Pwered by a four cylinder 3.8-liter engine turning out 54hp/2800rpm and with a top speed of 90 km/h, the GAZ-67 seated 4 people and included many of the same features of the WWII US Army Jeep including; starting handcrank, front tow hooks (an option on US jeeps of W.W.II), grab handles on the side of the body, pioneer tools and machine gun mounts. The GAZ could also tow the 45-mm anti-tank gun in deep mud with relative ease.

In the 1943, the WWII Soviet GAZ 67 4x4 Staff Vehicle came into production with several improvements. Production of the GAZ-67 was begun on September 23, 1943 and ended in the fall of 1953.  92,843 were produced. From the 2nd half of World War Two until the Korean War, the GAZ 67 was the Soviet Union's version of the American Willys Jeep. There was even an Armored Car version produced.

There is universal agreement that the GAZ-67 was harder to maintain and less reliable, than the American jeeps made available for sale to the Russians under Lend Lease by the USA. Many things on the GAZ were lacking. The brakes were weak and hard to repair. The fuel consumption was very high and in hard conditions, the GAZ could consume half liter of fuel per km.

Some GAZ drivers will tell you that the GAZ-67 was superior to the Willys, Bantam and Ford Jeeps in off-road performance.  It also had the benefit of another fuel tank under the driver seat. A comparative evaluation between the Willys MB, Ford GPW and GAZ 64 took place at Kubinka proving ground between May and June of 1943. Of course, the GAZ was the overall winner!

 

THE KIT

What we have here is basically a two-fer kit. You have the GAZ 67 light truck with an ammo trailer, and a 45mm anti-tank gun. To my knowledge, the only other GAZ 67 is a Tamiya kit, and one of their earlier kits as well. If you are familiar with Maquette kits, you'll notice that the chassis sprue on this is the same as on their BA-64 light armored car. Parts are well molded in various shades of plastic with no problems concerning sink areas or nasty ejector pin marks. Sure, the marks are there, but in easy to remove spots. Many of the other Maquette kits I've recently previewed have had rather heavy mold seams and some flash; this one isn't like that at all so it must be a newer molding.

There are no optional bits in this kit, though several parts are not used. You'll also not find any clear bits included so you'll have to cut some clear acetate for the windscreen on the GAZ. Instructions are good enough to get the job done with 13 fairly well done construction drawings. No color information is provided other than the overall painting section. The vehicle is in an overall Khaki Green which is close to FS 14151. No decals are provided.

CONCLUSIONS