Eduard 1/35 ZiL 157 SA-2 Truck Detail Set First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

Eduard from the Czech Republic is easily the most prolific producer of aftermarket details. Period. Their series of photo-etched detail sets have brought additional fidelity to otherwise bland subjects, and have taken even the best-produced models and kicked them up a notch or two with details that cannot be produced with injection-molded plastic.

When Eduard first introduced the acetate-printed instrument faces that go behind their photo-etched instrument panels, this raised the bar on model cockpit reality as you could almost read the time on the aircraft clock. How could they top that?

Well in this set, they've used the relief-etching process to great advantage. I remember seeing preview images of the ZiL truck with its door positioned open and looking at the inside of that door. What a difference! It is amazing what even the simplest details can do for the overall effect of a model.

This detail set is billed for the ZiL-157 SA-2 truck. Actually, this set is focused on the area around the cab and engine hood, so this detail set would work well with the 'SA-2 w/Cabin' kit (the ZiL tractor and the SA-2 transloader trailer), the Chinese HQ-2 version of this same kit, the Zil-157 cargo trucks, or the Chinese versions of these same trucks. As far as I could tell, the only visible differences between the ZiL and its Chinese counterpart was the radiator grille - the Russian has vertical louvers, the Chinese has horizontal louvers.

This set consists of two frets of photo-etched details. You can browse through the high resolution images to see hoe the details all come together.

The details include a new instrument cluster with acetate printed instruments, driver foot pedals, instrument bezels, storage racks, and interior cab door panels with with handles, window crank handles and the door latch handles. That takes care of the interior of the cab.

Under the hood, we have a new engine fan, a fan shoud for the radiator, new details for the firewall, and even positionable folding hood panels.

On the exterior of the cab, we have new brush guards for the headlights, mud flaps and bumpers for the rear of the vehicle, storage racks/brackets for the fuel cans, and even a metal cradle for the main fuel tank.

While this set will really set off the detail in the ZIL-157 kit, this detail set is not for the beginning modeler. You will need to be able to remove the photo-etch parts from their frets (simple once you know how) and then be able to apply these details using cyano adhesives without gluing yourself to the kit parts. It isn't difficult, or else these sets wouldn't be so popular.

You should be able to find this detail set at your local hobby retailer or one of the many online hobby shops. Trust me, this is worth looking for!

My sincere thanks to Eduard for this review sample!