OK, I finally got a Russian-made diecast. Well, actually it's my second one, as I indicated in my original post that I had gotten a disappointing model several years ago (see the 8-wheeled lorry picture uptopic).
The new one I got is the Ural 4320 6x6 Military Truck, at 1:43 scale (second picture, uptopic). I am certainly not disappointed with this one.
First off, the price was approx. $26, with an additional approx. $14 for shipping and insurance from Moscow, for a total of exactly $40. The online store is
Store.Diecast.ru. The model arrived carefully packed, with lots of styrofoam peanuts. Since the model is not screwed to a base like many western-made models, the seller put a couple of styrofoam peanuts inside the display box and then wrapped the model with plastic wrap before putting it back in the display box. This way, it wouldn't get banged around during shipping. He then put the display box inside a cardboard shipping box, with lots of peanuts.
The model arrived undamaged and took about 3 weeks to get to Arizona.
When I first opened the shipping box and saw the model inside the display box I thought, oh crap, the left front wheel is damaged. It seemed to be hanging at a weird angle.
Once I had the model out of the display box though, I noticed that it was just the rubber tire that had become wedged off the rim. This was actually a pleasant surprise, since all the tires are made of soft, pliable rubber and can be removed from all the rims, if desired. This includes the spare.
So the first order of business was to fix that "flat".
The spare is stored on a rack behind the cab and the assembly can be easily removed. That's the rack laying there, beside the rim. As an aside, I suppose the rims could be pried off the axles as well, but I wasn't about to try that. So the model comes with a functional spare tire, as well as a spare rim.
After the tire change, it was time to look under the hood and check the fluids.
The engine is colored all black. The hood is hinged tight enough to where it will stay in the open position, if desired.
There are sideview mirrors on both sides of the cab, as well as an engine air intake on the right and what appears to be a floodlight on the left of the cab. These are all made of the same soft, pliable rubber as the tires and colored black. Although this sounds wrong, I think it's actually a good thing, since these pieces would very easily break off if they were rigid metal. Also, because they are pliable, the exact position and angle of the sideview mirrors can be slightly adjusted.
A storage box under the passenger-side door as well as the gas tank just aft of the driver's door are metal.
The entire cab and the hood are of course metal, as is the bumper and the bottom frame of the vehicle.
Headlights and turn signal lights are plastic and glued on cleanly and look very good. Small running lights atop each fender and the cab are painted on nicely.
I didn't take any pictures of the underside, but I did post one in my original post uptopic. As stated, the frame is metal, as are the leaf springs and axle housings. Additional details, such as the exhaust system and drive train, are made of the aforementioned soft black plastic.
The twin rear axles swivel on a pivot inbetween them, giving the appearance of an independent suspension. The axles also swivel laterally, slightly (that is, the right side can move up and down indepedently from the left, slightly). When the axles swivel, the plastic driveshaft actually telescopes out of the transmission housing, slightly.
The bed of the truck is made of plastic, as might be expected, as is the canvas top. The top is removable. As this is not a dump truck, the bed obviously does not tilt. The tailgate does however lower.
There are rigid black plastic mudflaps in front of and behind the rear axles. There is a tail hitch below the tailgate.
The rear lights (visible in the picture uptopic) below the tailgate are orange in color and glued-on plastic. On my model, the one on the right side is a little crooked, no big deal.
Overall, I like this model. I think an equivalent model from a western manufacturer might be $10-$15 cheaper, but none of them make these Russian vehicles, so the novelty of having one is worth the slightly added cost, imo.
This model is not only good for display, but also as perhaps as a gift to a youngster, maybe around the age of 7-12, since it is fully functional. I know I would have been impressed to have had this when I was that age.