ICM’s 1/35 BM-21 "GRAD"
Soviet Multiple Launch Rocket System Truck

By Ray Mehlberger

History

The BM-21 entered service in the early 1960’s and became the standard multiple rocket-launcher of the Warsaw Pact armies, as well as most Soviet client states. Variants were produced in China, India, Egypt, and Romania. The 40-round launchers were, at first, mounted on the URAL-375 6 x 6 truck. A later ZIL-131 mounted a 36-round form. For airborne troops, a smaller 12-round version was developed to be mounted on a 4 x 4 truck. Most BM-21 variants have been used in action, particularly in Afghanistan.

In addition, customized versions were used by the PLO in battles around Beirut from 1982 onwards. The BM-21 is symbolic of Russian multiple rocket-launchers, being crude and simple to operate. Nevertheless, when used in batteries it could deliver devastating 122mm rocket firepower.

In Russian, "BM" is short for "war machine" and "Grad" is short for "Hail". In 1976 the BM-21 was mounted on the URAL-4320 truck. The BM-21 is a 40 launch-tube affair, firing 122mm rockets. The tactical role of the vehicle, in the field, is to destroy enemy forces, including armor and transport units. It can also be used for distant laying of mine fields and for electronic warfare.

The vehicle continues in service with many ex-Warsaw Pact countries, such as Bulgaria, Slovakia, Czech republic, Germany, Poland, Hungary, and Yugoslavia. In recent years it has been present in many conflicts and other trouble spots, including Angola, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Georgia, Chechnya, and Yugoslavia, including very recently in Kosovo.

The Kit (click on thumbnails for larger image)

The kit consists of 363 total parts. There are 7 large olive drab part trees and one small tree of 4 tiny parts in that color plastic too. A clear tree holds the 12 parts for the cab windows and various light lenses. 7 vinyl tires are included, with one being the spare. After looking at this kit and the Ural 4320 kit, there are a lot of common parts between the two. In fact, our of the eight trees, four are from the Ural kit. The other four trees are shown here. Strangely, no decal sheet is in this kit like the comprehensive one in the stake side cargo truck version ICM released. I would think at least a license number would be appropriate. The painting instructions carry no decaling guide, so perhaps the vehicle was only painted. No figures are included.

The instruction sheet is 12 pages long. A history is given in English, German, Czech, and Russian. The second page and part of the third page show the parts tree drawings. Eight steps take you through the basic truck construction, while the remaining three steps guide you through the rocket-launcher construction.

Paint schemes are the same as given in ICM’s cargo truck version of this vehicle, being olive drab overall with a flat black chassis or tan with olive drab stripes.

This is a really neat kit. I highly recommend it to modern Soviet armor modelers. It will fit into a lot of possible dioramas depicting recent military flare-ups that we all have read about around the globe.

This is the second new release of the basic URAL 4320 truck, received from the folks at Squadron Shop for review. I want to thank them very much. Both kits look great in the box! I would only wish that there had been decals in the box with this version. Also, I would say that neither of these kits by ICM is for a beginning armor modeler, as they are pretty complex. While they are definitely not a weekend build project, they will bring many hours of building enjoyment and are outstandingly detailed.