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Armory 1/72 AAPT-4 Soviet Heavy Airfield Fire-Fighting Vehicle

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

Overview

Finding useful airfield vehicles is tough, no matter what branch of service. Finding those for Russian subjects is even more challenging, though, so the recent focus of Armory on these large vehicles is very welcome. This latest conversion creates the interesting AAPT-4 airfield fire-fighting vehicle.

The Kit

Another great addition to Armory's 1/72 vehicle line, this conversion will take your E-Klass 1/72 KrAZ-258 truck and convert it into the airfield fire-fighting AAPT-4 vehicle. Cast in a tan resin, mostly (the tires are done in a black resin), this conversion also includes photoetch details and a painting diagram.

For the most part, construction is straightforward and fairly simple to figure out. The instructions provide a handful of photos, with callouts showing which parts go where. The main trailer assembly is made up from a chassis frame and a three-piece tank. On this main assembly goes all the smaller details, such as the bumper fire-fighting nozzles, axles, and suspension. The photoetch provides some of the finer details, such as the treadplate for the topside directional nozzle.

When it is complete, the next step is the painting, and the AAPT-4 is a colorful one. The chassis is black, while the truck and trailer are red. The doors on the truck are white, while there is a white horizontal stripe on the trailer. While I have found photos of green AAPT-4 vehicles online, I can't imagine painting this up in such a boring scheme.

Conclusion

Overall, this is an excellent addition to a 1/72 Soviet vehicle lineup, or an airfield diorama. The detail is superb, and construction simple, making it a great aftermarket upgrade. In fact, the only real downside to this is the challenge in finding the E-Klass 1/72 KrAZ-258 kit to attach this trailer to. Hopefully that kit will be re-released with a broader distribution, though, so we could take advantage of these great Armory upgrades. My thanks to Armory for the review sample.