KRAZ-6446 With Semi-Trailer

A descendant of the KrAZ-6322 6x6 heavy utility truck, the KrAZ-6446 was developed in Ukraine, specifically designed to haul semi-trailers.

With both on-road and off-road capability, it is particularly suited to transporting armoured vehicles and heavy construction equipment. The 6446 is also used to haul the S-300PMU-1 Air Defence Missile System.

The design of this military truck is both simple and robust. Power is supplied by the Russian YaMZ-238D turbocharged diesel engine, though an improved YaMZ-238DE2 is proposed to meet EURO II emission requirements.

The Model

There are currently only two kits of this particular vehicle in 1/35 scale: one from Hobby Boss, the other from Takom. Released earlier this year, ‘Ukraine KrAZ- 6446 Tractor w/ChMZAP- 5247G Semi-Trailer’ was my choice. The kit comprises nine large sprues of injection-molded components, two chassis pieces for the trailer, seventeen vinyl road-wheel tyres, a sprue of clear parts for windows and light lenses, two frets of photo-etched details, and a sheet of decals (vehicle registration plates, dashboard instrument dials, and chevron warning panels for the trailer ramps). Assembly instructions are by way of a clearly presented manual, accompanied by painting/marking schemes for three vehicles (colour profiles provided by AMMO).

Parts-fit is generally very good, with only minimal filling required when attaching the cab to the chassis. Because much of the painting needed to be done during the early stages (particularly, the cab interior), an assembly was approached in modules. While building the kit, I gave some thought as to what could be mounted on the trailer … the perfect choice, a previously built model of the ZSU-23-4 ‘Shilka’.