In the pictures you will see three modern Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) nuclear missile transporters, a penny in the middle for scale, and on the other side of the penny are two modern Russian missile transporters.

The smallest PLA transporter shown is the DongFeng-15 (DF-15, also known as M-9 in its export name, NATO codename: CSS-6). It is a single-stage, solid-fuel, short-range, surface-to-surface ballistic missile system. Launched from a 8X8 Taian TAS5450 transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) vehicle, the missile can carry a single conventional high-explosive warhead over a distance of 600km. The missile system entered service with the PLA Second Artillery Corps in the mid-1990s and has became the mainstay of China’s conventional strategic force.

The DF-15 missile did not receive much attention until the 1995/96 Taiwan Strait Crisis, when the PLA ‘test launched’ several DF-15 missiles into waters off Taiwan as part of Beijing’s efforts to dissuade Taiwan from moving to independence. These launches shook the outside world by demonstrating a degree of accuracy not previously associated with Chinese-designed surface-to-surface missile systems.

Next to the DF-15 is the DF-21, a two-stage, solid-fuel, single-warhead intermediate-range ballistic missile system designed to provide target coverage in Asia and West Pacific regions. The missile is contained in an alumni-alloy cylinder launch­tube which keeps the missile in an invariable temperature environment.

The DF-21 missiles are generally deployed in areas close to China’s borders to ensure adequate target overage of areas previously covered by the DF-3 IRBM, which has a longer range, but is less accurate compared to DF-21. Many reports claimed that some DF-21 missiles are fitted with conventional warheads but this cannot be confirmed.

The largest PLA transporter is the Wanshan WS2400 series truck. It is a 20-ton heavy-duty vehicle based on the Russian MAZ543 surface-to-surface missile transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) technology. I built the Wanshan truck and DF-15 transporter as modifications to the Pitroad metal SS-25 and SCUD kits, respectively. The DF-21 trailer was built using a White Ensign Models 50-foot railroad flatbed trailer, and the missile tube was a modified SS-25 tube from Pitroad.

On the other side of the penny are Russian missile transporters. The large one is the SS-27 TOPOL-M, which is carried on an enormous 16 X 16 wheeled truck. The smaller transporter carries a SCUD. Both of these are modifications of the Pitroad metal kits. I made the TOPOL-M from the SS-25 kit by adding an extra wheel section, and an extension to the missile tube.