1/35 Frankentruck

[Frank3k]

A few years ago, Story sent me an old Omega-K (later, ICM) 1/35 Ural 4320 cargo truck:


https://www.scalemates.com/kits/omega-k-35001-ural-4320--120605

It's a very detailed kit, and many parts (like the front wheels and the rear suspension) can be made movable, without resorting to overscaled parts. The skill of the mold makers was beyond the capabilities of the molding technology at the time, but the kit can be built and detailed without much trouble. It's a good example of a 1990s good quality ex-Eastern European kit.

I built most of the chassis and started working on the cab when the idea of a cab over engine (COE) version came to mind but it seemed like a difficult conversion.

The kit sat unfinished for 2-3 years; along the way, I found the 3D files for a 1/16 scale Kamaz COE truck. I thought of scaling the cab down to fit the Ural chassis, but converting STL mesh files to something easily workable was more effort than I wanted to expend and other projects grabbed my attention.
Last week, I looked at the files again, drew the outline of the existing cab and just made my own. I used the STL files and pictures of the various Kamaz trucks for inspiration and finally had something that I could print. It's Kamaz-ish.

This is roughly the goal and inspiration, although it's not quite a Kamaz 43113



I tried a few quick filament prints to get something that would fit the chassis and based on that, I sent the latest version to the resin printer, where it's printing right now.
I broke my long term habit of making the windows glue from the inside of the cab, which has always been an annoyance. Let's see if gluing them in from the outside is an improvement:



Exploded view. The upper cab shell is one unit, which helps hide the supports inside and minimizes supports damaging the exterior:


The instrument panel is a copy of the Kamaz 4310 IP. The radio is one of my previous designs. Some of the other knobs and switches are inspired by the interior of the HEMTT. The seats are generic and I'll probably reuse them in other builds/designs:


There's enough room in the cab behind the driver and passenger for a bed and plenty of supplies and equipment. After seeing Buzzbomb's post-apocalyptic MRAP, I may turn this into a post apocalyptic (or post Russia) vehicle.

[Buzzbomb]

There's enough room in the cab behind the driver and passenger for a bed and plenty of supplies and equipment. After seeing Buzzbomb's post-apocalyptic MRAP, I may turn this into a post apocalyptic (or post Russia) vehicle.

Happy to be of service sir 

That is great design work and there is certainly room for more Softskin options like this.
Recently saw the International Acco truck in 1/35 as used by the Australian Army on BNA . Did a lot of miles in the back of these during my Army days, plus they were used in Vietnam, but at $156 AUD for the kit,which would be about $2 worth of resin, you sort of think not just yet.

So great work, looking forward to seeing how the prints come out.

[Claymore]

Wow, beautifully detailed design work.  Hugely impressed! 

[Old Wombat]

Beyond me but the shots look good, if a bit squarer & more flat-topped than the KAMAZ. 

Recently saw the International Acco truck in 1/35 as used by the Australian Army on BNA .

The ACCO F.1 looks like a really nice kit ... But, yeah, $156 is a bit steep for a truck

Still, not much more expensive than the $100(+/-) of the Trumpeter 1/35 M1078 LMTV Standard Cargo when it came out - in "real, what your dollar could buy" terms (it's still in the $90+ RRP range).

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Nice to see this project getting some attention.  The COE looks great.  Hope the fit is perfect. 

[Frank3k]

Here's the cab on the truck. The resin is splotchy because I let some of it sit in the printer tank for too long and the pigment separated. Perfectly ok, though. The parts have some dust on them from removing the supports and sanding. I knocked the mirror off of the driver's door. The passenger door still has its mirror in this picture,  but that was knocked off five minutes later. I expected this, so there's room to replace the mirror support with wire.

The kit wheels are too big for the vinyl tires, so they look a bit wobbly in these pictures. The tires are pretty nice, so I'll trim them until the wheels fit. If that gets too tiresome, I'll just print new tires:



Here's the cab with the wheel arches. I'm not loving them; I may just add mudflaps or reprint them:



The front bumper looks OK. I'll add a PE mesh behind the grill. The small vertical bars on the grill are supports; I may leave them in. I'll also block off the area between the chassis and the front of the body.



The dashboard came out OK:



I also have an Italeri M923 A1 "Bigfoot". I shortened the chassis a while ago, but haven't had the motivation to finish it since the main attraction - the bigfoot tires - are crap. But looky here, the cab fits and looks good! I'll have to remove and reattach the fender to allow the cab to move forward a bit. I guess I'll have to print another cab: