MAZ 537: And now for something completely different...

A number of years ago, I had the opportunity to ride in a converted NATO missile launcher in Iceland. The truck had been converted to a bus, with seats for about 40, and was intended to crawl up to a glacier research station. Great fun, and I immediately wanted to build a kit of one.



The ultimate off-road vehicle -- the big MAN Diesel makes over 400 horsepower, according to the tour guides, but torque is off the charts. One neat feature is the ability to deflate or inflate tire pressures on the fly.



 This 8X8 chassis is also used for mobile cranes, and Revell has a kit in 1/24 of the Simba airport fire truck which is both expensive and hard to come by.



So there aren't many options at 1/24, but lots of similar vehicles at 1/35. However, having decided to stick (mostly) to one scale, 1/35 isn't really on the radar.



Also some time ago I built a 1/24 sidewalk snow plow, with blown Pontiac 421 power, using a 1/35 light tank kit and pretending. So then I figured, why not do the same again -- build a 1/35 8X8, pretend it's 1/24, and put on a cab and engine from the spares bin.



This is where the Trumpeter kit of the MAZ 537, a Russian heavy hauler, comes into the picture. You should look it up: it's a real brute, with WWII tank motor and buckets of torque. The kit has well-detailed independent suspension and internal drivetrain components, although I will have to locate a 1/24 engine for it as the WWII tank engine (39 litre V12 Diesel) is not included.



The Trumpeter kit is very detailed with a huge amount of bits. I am tempted by a resin kit adding an engine to this, which means I stick with 1/35.



A quick scan through the parts bin turned up Jimmy Flintstone's White COE which just needs the fenders trimmed back slightly to fit the width of the MAZ. Next will be to find an engine and decide on a payload.



Stay tuned!