Bronco continues to release interesting subjects from the People’s Liberation Army. From the kit, “The PTL-02 wheeled assault gun system was based on the ZSL-92 wheeled armored vehicle, integrated with matured weapon technologies including the Type 86 100mm towed anti-tank gun and the Type 88 MBT. The vehicle was designed to engage armored vehicles, bunkers, fortifications, and other stationary or moved targets. The PTL-02 has been fielded along with the ZSL-92 IFV and ZSL-92A APC in the PLA rapid reaction wheeled mechanized infantry troops. The PTL-02 is powered by a BF8L413F 4-stroke, 8-cylinder, turbo-charged, air-cooled diesel engine with a standard power of 320hp. The vehicle uses a mechanical gear box, with 9 forward gears and 1 reverse. Power assisted steering, independent suspension, and central inflating system are fitted as standard. However, the PTL-02 lacks the two rear propellers found on the ZSL-92, which suggests that the gun system is not amphibious.”

The Kit

As with most kits from the Hobby Boss line, the sprues are individually bagged and the more fragile parts have foam wrapped around them. There are nine sprues in tan plastic, a fret of photo etch, six rubber tires, one small sprue of clear parts, and decals for two vehicles, for a total of 270 parts. There’s no flash on the pieces, though I found the plastic to be a tad bit soft. There is a separate sheet with full color exterior call outs.

Assembly

Assembly is straightforward – there’s the body of the vehicle and the turret. The basis of the tank destroyer is the ZSL-92 wheeled armored vehicle which Hobby Boss has previously released in various versions. It goes together well, but you need to be careful when you assemble the wheel units. The drive shaft (piece A8) is a bit tricky. There is no interior to the vehicle, but the vehicle does have hatches that can be left either open or closed. Without an interior, I chose to keep the hatches closed. The only other challenge I ran into was the plastic frame over the large engine vent. A piece of photoetch rests on top of D7. Make sure it is square before the glue dries, or else the PE vent cover will not fit correctly. The rest of the exterior came together well. There are some small pieces, so watch out when you remove them from the sprue or the carpet monster may get them!

The turret, as with most plastic turrets, comes in two pieces that, for the most part, fit snugly. Like the vehicle, the turret has no interior, so I kept the hatches closed and didn’t even bother to glue the parts on the inside of the hatch. The only issue I had was with the range finder, which is a box that fits into the top of the turret. It was chore getting the clear plastic piece to fit, and the entire assembly really didn’t fit that well on the top of the turret. The rest of the turret went together easily. The commander’s machine gun is exquisite, a small kit within itself. The only challenge I found was the placement of K1, what I presume is some sort of hydraulic cylinder that would allow the weapon to elevate. I found its placement tricky. The assembled machine gun is one of the nicest I have seen but is very fragile, so set it aside before the cat or kid breaks it!

Finishing

I use Tamiya paints and the color call outs do show the Tamiya equivalents. The base color is dark yellow with two shades of green to complete the camouflage pattern.

I enjoy modeling many different subjects, so I applaud Hobby Boss for stretching the envelope and releasing all of these unique Chinese vehicles. My thanks to Squadron MMD, Hobby Boss, and IPMS-USA for giving me the opportunity to review this kit.