The Ural-4320 is a general purpose off-road 6x6 vehicle, produced at the Ural Automotive Plant in Miass, Russia for use in the Russian army. Introduced in 1976, it is still in production today. The wheel arrangement for the Ural-4320 was designed for transporting cargo, people and trailers on all types of roads and terrain. It also serves as a launching platform for the BM-21 "Grad" rocket launcher.

The Ural-4320 is a diesel-powered development of the Ural-375D. The Ural-4320 chassis has good ground clearance, so it is preferred in regions where roads are difficult to traverse due to sand or big rocks. In the proverbial Russian tradition, the Ural-4320 is reliable and easy to repair and maintain. It has civilian uses as a fire truck, a garbage truck, or a logging truck. It is also used for water, oil and gas drilling using the 1BA15 and URB-3A3 drilling rigs, which are mounted on the chassis.

Since the mid-1990s the Ural-4320 and Ural-5557 have had their headlights located on the bumper, and the old attachment points for headlights appear as plastic plugs. However, on special order for the Ministry of Defence, the factory supplied the truck with a narrow bumper and headlights in the wings, on either side of the grille.

THE KIT

Adding to Kitty Hawk's nice line of 1/48 kits is this most welcome set of trucks. These vehicles are found everywhere in the Russian military and that includes the Russian air forces.

You expect a lot of detail from Kitty Hawk and this kit provides just that. Of course, there is a price to pay for that detail and that comes in the form of a lot of parts. Since the two vehicles are basically the same chassis, you find duplication of sprues for the majority of the parts to build these kits. The chassis has to be built up from separate side frames and a fair number of cross members. Into this you attach the front and rear suspension components along with the drive train and transfer case.

The kit provides a simplified diesel engine along with the cooling system and related fuel tanks that, along with some storage areas, are all attached to the frame you just built. Next items are the tires and wheels. The tires are vinyl and fit over two piece wheels. This includes a spare and its carrier assembly.

Next construction step has you building the flatbed assembly for the standard truck. If you are doing the refueling truck, assuming you are not building both at the same time, you can skip that step. The next few steps are concentrated on building up the cab. The final steps are attaching the cab and the bed to the chassis. If doing the APA-50 fuel truck, there are several additional construction steps to putting this feature together. You can build this up either with or without the long hoses. The kit includes some vinyl tubing for the hoses if you wish to go that route. Also included in the kit are a long tow bar and an access ladder, which can be used with both vehicles.

The kit provides a p.e. fret that is minimal and used mostly for grab handles and plates. The large pieces are used as part of the refueling rig. A decal is provided for instruments. The rest of the sheet is for warning markings and ID features.  Instructions are very well drawn as is typical of Kitty Hawk. No cab painting info is provided, but the Internet will provide a fair number of images for you. Both vehicles are painted in an overall dark green.

CONCLUSIONS

This looks like a great pair of kits for those who want something to help out in an airfield diorama or for those who just like building 1/48 military vehicles. Well worth picking up.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ural-4320

May 2020

Copyright ModelingMadness.com. All rights Reserved.