Introduction

Modern Hilux pickups are one of the most used civil vehicles in modern warfare areas. They are the workhorses of the battlefield from African technicals to SF vehicles in Irak and can be also used by reporters.

Mig production already released two other modern Pickups, this one is pretty different in the sense that the vehicle overall appearance show a lot of used including field repair with duck tapes and broken windows fix with plywood panel for example.

Kit Contents

The kit comes well packed in a small cardboard box with a photo of the finished model; all resins parts were packed in five plastics bags. An A4 sheet full color instruction set is also provided.

The casting is excellent, in my review sample no air bubbles and flaws were present. The chassis is slightly warped but nothing dramatic. The windows as well as the windshield are done using a printed acetate foil. Copper wire is included to model the basket on the roof of the cabin.The kit comprise more than 45 resins pieces with a transparent part for the front light.

This kit can be used to model a technical armed with a Dushka MG with pedestal mount provided in the kit. Five ammo boxes for the Dushka are also present for detailing purpose.

The instruction

25 steps are required to complete the model and the build is pretty easy but you need to carefully read the instructions since the build order is sometimes confusing. No issues here, the location of the resin part is pretty well done.

The build starts with the interior of the cabin by adding all the sticks, special care is required in order to not destroy these tiny some resins parts. The seats are glued in place, no seat belts are provided in PE. Surprisingly, there is no interior mirror. A detail in the cabin is good. Then, the build focuses on the chassis and in particular on the front suspension, gear box and axle.

The front wheels can be turned in step 8 when gluing parts 15. This is not mentioned in this step but the following one. No direction of axles is shown in the kit. The front shock absorber is missing on the instruction. Part #21 is provided (undersized) but never used during the build? Due to these omissions, some extra work is required if you want to depict an accurate vehicle.

Cabin assembly as well as the rear bed is described in the steps 11~14. Really not complicated, as always with resin kit some test fit is mandatory. The tailgate is represented closed but it seems that you can leave it open with the addition of the small chain.

Step 17 should be done in the same time as step 13 so special attentions here. The rear axle is not complicated to build but as mentioned for the front suspension, there is some lack of details, the shock absorbers as well as anti-roll bar are not present in the kit.

Step 19 covers the build of the front bumper with no part numbers (part #35 and #36), in order to depict the destroyed look of the vehicle you need to cut part #36 as mentioned in the instruction.

Step 20 and 21 describes the gluing of the footstep and the mud flaps, no issues here. Step 23 is the assembly of the anti-roll cage, easy four pieces assembly; you have the choice to install or not this feature. Step 24 is the cabin top turret basket assembly with some example of stowage.

Conclusion

The overall look of the vehicle is pretty nice with some damaged areas on the car body. Some lights are also destroyed. Some reparations have been done using some duck tape on the hood and on the side. One passenger window is missing and has been repaired with some plywood panel. One aspect of the vehicle is the way that the rear lights are represented in solid resin while a transparent one will be better as seen then the front ones.

The lack of details on the frame is striking.To me, this is viewable point. This kit is a nice kit but the lack of details on the chassis, transmission and suspension is problematic for this price range. The great addition is the opened passenger door since it is the only pick up from Mig range to display such feature. So is it a kit worth buying it ? No, at this price you will expect better attention to detail on the frame and the overall look can be easily done on your workbench.

Now, I did review this kit taking into account only its intrinsic components. Due to recent release of a plastic kit, it becomes difficult for me to judge the kit. I cannot compare apples and pears but I need to give you advice on this kit with this review.

Is it worth buying? No - the quality is good but the accuracy is questionable. Moreover it is pricey. For the same amount of money you can buy 3 of the same vehicle in plastic with the same or even better level of details. So now, it is up to you to buy it or not.