 meters high, with a 4.23 meter wheelbase. It carried a crew of three with room for 16 passengers in the rear. The 95hp engine developed 2,800 rpm, could go 60 kph and had a cruising range of 600 km on roads.

THE MODEL

Zvezda's newest kit of the ZiS/ZiL-151 was developed from the earlier Russian katyusha launcher kit by Italeri. This was one of Italeri's earlier and better efforts and stands up well to today's standards.

Construction begins with assembly of the chassis frame which has individual cross members. Also separate pieces are the engine oil pan, bumper and tow hook. The drive train consists of about 60 separate pieces, all nicely detailed. Individual tires and wheel rims are provided for 12 wheels, two of which are spares that fit on a six-piece rack that is located behind the truck's cab. The cab is nicely detailed with separate gas, brake and clutch pedals, gear shift, hand brake, steering wheel, seat and linkage to the front wheels. Two small separate bumpers are provided for the rear of the truck. Clear plastic is provided for the windows and headlights. The cab features separate doors, dash board, radiator, and windshield wipers. With about 150 pieces in place, you're still only half way through the model. The cargo bed consists of two risers and four cross members with separate "U" bolts and plates to hold the cross bars to the lower frame. The cargo box consists of a floor and four separate side pieces. The interior of the box can be completed with troop seats down (six separate braces provided for the seats) or folded up with the six braces stowed away to make room for cargos. The cargo box's underside has two tool stowage boxes with positionable doors and four mud flaps. Final assembly of the kit installs a pair of nicely detailed fuel tanks to the frame, installing the spare tire rack, and mounting the completed cab and cargo bed assemblies.

The model is shown on the box painted in standard 1950's Soviet green but any of a host of Mid- East and Southeast Asian camouflage schemes would be appropriate as well. Decals are provided for one vehicle 22-69 EK assigned to a Guards' motor rifle regiment.

Priced at $13US, this kit has got to be one of the better bargains of the decade. I personally hope Zvezda will release the ZiS/ZiL-151in some of its other guises - command/communications center and fuel tanker for starters, plus the BM-24 heavy rocket launcher would be nice, too.