Throughout the 1950s, the Soviet Army helped China to build up their heavy industries. As part of this plan, China established theFirst Automobile Works (FAW) in Changchun.Soon after, in July 1956 they introduced the Jiefang CA-10 4x2 army truck, a copy of theZIS-150. A couple of years later, they introduced the Jiefang CA-30 6x6 army truck. The CA-30, like the ZIL-157, had great cross-country capabilities; and was available in a variety of configurations, including: Cargo/transport, tractor-trailer, shelter, etc... Both the CA-30 and CA-10 were used extensively by the Chinese People's Liberation Army up until the 1990s, when they were largely phased out of service. Today, only a few of them remain in service.

Molded on four sprues of which three are an olive green plastic and one is clear, the kit has the cab section of the truck separate. Clear parts are nicely done though a bit on the thick side for the scale. However, few will find this a problem and it sure beats no clear bits as on some or acetate as on others.

The overall molding of the parts is actually quite good with only a little bit of flash on some of the pieces. This particular kit is dated 2001 so it is one of their first kits in this scale. Suspension pieces are nicely molded and will fit on the well done chassis frame that includes a lower engine section. the various drive shafts on this all wheel drive vehicle are designed to not be glued in place for some odd reason, though perhaps it will make construction of this a bit easier. There are three metal axles (not shown) that have knurled ends which fit into the wheels. It seems to me that getting everything flat might be the biggest challenge to building this one so perhaps one would want to fit  the wheels early; at least temporarily.

Cab interior detailing is minimal with their being a tub with molded in seat into which one glues the gear shift levers and the steering wheel assembly. The fuel tank is large and well molded, fitting atop the chassis along with the cab assembly in the last construction step. There are other bits that fit on this such as a fire extinguisher and a grating section that fits atop the cab.

Kit instructions are fairly well done with nice, clear drawings and paint references that are in Gunze and Tamiya paints. The lone markings option is the box art truck in Olive Drab. The decals are not the best looking in the world, but perhaps they will work OK. One never knows until one tries.

Perhaps not everyone's cup of tea, but if you have a liking for somewhat modern 1/72 military vehicles and want to do something without tracks, then this might be a good one to try.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiefang_CA-30

October 2010

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