Building ICM's 1/72nd Scale Zil-157 BM-14-16
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This kit is one of a series of six Zil-157
kits, all of which have the same cab, and differ in the truck bed components
and structure. This kit and the others in the series have also been released
under the Omega-k label. This is the fourth Zil-157 kit that I have built,
and two of these kits' build-ups were described in previous editions of
Internet Modeler (December
2000 and January
2001). A description and background of the Zil-157 is contained in
those articles.
In the Box
 The
box contains three sprues and several separate large kit components molded
in dark green plastic. The cab components are the same as in the other
Zil-157 kits, and the missile mounting is the same as in the BM-24-12.
The kit's unique sprue contains the parts for the kit's rocket tube. Also
in the box is a set of clear parts and, wheels, and the underside parts,
all of which are the same for each Zil-157 kit. There is also a common
set of decals that provides a choice of markings from several of the old
Warsaw Pact countries.
All the parts are nicely molded without any flash. However, all the
parts contain molding seams that have to be removed carefully, which requires
a delicate touch given the scale. The kit has a single major flaw - the
rocket tubes. There are 16 tubes, made up of 32 halves! The builder is
supposed to glue these, and somehow hide the seams on both the interior
and exterior of the rocket tubes.
Construction - the Rocket Tubes
 Rather
than risk insanity and attempt to use the kit's contents, I purchased
a packet of Plastrut™ 3/32-inch plastic tubes. I cut them to length
and hollowed them out a bit using a number 11 Exacto blade and a pin vice
drill. Then, I added the small devices at the bottom of each of the tubes.
Rather than drilling little holes in the tubes to attach to the rocket
launcher frame, I sanded off the little attachment nibs on the frame and
glued the tubes directly. Once I had built a rocket mount, I set it aside.
The Underside and Wheels
The various axle mounts, exhausts and transverse parts are made of black
plastic. They are nicely  detailed
but if you glue them as per the instructions, the cab and truck bed will
not sit correctly over the front wheels. The entire front axle section
has to be moved forward about 2mm - almost as far as you can without interfering
with the front of the frame. The cab will then fit properly. This adjustment
will mean that one of the transverse pieces is not be long enough, so
I replaced it with a piece of plastic rod. I painted the wheels (except
the centers, which are green) and the underside area in dark grey, and
highlighted various edges and prominent parts with a silver pencil. I
also dry-brushed some of the parts, such as the exhaust, with a rust color.
Cab and Truck Bed
The cab is really nicely molded and has a fairly simple and convenient
design. For some reason the  holes
for the steering wheel are on the right, so you need to fill those in
and drill a hole for it on the other side. Prior to gluing in the cab
components, I painted it dark green - actually, I used Polyscale's British
Drab PC-10, which doesn't look a lot like PC-10 (it's too green for my
taste) but is great for post-World War II Soviet army trucks. The clear
parts for the truck's windows are thick but clear enough. I prefer to
hide them by having the blast shield cover them and allowing that the
side windows are rolled down. Why would the windows be up if the blast
shield was protecting the other windows?
Assembling the Subcomponents
 I
then glued the cab, truck bed, rocket launcher and frame together. I painted
all the components before assembling. Before I did this I jacked-up both
the truck bed and the cab about 1.5mm using plastic strip since a close
examination of my sources revealed a significant gap between the wheels
and the cab and truck bed. At this point, I added the decals - I put down
some Future to ensure they adhered without silvering.
Weathering and Final Details
I used a burnt umber oil paint thinned with Turpenoid™ to bring
out the details of the kit. Once this  had
dried, I used a silver Prismacolor™ to highlight the edges, and various
bolts and bumps. I then added some "Dirt" using ground up pastel
chalks. The latter was especially helpful, blending in the door decals,
which are a little on the thick side. I added some after-market details.
First, some MV lenses for the front headlights. Also, the headlight guards
and side-view mirrors from the Extratech photo etch set.
Conclusion
 This
is a first rate kit. The only significant problem is the rocket tubes
but that is easily overcome by using
some plastic tube. Once the cab is moved forward on the frame and the
components are raised a bit, everything fits well. This kit is highly
recommended and I would also recommend the Wings & Wheels Publication
- a 120-page book containing large number of pictures, many in color,
and lots of fine details.
References
František Korán and Jan Martinec. "ZiL-157/157L Variants
in Detail." Wings & Wheels Publications, Prague, April 2004.
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