1:72 Soviet ZiS-5V W Wojsku Polskim Advanced kit

The Soviet ZiS-5V truck in Polish service, 1:72

A plastic kit of the three-ton truck from the Ukrainian brand Clear Prop Models in the Advanced version, that is, with photo-etched parts and a color instruction sheet on top. This boxing is devoted to the machines that served with the Polish army after 1945, which is reflected in the color schemes offered.

The truck that carried the front

From the 1930s onward the ZiS-5 was the backbone of Soviet road transport. The wartime V variant meant a radical simplification to save material and time: a wooden cab, a flat fender, a single headlight and a cargo body with only the tailgate hinged. It was precisely this simplicity, the easy maintenance and the ability to get through on broken roads that made the truck one of the most widespread machines of the Red Army. After the fighting ended a number of these trucks passed to the Polish forces, where they hauled supplies, towed lighter equipment and served with rear-area units well into the post-war years.

Building and painting tips

The small scale puts the emphasis on clean seams at the cab and the cargo body, because that is where most of the edges meet. Finish and paint the frame with the chassis separately and only then join it to the body. Bend the photo-etched parts with a photo-etch bending tool or over a blade and glue them with cyanoacrylate glue. The wood of the cargo body is best rendered with a light base, oil paints drawn along the grain and light grime at the edges; the wheels will benefit from weathering pigment.

Who the kit is for

• Collectors of military equipment in small scale
• Anyone interested in the post-war Polish forces
• Builders of dioramas with rear-area transport

The kit is unassembled and unpainted; the modeler supplies the glue and the paints, unless stated otherwise.