1:35 KAMAZ 43509 Detailing set (Zvezda)

The 43509 rally special in 1:35 scale

The bonneted 43509 came about for the hardest long-distance competitions and with the KAMAZ-Master team collected a series of victories on African and South American routes. Against production trucks it is shorter, has its engine ahead of the cab, massive suspension and the equipment a crew needs for stages lasting several days: spare wheels, a compressor, additional headlights and extensive protection of the underside.

The set makes exactly this equipment more accurate and adds details that escape the molds of the kit. The factory team runs its trucks in a bright blue and white combination, so the model tends to be as conspicuous as the subject and every inaccuracy on the surface shows at once.

When a part does not seat

• Never press hard; a resin or printed part will crack before the seat gives way.
• Do the test with tape: stick the part on with adhesive tape, look at the gap from below and only then reach for the glue.
• If an overlap is in the way, take material off the seat in the kit, not off the detail part, which as a rule cannot be reduced any further.
• Fill any remaining gap with thicker super glue with a filler and level it with a file once it has cured.
• Check that a pair of parts is in line right after gluing, while the position can still be moved.

With a racing truck it pays to decide in advance whether you are building the machine at the start or after a stage. A fresh truck takes sharp colors and gloss; a dusty one needs the glossy areas subdued and the edges down which water ran picked out. Paints, glue and the model itself have to be obtained separately.