The Vehicle

The T-72 series was the most produced post WW2 tank. It is designed to have a low silhouette and smaller hull than most modern tanks. The crew is only three soldiers, with ammunition loading being done automatically. Due to the cramped crew positions, the maximum height of a T-72 soldier is 5 feet 9 inches.

The T-72 gun is a 125 mm capable of firing HEAT and APFSDS rounds, as well as ATGMs.

There are 40 different countries who have significant numbers of T-72s. In spite of an arms embargo, Iraq had 1000 T-72s in 1990. In 1996, this number had reduced to 375

The Kit

This kit is all resin, with no PE or other media parts. The markings schemes are for 4 different armies, Czech, Polish, North Vietnam and Soviet. The Soviet markings require no decals.

Pre-assembly

The first steps are to remove the hull, tracks turret, and skirts from the pour blocks. This was somewhat time consuming, as I wanted to get the cuts as straight as possible, without damaging the parts. I sanded the connecting area of the tracks to get them as straight as possible. I then started painting before doing any real assembly

Painting

This one has a pretty simple paint job. A dark green overall, with the tracks metallic and the tires black. I airbrushed everything dark green, all of the parts. I then painted the tires and the tracks.

Assembly

I then began the assembly process and used gel-type CA for all assembly except the turret. I glued the tracks to the hull and then the skirts to the track assemblies. I then added the fuel drums and muffler to the back of the tank.

I installed the main gun and the machine gun on the turret. During assembly test fits I found that the turret would fall off if the vehicle was tilted. I used white glue to keep the turret in place.

Decals

I didn’t use any decals on this model, the instructions were very poor on decal placement, and I decided that the Soviet tank was a good choice.

Overall Evaluation

Recommended. This is an excellent model of a tank which has been used everywhere. The US Army even has at least one for evaluation/aggressor training, and Australia has one too. I had very little trouble with the assembly, and the instructions were helpful.

Many thanks to Brengun for this really interesting and well-done kit. And thanks to IPMS USA for allowing me to review it.