Let’s start from Kraz trucks. Kraz is a Soviet-Ukrainian truck maker that was very well known all over the Soviet controlled territories all the way till late 90’s. After Ukraine separated from the USSR, Russians decided to improve their own trucks and with no demand for such trucks, no investments and no new technology the Kraz trucks slowly turned into outdated metal that nobody wanted to buy and these days Kraz is pretty much a dead brand.
All original Kraz trucks had a very similar design and originally were designed as military heavy duty trucks that can perform in any conditions. They all had a 15L low RPM V-8 engines and 6x6 formula with low gearing and locking differentials and were able to pull heavy trailers and go pretty much anywhere.
Just so you get an idea how big these trucks were I want to post some numbers:
Formula V8 diesel
Power 240 hp @ 2100 rpm
Torque 584 lb/ft @ 1200-1400 rpm
Displacement 14,866 liters
Length 8645 mm (28 ft)
Width 2750 mm (9 ft)
Height 2940 mm (9.7 ft)
Ground clearance 360 mm (1.3 ft)
Turning radius 13 000 mm (42.6 ft)
Curb weight 11 950 kg (26345 lb)
Max approach angle 47 degrees
Max departure angle 32 degrees
The Kraz trucks looked ginormous compared to IFA, Mersedes and other truck and compared to small European cars from that time they looked like monsters.
All these Kraz models made in China and sold under Russian Nash Autoprom and Auto History brands. They are not cheap and could’ve been made a bit more accurate, but IMHO they are very accurate and pretty detailed and apart from some small craftsmanship issues feel and look like a very nice models.
My Kraz collection:
Kraz 257
Kraz 256B1 dump truck:
Kraz 255:
Kraz 255B1 1967-1969
Kraz 255 B1 1969-1979:
Kraz 255B
Kraz 260
Kraz 260 vs Kraz 255B:
Kraz 255B vs Kraz 257:
1:43 Kraz 255B next to 1:43 Crown Vic and Thunderbird:
