AMC Model's 1/72 Steyr 1500 Kits By Chris Banyai-Riepl

The Kits

These are the first injection-molded 1/72 kits of the famous Steyr truck, and as such they are very welcome additions to the small-scale armor world.  There is a lot of commonality between the two kits, with the differences being restricted to one body side, the canvas roofing, and a couple small details.  Each kit also comes with a small photoetch fret and a decal sheet. 

Construction is fairly straightforward with the only real concern being with cleaning up the parts.  There's a lot of small plastic parts here that will need some care in eliminating mold lines.  The chassis is molded with the front fenders integral, with the rear leaf springs separate.  The driveline and lower half of the engine are another separate piece, adding to the detail of the undercarriage.  Three exhaust pipes round out the detailing on the underside.

Up above you get a one-piece hood that gets PE grill work added to it.  Behind this comes a fairly complicated assembly to make up the cab. Separate seats, seat posts, instrument cluster and steering wheel are just some of the details present here.  The floor extends back and forms the floor for the bed as well.  The rear fenders are separate pieces, and the rest of the body is made up of three separate sides (one side is different in each kit, with the 1500A/01 having the cutout for the spare tire).  The rear upper decking is also separate, upon which goes either the wrapped canvas roof or the extended version (again, a difference between the two with the 1500A being the one with the extended roof). 

The decals in both kits are fairly simple, with license plates and unit markings making up the content.  They're well-printed and should go down just fine.  The coloring is different for each kit, with the 1500A being depicted in panzer gray and the 1500A/01 in desert yellow, but either vehicle could be found in either scheme, as well as the later style of green and brown over yellow.  During the winter often times they were whitewashed, opening up a vast number of finishing possibilities.

Conclusion

These kits are very welcome for 1/72 armor modelers.  With the great kits that are coming out of the Czech Republic and from Revell-Germany, we're seeing a resurgence in small-scale vehicles.  With the Steyr used all over the place, these models wouldn't look out of place in amongst aircraft or even ships.  While the parts breakdown results in a kit that won't be fast to build, it will be detailed and shouldn't be beyond the skills of most modelers.