Introduction

The following introduction is as provided by Zvezda:

The Typhoon K is a Russian MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected), 6 x 6 vehicle with off-road capability, designed for safe transportation of military personnel and cargo. It can carry 10 - 16 soldiers which can exit either through the ramp, or the doors. Escape hatches are on the roof in case of an emergency. The cabin consists of bullet-proof armour, providing protection against 30mm rounds. In production since 2015 this vehicle has hydro pneumatic independent suspension, automatic transmission and is driven by a 450hp diesel engine. It can reach the speed of 80km/h, has a range of 1,200km. The Typhoon K is in service with the Russian military police during the operations in Syria.

Reviewe

This offering from Zvezda,arrives in a cardboard tray, with flip top lid, and an end opening card carton.Inside the instruction booklet and painting sheet, are loose and there are twosealed plastic bags and two zip lock bags, one containing the tyres the othercontains the clear parts, decals and mesh. An examination of the parts revealsno obvious issues as regards moulding quality, with ejector pin marks that arepresent appearing to be hidden on inner surfaces. Access to the parts is good.And the gates between the sprue and the parts are of a nice size for ease ofremoval.

For those like me whoare not aware of this vehicle, this would seem to be a very close cousin of theBuffalo, other than this does not have the shovel for clearing mines orobstacles in front of it. The vehicle is set up with 14 seats in the rear 7along each side and three crew in the front. Something that I find very unusualis that the front crew compartment is separated from the troops at the rear bythe engine compartment, and is something that I was not expecting to find.Within that area I was surprised not to find any seat harness detail present,and a search on line resulted in my finding a single image on Armorama no lessshowing harnesses should be present.

The cab of the vehiclehas some nice details present as regards the dashboard. The harnesses again arestill not present, and while again I suspect that they are there I haddifficulty in finding reference, but seat harnesses are shown as present andthe layout of the dashboard and cab generally would seem accurate, but there isnot a great deal of information currently available.

Moving to theunderside of the vehicle, the boat hull like appearance for blast deflection isclearly visible. The chassis rails have been provided in two halves which hasenabled Zvezda to provide a nice level of detail on all faces. My only realconcern here is that due to the unusual profile of each chassis rail, and theminimum of parts that attach the two parts together, it will be difficult forthe modeller to ensure that a square chassis is the result. So take plenty oftime in judging the assembly of this area, in order that you get it right. Itis the underside of the vehicle that I would say is the most complex aspect ofthe build, as there are a very large number of parts coming together here. Thesuspension and its various attributes are complicated, plus bulky in some areas,and I suspect that this is due to the vehicle being designed to continue aftera mine blast as well as protect the occupants of the vehicle. From what I cansee this vehicle has all six wheels that can steer and so depicting the vehiclewith its wheels turned could prove to be a headache.

Once all of thesuspension, chassis rails, and the sacrificial bins are attached you have avery complex looking area of the model. In some ways it is a shame that thesacrificial bins and blast covers hide a lot of the detail that is present.While in this area it should be noted that the tyres have been provided invinyl rubber, which I know will not please many. But the detail on the treadpattern is very good, as are the wheels themselves. The rear door of thevehicle has a good level of detail, and could be depicted with the door open orthe rear dropped so it works as a ramp. Furniture is minimal which would onlybe trip hazards when used as a ramp. The hydraulic aspect of the rear door whendropped to be used as a ramp is covered by hydraulic pistons being suppliedwith the option of extended or retracted. On the top of the upper hull, thereis a light cluster as found on many emergency vehicles with the clear lensareas attached to the bar itself being very well done. The exterior detail ofthe hull is of a very good standard with crisp detail present, and from thechecks I have been able to carry out matching most reference images I couldfind. The emergency escape hatches on the roof, the doors of the front cab andthe rear door as already covered, can all be assembled open or closed. Theclear aspects of the model will need to be given a green tint in order toreplicate the bullet resistant nature of the glass.  A nice inclusion by Zvezda in this kit isclear shaped metallic stickers for use on the wing mirrors and the like. Thedecals themselves seem a little odd, because they consist basically of redstripes, but then it needs to be remembered that this vehicle represents one inthe use of the military police, rather than a combat unit. I have found on lineimages of this vehicle with a remote controlled weapons station on the roof,which I suspect or hope will be a Zvezda release this option down the line.

Three finishingoptions are provided for this model:

The first is a TyphoonK of the military Police, with the Russian Federation Armed Forces Group inSyria, Syrian Arab Regional Police Unit, 2017

Typhoon K of theRussian Military Police, Far Eastern military District 2018.

Typhoon K of the Russian Special Forces Brigade,Far Eastern Military District 2017

Conclusion

This offering from Zvezda is a very pleasing release of a vehicle that I know very little about, and my opinion of the model is that it has very good detail on the exterior, but is limited on the inside by the amount of available information. The star of this model is the amount of effort that has gone into the underside of the vehicle, and it is a pity that it will not be readily seen on the finished model.