Introduction:
Typhoon is a Russian family of Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) armored vehicles. Typhoon-VDV K-4386 is the newest member of the Typhoon family, designed and manufactured by Remdiesel, a subsidiary of Kamaz. Typhoon K-4386 is intended to support combat missions, crew transportation, logistics, cargo transport, medical support, and other intense armored offensive strikes.
Meng Model released Russian K-4386 Typhoon-VDV (VS-014) as a 1/35 scale kit in 2020. Also, the company soon offered resin replacement wheels for their kit. Both the kit and resin wheel set from Meng deliver KAMA tire, which was fielded on the prototype vehicle. However, the KAMA tire was not accepted by the Russian Army and, instead, Typhoon-VDV uses Michelin tires.
DEF Model to the rescue…
Review:
DEF Model offers two sets of aftermarket resin replacement wheels for the Meng kit. This review covers Russian K-4386 Typhoon-VDV Sagged Wheel Set 1 (DW35118), a set featuring Michelin 14.00R20 XZL tires.
The set comes in a cardboard box, with the box art image showing the contents of the set. Opening the box I found a zip-lock bag holding the resin pieces, pre-cut masking paper and a masking instruction sheet.
Upon closer inspection, the resin pieces look very impressive. The level of details is outstanding, these are well defined and perfectly delivered. The casting is superb and there are no air-bubbles or seam lines. The carrier blocks are large but very easy to remove: a pair of side cutters and a sharp modeling blade should do the trick nicely. Since the blocks are located on the bottom of the tire, no detail on the tire tread pattern or sidewall is lost after cleaning the pieces.
The set depicts Michelin XZL+ 14.00R20 tire. The all-terrain radial XZL tire is designed for special service in extremely demanding applications, with dimensions of 1258 x 386 mm (49.5 x 15.2 in) and the approved rim width of 254 mm (10 in). The tire features non-directional tread with open shoulder design.
(photos from https://www.vitalykuzmin.net)
Comparing the 1/35 scale offering from DEF Model to the reference photos, I found an excellent match: the non-directional tire tread design is represented really well, the sidewall detail is authentic with amazingly sharp MICHELIN (check out the Michelin Man logo!) and 14.00R20 XZL+ labels, as well as several microscopic inscriptions superbly defined. The bolt pattern on the rim is correctly delivered, together with Central Tire Inflating System (CTIS) cap. The hub looks good with another set of bolts and the center hub details are wonderfully delivered as well. Sized to 35.10 x 11.20 mm, the tires in this set seem a bit smaller in diameter than the real tire in 1/35 scale.
The wheels in this set are depicted with a slight sag. The compression in the wheel is not overdone and I feel it conveys the weight of the vehicle really well.
Check out the detail on the sidewalls. Wow!
The set includes two slightly different wheels, labeled on the carrier blocks as A or B. These two wheel variants are oriented differently, both the hub as well as the compression where the tire contacts the ground. This ensures the wheels don’t look identical when fixed to the same side of the vehicle.
Fitting the wheels:
Unfortunately, I don't have Meng kit in my stash so I can't comment on fitting the resin wheels to the model. However, DEF designed their wheels as direct replacement for the kit vinyl tires/plastic hubs and I don’t expect any problems with fitting axle stubs (kit parts D69/A10) into the central inner hub openings on these resin wheels.
If someone used this particular set of DEF replacement wheels and fixed them to Meng's offering, please feel free to comment on the fit.
Wheel masks:
Two identical pre-cut masking sheets are included in this kit. The masks are of help when painting the wheels, allowing airbrushing without overspray. Also included is the instruction leaflet which shows two different ways of applying the masks and painting the wheels.
Conclusion:
Russian K-4386 Typhoon-VDV Sagged Wheel Set 1 (DW35118) from DEF Model offers direct resin replacement wheels for 1/35 scale Russian K-4386 Typhoon-VDV kit from Meng Model (VS-014). Instead of the Kama tire supplied in the Meng kit, DEF delivers the correct Michelin tire used by the Russian Army.
The set consists of 4 resin wheels, impressively cast, featuring loads of perfectly defined details, and with realistically depicted tire sag. The set also provides wheels in slightly different orientation for additional scale model realism.
Altogether, this set offers a huge improvement over the vinyl tires/plastic hubs from Meng kit. Highly recommended.
A big thanks to DEF Model for this review sample.
