IT’S A GAZ

◗ theplasticsoldiercompany.co.uk ◗ £30.95

A large number of Russian trucks in WWII were built by Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (or GAZ) and were based very largely on Ford Model TT and Ford Model AA trucks around 10,000 of which were imported into the Soviet Union from 1919 to 1928. However, in 1926 the Soviet Union understood that they needed a vehicle that would be assembled in the Soviet Union since that would be more practical than importing trucks from other countries and so – after some name changing shenanigans – the Gaz AA (and Gaz AAA) were born.

The Plastic Soldier Company now make boxed models of these important vehicles for your table top in hard styrene as kits in two scales: 15mm (so 1/100th) and now 1/72nd. Other than size (obviously...) I can see no difference in the kits: they have the same parts count and the same price but the smaller models come ten to a box where as the 1/72nd ones – the box sent for review – come as a half-dozen. Moulded in good quality, hard grey styrene, the models come in two variants with equal numbers in each box: half are the four wheeled Gaz AA and the other fifty percent are the six wheel Gaz AAA version. They are equal in size but the latter (I assume) had a higher load weight what with the extra axle. When I say‘4 wheel’and‘6 wheel’the rear axles on the models are all‘double tyred’(for want of a better term) but... you get the drift.

These are proper‘kits’with over twenty parts in each version and make up well. They can be modelled with either the canvas rear cover supplied (as a well sculpted plastic part) or as an open bed.