Russian Kamaz Kit

I have seen pictures of this kit, supposedly only obtainable in the Russian Federation. I did do some searching, and found a retailer, but one needed to buy $50 worth of product, I just want two copies of this kit. I hope some of my Russian friends have seen this kit, and could purchase two copies for me.

This would be a jewel of my collection for sure.

Minimodel.sk Advent 2021, Day 24: Tatra 815 PJ Africabus

For Day 24, a decidedly non racing vehicle has been offered, a Tatra 815 Africabus, a tour bus that in the Dakar was used as a journalist/photographer transport. I have seen these trucks in numerous background pictures of the bivouac and at special locations, but I am not too familiar with the specifics of the truck, I did find out that the nickname of this truck was Dachshund.

The model is on 2 sheets, one with the instructions and some parts, and one with just parts.

Minimodel.sk Advent 2021, Day 23: Steyr Pinzgauer 6x6

Day 23 gifts us the Steyr Pinzgauer 6x6, this particular version was a support vehicle, distinguished by the background on the number sticker being blue instead of white, as the truck provided assistance to a motorcycle team for 1983, and in 1982 had to abandon the race as a competitor.

In the case of the model, you only get one version, the complex version to build.  You might find some visual similarities with the Volvo C303, both platforms are from the same time frame, late 1960s early 1970s, where many European militaries had home grown light and medium duty off road trucks. And both platforms became popular in the off road camping and cruising crowd, and still popular to this day.

Minimodel.sk Advent 2021, Day 22: Peugeot 405 Turbo 16 GR

From the 1990 Dakar, and for Day 22, we have the Peugeot 405 T16 GR, Grande Raid. #203 was driven by Ari Vatanen, and won 7 stages that year, and the overall classification. The 405 was also used to compete on Pikes Peak, and set records during the 2 years it competed, if you want to see the 405 in action on the mountain, check out Climb Dance, it is 5 minutes of driving artistry.

The model is a one pager, and has both versions you have come to love, easy and complex.

Minimodel.sk Advent 2021, Day 21: Peugeot 205 Turbo 16

Day 21 is probably my most favorite Dakar race car, even ahead of the Porsche 959, the Peugeot 205 T16,  was a great Group B rally car when it competed in the World Rally Championship in the mid 1980's.  After the banning of the Group B cars, Peugeot decided to turn their attention to the Dakar, and in 1987 lined up at the starting line of the Dakar with a 3 car team, including WRC champion Ari Vatanen.

You can build 2 versions of this Overall Dakar winner for 1987, in the easy and complex version.

Minimodel.sk Advent 2021, Day 20: Mercedes Benz Unimog

Day 20 presents us with the #614 Unimog which won the overall Truck category in the 1985 Dakar. In every Dakar since 1979 there has been at least one Unimog at the start line, either as a race competitor or as a support vehicle for motor cycles or cars.

The Capito brothers from Germany had experienced the Legend of the Dakar in previous years, finishing the race on a motorcycle, and having to abandon the race due to mechanical issues, and ultimately victory in the Under 10 Ton class, and the overall victory in the Truck category, with Jan de Rooy in 2nd overall, 1st in the Over 10 Ton class, in the DAF 3300 named The Bull.

The kit version of the #614 Unimog consists of 2 sheets, one with parts, and one with building instructions.

Minimodel.sk Advent 2021, Day 19: Hummer H1

Day 19 offers the Hummer H1 from the 1996 Dakar, which finished in 67th place of 71 cars and trucks that completed the Dakar that year, there was a support Hummer H1 as well, #405, which finished 68th, and was made into a Hot Wheels car as well and was written about in the February 19 1996 issue of Auto Week

The model is shared on two separate sheets, one for the easy version and one for the complex version.

Minimodel.sk Advent 2021, Day 18: Mercedes Benz G 6x6

Day 18 brings us a 6x6 Mercedes G from the 1986 Dakar, and another creation from Christian de Leotard, who I spoke about in my previous post. Christian was the driver of the Renault 5 6x6 and was the co-driver for one of his first 6x6 Mercedes G series.

The early years of the Dakar, anything goes, multi axle cars, Vespa scooters, Ugly Ducklings, in the mid 1980s you could see the weirdest racing vehicles lined up at the start.

For a bit of normalcy, you can just build your own 6x6 G-class Mercedes, one in easy and one in complex versions.

Minimodel.sk Advent 2021, Day 17: Mercedes Benz 190 GE

Today's offer for Day 17 is yet another odd looking vehicle, a Mercedes Benz 190 GE, 6x6, designed by Christian de Leotard, who has developed other 6x6 Mercedes vehicles, G-class based conversions, as well as Range Rover and Renault.  Christian is proud to proclaim that all of his builds have finished the Dakar they were entered, without the need to replace major parts.

The model is of the 1986 entry, #421, and comes in both versions, complex and the easy build.

Minimodel.sk Advent 2021, Day 16: Mercedes Benz 1932 AK

The offer for today is one of my most interesting vehicles that has raced in the Dakar, a Truck and Trailer.

Yes, you read that right, a Semi Truck, the year is 1985, the truck has Dakar provenance, having competed in 2 other Dakars.  #629, driven by Françoise Morcrette, who was a hairdresser before setting off on the 1985 edition.  The truck finished the rally, but was timed out, basically arriving in the bivouac either at night, or just before the next day's stage start.

The two previous rallies saw this truck compete as a 4x4 Box truck, for the 1985 rally, the box was removed, and a fifth wheel was installed, and a trailer was hitched.

The kit consists of 3 sheets, 2 parts pages, one for the trailer and one for the tractor unit, and 1 page of instruction.

I am attaching a video of the Truck, so you can see it for yourself