Roden 1/35 KrAZ-214 Truck Kit First Look

By Dave Manter

First Look

The KrAZ-214 was a Soviet truck produced in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuck between 1959 and 1967. The KrAZ-214 had a 7 ton carrying capacity and could transport special loads on a trailer, up to 50 tons by gross weight. A series of special military trucks were produced on the basis of the KrAZ-214, along with power shovels, water tankers, pontoon and bridge carriers, and fuel servicing trucks for strategic rockets. Apart from the USSR, the KrAZ-214 was exported to several allies of the Soviet Union including East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Cuba, Egypt, Algeria and many others. More than 30 thousand of this type of truck was produced.

The Roden kit of the Soviet KrAZ-214 truck consists of 396 green and black plastic parts, 13 clear plastic parts and 8 rubber tires. While molding on most parts is good, the kit does suffer from some sink marks. The worst of these are in the inside of the truck bed and will all be visible if you don't use the canvas cover. The canvas cover is supplied as a vacuum formed item. Roden supplies a very detailed drawing to show where the window locations are and where to trim off the excess material. The also supply all of the measurements for the windows. Roden also supplies 2 photographs of an actual truck with the canvas top on it for your reference. Nice touch! A very well detailed full engine is provided and the hood can be built open or closed so you can see it when finished.

Markings are provided for no less than 7 vehicles. They are:

• West Group of the Soviet Army
• Soviet Union, 1957
• Vietnamese People's Army
• NVA, West Germany
• Polish People Army
• Hungarian Army
• Czechoslovakian Army

My sincere thanks to Squadron Mail Order for this review sample!