Released in the last quarter of 2023, ICM has added new decals to their 1/72 scale fuel bowser that is currently being used by the armed forces of Ukraine. The kit builds up easily for the most part but is recommended for modelers with some experience adding small parts. The provided decals make easy work of adding a modern digital camouflage pattern to your vehicle, which certainly made the build more enjoyable for this review.

The vehicle itself is tied to the Ural-4320 trucks produced in the late 1970’s and have been used in roles from transporting troops and cargo to towing as well as carrying fuel. More recent uses include mobile communication stations, mobile radar, and rocket launchers, to name a few. The 6x6 design allows the vehicles to operate cross-country if needed, continuing to make them useful in the 2020’s.

If you have yet to add an ICM kit to your stash they are a little different in that the outer boxing is a thin cardboard affair that covers a heavier enclosed cardboard box underneath. Upon opening the inner box for this kit, you will find a single plastic bag containing one black sprue, one gray sprue, one clear sprue (within its own small plastic bag), two additional black sprues for the tire halves, and the truck cab that is molded in gray. There are a total of 112 parts for this kit as well as a single sheet of paper folded and printed in color for the instructions as well as a nice decal sheet.

There are no part numbers on the sprues themselves, but the top of the first inside page of the instructions shows the sprues and their associated part numbers. Construction begins with the tires followed by the cab dashboard, floor and seats followed by the chassis assembly. The next page of the instructions covers the remainder of the cab, the spare tire, vehicle fuel tank, and then the final assembly (which includes building the transport tank). The front page of the instructions provides a short history of the vehicle, technical specifications, and colors to use as produced by ICM while the back page shows two digital camouflage patterns, each using different colors over a green base.

Overall, the assembly went well after cleaning the flash on the cab and opening the holes for the wheels to mount on the axles. I did find that the spacing for the brackets used for the truck’s fuel tank need to be 15mm apart, not the 12.5mm shown in the directions, and I found that it was going to be easier to add parts B9 and B16 after the transport tank was in place.There are no locating marks for the cab, so I looked for photos of the real vehicle online and just did my best to position it. There are only a few locating marks on the chassis with four individual parts and the transport tank assembly all being installed based on measurements provided in the instructions.

The kit recommends using ICM paint set 3040 (Combat Vehicles Armed Forces of Ukraine), which I had on hand for another project. I used the 4BO Green, Rubber Black, and Clear Red (this is a gloss paint that is not transparent) from the set. I thinned the paints with Vallejo Airbrush Thinner for airbrushing and with distilled water for touch-ups using a paint brush. I also used Badger Stynylrez Black primer, Tamiya Clear Red and Clear Orange, and Vallejo Red Leather as well as a Molotow 0.1mm pen. The kit decals laid down well using Micro Set alone, but I did touch a limited few with Micro Sol that were laying on prominent details.I utilized AK Interactive Wash for NATO Vehicles and Rainmarks Effects along with Vallejo Natural Sienna pigments and Splash Mud for the weathering.

As far as my hits go, the decals come to mind first as they went on with such ease. I started applying the digital camouflage scheme using an example in the instructions, but I also looked at some photos of the actual vehicles online to develop my own pattern. The overall moldings are good for 1/72 scale, and only the cab required some extra attention.

My only miss, as mentioned previously, was that the instructions call for a spacing of 12.5mm between the truck fuel tank supports, which will not work when you install the tank.This tank itself measures 10mm by 15mm and needs to be installed with the 15mm sides against the chassis and facing out. I installed the front support early on, but fortunately waited until the fuel tank was built to add the rear support.

Overall, I would highly recommend this kit to modelers with some experience with small parts looking to add a modern fuel bowser from Ukraine to their collection. The kit was fun to build, and I did not mind putting some actual modeling skills to use during the assembly as this is not a “shake and bake” kit. My sincere appreciation goes out to the folks at ICM for providing this sample for the IPMS-USA to review! Slava Ukraini!