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| The original American International Harvester K-7 in the 'short' wheelbase cargo configuration for military use. |
Trouble is - nobody makes a IH K-7 in 1/72. This is probably due to the fact it was something of a rarity - there were many other US trucks that were made in greater numbers during the war - and also because it was mainly a civilian heavy mover, though it was used in modest numbers by the militaries of America, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union (lend-lease) and, of course, Finland.
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| The IH K-7 short wheel base model being used by the Finns. |
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| Examples of the International Harvester K-7 (long wheel base) being used by the Finnish Army as a heavy artillery prime mover. |
So, how to model a truck that doesn't exist as a production kit? Well, there is scratch-building if I were a real masochist, but - more easily - there is also a little 'cheat' where I could convert a truck that is similar in appearance...Very similar.
In fact, the Soviet Union was so impressed with it's imported American K-7s that in 1947 they outright copied the design for themselves and called it the ZIS-150! And models of the ZIS-150 do exist...Bingo!
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| The Soviet made (copy) of the K-7, the ZIS-150. |
As usual - with anything I set out to do - things aren't quite as simple as the initially seem to be. To begin with, the closest model I could find to the ZIS-150 in 1/72 was ICM's ZIL-157 which is a slightly later and modified truck developed from the ZIS-150. This would need some conversion to make it look like it's predecessor...
You can see the 'family resemblance' between the ZIL-157 and the earlier incarnations, the primary differences - from a modelling perspective - are the front grill (vertical instead of horizontal xxx), the fenders (the later truck had simplified 'flat' wheel arches) and the wheels (the Russians slapped on nice big chunky off-road friendly tyres). o, a fair amount of things to change if I want to make a 150 model truck.
Still, I have these models and they were a reasonable price! (They are pretty easy to source.)
On the other hand, there is a proper ZIS-150 kit that has come on to the market...
And again, there is a couple of flies in the ointment. For a start, this is the short wheel-base model and I want the long base version (for an artillery mover). Additionally, this is a short-run resin kit and I have had some very bad experiences with this form of kit (don't get me started) AND it is very expensive at 33 Euros (not including shipping)! Eeeek! 😲
So, what will I do. I could just stick to my original Plan A and scratch convert the ZIL-157 trucks - which I already have - or I could take advantage of the Armada kit's correctly modelled grill, fenders and wheels, but then I would have to model a long wheel base! Swings and roundabouts.
There is a third way... I could buy one ZIS-150 and use it's parts to convert my ZIL-157 kits by making some mouldings from the Armada parts...
As usual - me being me - the slightly weird fudged 3rd way sorta appeals to me. After all, I can't do anything the easy way could I? 😂
You can see the 'family resemblance' between the ZIL-157 and the earlier incarnations, the primary differences - from a modelling perspective - are the front grill (vertical instead of horizontal xxx), the fenders (the later truck had simplified 'flat' wheel arches) and the wheels (the Russians slapped on nice big chunky off-road friendly tyres). o, a fair amount of things to change if I want to make a 150 model truck.
Still, I have these models and they were a reasonable price! (They are pretty easy to source.)
On the other hand, there is a proper ZIS-150 kit that has come on to the market...
And again, there is a couple of flies in the ointment. For a start, this is the short wheel-base model and I want the long base version (for an artillery mover). Additionally, this is a short-run resin kit and I have had some very bad experiences with this form of kit (don't get me started) AND it is very expensive at 33 Euros (not including shipping)! Eeeek! 😲
So, what will I do. I could just stick to my original Plan A and scratch convert the ZIL-157 trucks - which I already have - or I could take advantage of the Armada kit's correctly modelled grill, fenders and wheels, but then I would have to model a long wheel base! Swings and roundabouts.
There is a third way... I could buy one ZIS-150 and use it's parts to convert my ZIL-157 kits by making some mouldings from the Armada parts...
As usual - me being me - the slightly weird fudged 3rd way sorta appeals to me. After all, I can't do anything the easy way could I? 😂
The 3rd road is my my own preferred route. It usually turns out much easier than trying to build a limited run resin kit ;)
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