1/76 & 1/72 scale AFV museum:
POST WWII TANKS: 1980s
AER Model Studio from Moldova makes
this 1/72 scale kit (injection molded plus resin parts) of the SAU-122 Egyptian
SP gun. The vehicle is armed with a Soviet D30 122mm howitzer mounted on
the T34 chassis; these SP guns were produced in 1980. The kit includes all
the parts plus the illustrated instructions of AER's T34/85 kit (but not
the decals). A supplemental page of assembly instructions with a brief history
is included for the SP gun; the resin parts are the turret, gun, and two
mantlet pieces. These are designed to fit onto the plastic turret bottom
piece. The box art shows a photo of what may be a 1/35 scale completed kit.
The resin parts are mostly well molded (the small mantlet parts are not
so clean). The plastic parts are well done, but had a little flash that
needed removing. I added the hand rungs and a small flap on the gun muzzle.
I may still add an antenna and/or stowage. I also heated and bent the tow
cable to lie across the hull side and front. One glaring error in the AER
T34 suspension is that the wheel spacing is backwards; to correct, you will
need to shave off the suspension detail on the hull for wheels 2,3, and
4, and then reglue with the proper spacing.
Overall an interesting adaptation of the famous chassis; it is good to
see the plastic manufacturers making these multimedia kits available.
The T80 is the latest main battle tank in the Soviet arsenal. The self-loading
125mm gun allows the vehicle to be operated by a three-man crew. Protective
aprons cover the top of the suspension, and snorkelling equipment is carried
in the tube attached to the turret rear.
This 1/72 scale MATCHBOX kit depicts a vehicle with the Russian 10th
Tank Guards Division stationed in Germany in 1988. While it is good to see
new small scale kits, the model does not contain all the parts depicted
in the painting guide diagram or on the box art (such as smoke dischargers,
spotlights, stowage bins, etc.) so a bit of scratchbuilding is necessary
to make the model look complete.
GALAXY Models from China makes this 1/72 plastic version of the Soviet
T72M1 MBT. The M1 is the export version, so this kit can be completed as
serving in a variety of armies. Markings are included for East German, Czech
and Soviet armies, but are of poor quality (stickers as opposed to "wet
and transfer" decals) so I used soviet decals from my spares collection.
The only addition I made to the kit was adding hoses to the rear gas tanks.
Assembly was pretty straightforward. NOTE: the tracks are soft rubber, don't
accept paint as well as other rubber tracks, and may soften the wheels over
time!
The camo scheme is the sand/green/black pattern seen on some modern Soviet
tanks (there is actually a small photo of a tank with this scheme on the
box). Note that some dimensions of the kit appear greater than 1/72 scale.
Note also that Galaxy kits are no longer produced, and may be hard to find.
MATCHBOX models gave us the Challenger 1 as their final 1/76 plastic
kit AFV offering, before switching to 1/72 scale. This was a pleasant surprise
during a time when new tanks kits were few and far between in this scale,
and the Challenger is one of the more important MBTs in the world. The kit
is a sinmple build that goes together nicely, but may be hard to find nowadays.
No fear, both Dragon Models and Revell make state-of-the-art kits of the
"Challie".
The successor to the Chieftain, the Challenger featured revolutionary
aspects of tank design, including the famous "Chobham" composite
armor. It has seen action in both Gulf Wars and in various peacekeeping
actions in Europe. Based on the "Shir 2" (an updated Chieftain)
The Challenger 1 entered service in 1982, and has been followed by the Challenger
2 in 1994.
This is REVELL/GERMANY's rendition of the US MBT M1A1 Abrams, here in
european three-tone camouflage. This is an outstanding kit that assembles
very well; decals are also included for a Gulf War vehicle. All I added
was the antennae and some stowage items loaded into the basket at the turret
rear. I would have liked to see some crew figures with the kit...maybe one
day Revell will start adding them to their tank models.
Becoming operational in 1985, the M1A1 was an improvement over the M1,
carrying the 120mm smoothbore gun and fitted with advanced electronic systems.
This tank has been exported to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Australia.
An improved powerplant has been fitted to the M1A2 version of the Abrams.
Questions? You can e-mail me at Contact the Curator.
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