ICM 1:35 Kozak 2 “Ukranian MRAP -Class Armored Vehicle”

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1:35

Kozak 2

“Ukranian MRAP -Class Armored Vehicle”

ICM

Catalogue Nº 35014

Introduction

The Kozak-2 is a 4x4 multi-purpose, wheeled, armoured combat vehicle designed and manufactured by Ukrainian defence company NPO Practika to meet the mission needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and the Border Guard Service.

Practika developed two versions of the Kozak based on the EuroCargo 4×4 truck chassis developed by Iveco, a manufacturer of light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles based in Italy.

The base version of Kozak was unveiled in August 2009.

A Kozak-2 prototype vehicle underwent tests in November 2014 and a further modified version was demonstrated in March 2015

 

 It includes a V-shaped armoured hull to protect the crew against anti-personnel mines or other explosives. It also uses suspended seats, and a collapsible sandwich structure in the floor to deflect and absorb mine blasts.

Designed for high mobility operations, both urban and rural, Kozak-2 can carry a crew of 10, a driver and a commander with 8 deployable dismounts. The vehicle fitted with a turret, capable of mounting up to a 12.7mm machine gun.

The vehicle is intended to offer enhanced security for the Ukrainian troops. It can be configured for patrol / reconnaissance, mobile command post, ambulance, cargo / repair / maintenance, and special operations.

 

 Currently deployed in the Ukrainian conflict and exported to Indonesia and Bangladesh.

 

 

Source:

https://defence-blog.com/ukrainian-army-receives-40-kozak-2-light-armored-vehicles/

https://www.army-technology.com/projects/kozak-2-multi-purpose-armoured-vehicle/?cf-view

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kozak_(armored_personnel_carrier)

Let’s look at the kit then:

The box is sturdy, as the art design is just a cover top for a top opening box.

Inside the box:

7 grey injected plastic sprues

2 clear plastic (Windows) sprues

5 rubber tires

1 photo etch fret.

3 decal sheets

The sprues in detail

Sprue A - In this Sprue, the most striking feature is the vehicle's body floor. It is composed of non-slip flooring (which exhibits appropriate and visible detailing). The central console is also integrated into the same piece. The instrument panel and front console are also part of this grid and display an acceptable level of detail. The left external side panel is noteworthy for its appropriately scaled detail, as well as the interior walls of these same panels. It's an original way to detail the vehicle's interior without compromising complexity in the mould with an injection on both faces of the piece. The front grid presents an eye-catching detail, despite being moulded in a single piece and without holes between the strips allowing air passage for cooling. The vehicle model logo is also visible and clear.

 

Sprue B – In this sprue, the highlighted elements undoubtedly include the right outer side panel, the V-shaped shielding plate for the lower part of the body/chassis, aimed at helping to dissipate the energy from landmine explosions or improvised explosive devices (IEDs). This V-shaped structure is known as the 'V-shaped chassis' or 'chassis in V.'

The front bumper with the attachments for the headlights is presented as a single piece, as well as the inner halves of the existing vehicle doors and access hatches.

Body components and transmission are present, although the latter is quite simplified. As it is a hidden piece, little detail will be visible in the final model.

Note also the roof (where two of the hatches are moulded in the closed position), as well as the bonnet, with appropriate details.

 

 

 

Sprue C - In this grid, the parts that make up the transmission and respective shafts, suspension (in this case, suspension springs are represented by two halves), some visible components of the engine (given that the kit does not include an engine), tools, as well as the structure where they fit in, are present. The tools are molded as a single piece and include their respective fastenings.

Sprue D - Three identical grids are provided, as they supply all the necessary parts several times during the model assembly. The rims for the wheels, as well as the wheel hubs. Various parts of the passenger seats. It is noteworthy that each seat consists of a set of parts that include, for example, the coverings for the back of the driver and passenger seats, various handles for the rear seats.

Also, note the detail in the various handles to be used on the exterior and interior of the model. Attention and care should be given when removing these parts from the grid, due to their delicate nature.

Some modelers may prefer to replace these handles with metal or copper equivalents

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sprue E - This sprue consists of the parts that make up the outer halves of the side doors. It also includes the rear panel of the model, highlighting the hinges of the rear doors as well as the base for the rear lighting assembly.

Furthermore, there are armour plates that compose the small tower on the roof, where the machine gun, its support, and the ammunition box are situated. The latter are represented in two halves, so proper gluing and alignment should be carefully handled.

Sprue F - The tires (5 in total) are represented in vinyl and as a single piece. Despite the material used, which personally I'm not a fan of, the detail is adequate, with a good representation of the treads on the surface and the reinforcing veins on the sides of the tires.

Sprue G - Two grids of transparent parts are provided, well-defined and clear. The pieces that make up the door windows and the windshield have a fitting groove that facilitates assembly in their respective areas.

Note: the dark background stands out the colour parts details.

Sprue P: A small sheet of photo-etched engravings accompanies the model and is designed to advantageously replace the detail and scale of the protections for the front side indicators and the protections of the front and rear light clusters.

Instructions

The instruction book accompanying it, totaling 24 pages, includes a historical overview of the model, technical and tactical data, and a colour chart that, in this case, only provides references for ICM's range of colours. This is understandable as they're launching their own range; however, finding equivalents for other brands in the market isn't difficult.

The scheme and location of each piece are presented in grid diagrams on the following pages of the instruction book, which is divided into a total of 136 steps/phases of construction. It might seem like a lot, but it's not. Many steps involve the assembly of two pieces, so effectively expanding to this number of stages, in my opinion, makes the process more manageable. It allows for a more relaxed approach and simplifies the assembly process, as we don't have to ponder over the best construction sequence.

Each step is marked with the Grid Letter and the corresponding piece number, a familiar structure for many model brands.

This model indeed presents numerous small yet important details. Therefore, to focus on these small realism notes, this extensive instruction sheet becomes crucial. The drawings are clear and understandable. Whenever necessary, the respective colour letter is referenced to paint the correspondent piece.

 

Markings

There are four options on the decal sheet, all with a base coat of green, and various digital camouflages applied over the top.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

1 - KOZAK-2, 35th Separate Marine Brigade of Ukraine, January 2021

2 - KOZAK-2, 36th Separate Marine Brigade of Ukraine, August 2021

3 - KOZAK-2, reconnaissance unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, November 2022

4 - KOZAK-2, an unknown unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, autumn 2022

Again, all diagrams refer to the correspondent colour letter listed on the first page.

So this brings this review to the last item of the box:

Decals

This set provides us with three decals sheets.

Decal sheet A – supply us with all common marks for all marking options, as license plates, service marking, national marking and dashboard instruments and interior knobs and switches. Regarding this last one decals, no information is provided, nevertheless, it’s intuitive where it should go.

Decal Sheet B – The larger of the three sheets, provides a set of several digital geometric camouflage Decals to apply on top of the common green base colour, shared by all versions.

Some are one in red brow, others sand colour and some with a darker shade of green and they all are used for the camouflage for three decoration options.

Decal Sheet C – this sheet is destined to the digital pattern, in sand colour shades, of the fourth option.

This is a method to facilitate a process that would otherwise complicate the completion and finishing of this model. The most discerning modeler will certainly paint all the digital spots of the camouflage.

Myself as a modeller I appreciate this solution. Will speed up the model decoration and conclusion. It is really a plus.

Conclusion

These lines are always difficult to express.

I enjoy and like this model. The injection parts are clean and detailed as an injection mould allow us.

The construction will not bring any issue, nevertheless some care is needed to handle and assemble all small and fragile parts, but in the end you will in your collection a very attractive and unique model of a modern vehicle.

It’s suited to novice and advance modellers due to its simplicity of assembly and permits super detailing, also showcase the detailed interior, thanks to the possibility of mounting the side and rear doors in the open position.

A must for all fans of modern military vehicle in the main scale (1:35)

The possibility to use decals as digital camouflage patches is a very good idea  and will definitively motivate any modeller to overcame the model conclusion.

Highly Recommended !

My sincere thanks to ICM for the review sample