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In 1971 the Ulyanovsk Automotive Factory (UAZ) introduced the UAZ-469 as an all-terrain light utility vehicle for service with the Soviet Army. |
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The UAZ-469 was produced in very large numbers and served in the armies of virtually every member and ally of the former Warsaw Pact. It was also very successful in civilian markets. |
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The UAZ-469 was powered by a 75 hp. 149.2 cu in (2,445 cc) in-line 4-cylinder gasoline engine. The vehicle proved to be reliable and easy to repair.
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About the kit: This kit was released by MAC Distribution in 2000 along with 4 other variants. As far as I can tell this kit appears to contain all the parts necessary to build any one of the other versions minus the decals and instructions. |
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The kit's canvas top is not very impressive. I used a rounded scalpel blade to scallop the top and sides to improve the shape a bit. I used small bits of masking tape to make the tie-down straps. Photos etched parts are provided for the tail lights. |
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The molding is not overly impressive, resembling what you would normally see in a short run kit. |
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The biggest problem with this kit is the hood and grill shape, the kit parts are flat and squared off where as the real vehicle is much more rounded and bulged. Aligning the grill, bumper and hood proved to be very difficult and I did a pretty poor job of it. |
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Here's an interesting size comparison between my UAZ-469 and my GAZ-67, two very important historic Soviet 4 x 4 vehicles. |
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It's important to show just how tiny this kit is, the camera has captured many details (and flaws) that I barely noticed while building.
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Although this kit has a few accuracy problems, and it wasn't entirely fun to build, I'm still happy to have it in my collection since the only other option is a rare resin kit at three times the price. |
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Kit: MAC Distribution #72070 |
Scale: 1/72 |
Value:
This kit retails for around $24.00 at the time of posting which is a bit high for a kit of this size. Many manufactures are putting 2 kits in 1 box these days for around the same price and most of them are molded in much higher precision and quality. |
The Kit:
Plastic parts are molded in tan, brass parts on one sheet, 1 decal sheet, 1 instruction sheet with basic painting/marking indications and a brief history of the vehicle.
Parts have fair to good detail overall but require a significant amount of cleanup, lots of flash and thick sprue connections to watch out for. Careful test fitting is required on most parts.
Seat frames are very small and difficult to work with since they must be cut down to fit properly.
My kit was an early production run which included brass etched tracks, I found them very difficult to work with and not very convincing so I ordered aftermarket soft vinyl tracks which looked and worked beautifully. I found out later that these vinyl tracks are included in later production runs of this kit.
Assembly is very straightforward, no surprises. Getting all the separate suspension arms and road wheels aligned proved to be impossible for me, I guess I just didn't have the patience to get them perfect.
There are problems with the shape of this kit that are difficult, if not impossible, to correct. The hood is too flat, the front grill doesn't blend into the body correctly and the windscreen is too tall, the canvas has no detail and too squared off at the back. |
Modifications:
I drilled out the headlights and replaced them with crystals. I used a rounded scalpel blade to scallop the canvas top in to a more believable shape, masking tape was used to make the canvas tie down straps. I trimmed and sanded the front of the hood and fenders in an attempt to make the shape slightly more correct. The metal windshield wiper parts are too short so I used stretched sprue to make new ones. |
Decals:
Decals and instructions are provided to build any one of six vehicles from: Czech Army-Boznia, NVA-DDR, Soviet Army, Russian Army-Kosovo, Russian Army-Chechnya, and Czech Army-unknown. Decals are in register, sharp and opaque, very thin. |
Conclusion:
Sticklers for accuracy will probably be disappointed in this kit because of shape problems. Inexperienced modelers will have have a tough time cleaning, fitting, and aligning small some parts. I can only recommend this kit for those hell-bent on building this important historical Soviet designed vehicle regardless of these shortcomings.
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