Surprisingly, this important truck has been ignored by model manufacturers until now, with ICM the first to release a 1/35 scale model of the Chevrolet G7107. The 1 ½-ton truck was the U.S. standard two-axle 1 1/2-ton 4x4 cargo truck during World War II, and it was just one type based on the G506 chassis of which more than 150,000 were built. Beginning in 1942, more than 4,700 G7107s arrived in the Soviet Union as part of the Lend-Lease program, drastically improving the Red Army’s logistical support.
Molded in light gray plastic, the kit features fine molding and excellent details. The kit includes a complete chassis, with full running gear and engine. The cab’s multiple-piece assembly captures its subtle curves. The front grille is especially well molded for a plastic part. Although there are a few ejector-pin marks here and there, none will be obvious on the finished model. Besides the crystal-clear cab windows, the kit supplies the headlight lenses in clear plastic.
The instructions feature large, clear assembly diagrams and color marking and painting diagrams. Decals provide markings for four trucks; all are shown as being Russian green, but I would say olive drab is probably acceptable given that all depict Lend-Lease vehicles.
Despite building from multiple parts, the chassis and frame goes together straight, square, and level. The steering is fixed, but it would be a fairly easy project to pose the front wheels turned.
The detailed engine lacks only wiring and some small hoses. I left the engine off until the chassis was painted. The only issue I ran into building the chassis was the spare-tire bracket. The pin that positions the spare was a bit too short, so I extended it with styrene rod.
The cab builds from three pieces — the rear, roof, and front. The fit of the roof to the rear was excellent and needed just a little sanding to eliminate the seam. I added details inside and gave the interior an overall coat of Tamiya Dark Green 2 (RAF) (No. XF-81) as indicated by the painting guide; it is an adequate representation of Russian green. I picked out details with Vallejo acrylics and attached the front part of the cab. That seam required just a touch of Mr. Surfacer 500 to fill a few tiny gaps — this was only filler I used on the kit. The doors are separate and can be posed open. I attached the windows with pressure-sensitive adhesive and masked them with Tamiya tape.
Deviating from the instructions, I skipped to assembling the bed unit before attaching anything to the frame. Like the previous subassemblies, fit was excellent and went together easily. When installing the wheel flaps, make sure you leave off the braces (Part No. C27) on the forward flap on the right side to avoid issues fitting the bed over the exhaust pipe. You have the option of posing the troop benches down or stowed and bows are provided for the bed. However, the cover is not included.
With the bed assembled, I primed the subassemblies and painted them dark green.
Order of assembly is key to getting the truck together. I added the engine to the frame followed by the bed. I installed the bed before the cab because I thought it would be easier to install the fuel filler pipe (Part nos. D28 and D29) without the cab in the way. It turned out to be a good choice because the space between the cab and the bed is extremely tight.
Next, I added the cab. At first, I had trouble fitting the engine-bay panels until I discovered that the cab wasn’t sitting just right. Once that was fixed, the engine compartment went together perfectly. I left the hood loose to show off the engine.
After touching up the base coat, I highlighted panels with dark green lightened with a little Tamiya Desert Yellow (No. XF-59). Despite being thin, the decals were opaque and laid down perfectly with help from Microscale Micro Set and Micro Sol.
Trucks should be a little dirty, so I sprayed thin Tamiya Flat Earth (No. XF-52) underneath, on the lower body, wheels, and inside the bed. A dark brown wash popped details and toned down the bright white markings. I removed the masks and attached the side mirrors and wipers.
I spent 17 hours building ICM’s G7107, all of them enjoyable thanks to the fine detail, molding, and fits. Anyone unafraid of working with a few tiny parts could build it. I hope ICM kits some of the other vehicles based on the same chassis. I suspect a Katyusha rocket launcher is on the way, but a bomb truck or semi-tractor would be really cool.