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Takom- PLANAVY H/PJ45 130MM Naval Gun

Catalog Number: 03.01.2189 Manufacturer: TAKOM
Published: Friday, October 11, 2024 Retail Price: $30
Scale: 1:35 Reviewed By: Brian Campitella

PLANAVY H/PJ45 130MM Naval Gun

The H/Pj-38 is a single-barreled 130MM naval gun used by the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Navy. It was developed by reverse engineering the Soviet AK-130 twin 130mm naval gun.  Once the AK-130 was successfully copied by the Chinese developers the PLA Navy was dissatisfied with it and decided not to put it into production. The H/PJ-38 program was then established in 2005. The resulting H/PJ-38 130mm single barrel gun was considered more powerful and reliable the other small cabler Chinese naval guns.

The primary improvement of the H/PJ-38 over the Soviet AK130 is it is able to fire both separate loading rounds and semi-fixed rounds, which is critical in firing gun launched missiles and precision guided munitions.

For more detailed information check out the following link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H/PJ-38_130mm_naval_gun

What's in the Box:  

The kit arrived in a standard TAKOM heavy duty box with all sprues sealed in individual plastic bags.  Although the box top claims there is "1 Type of Marking",  there are no decals included in the kit or shown in the instructions. The kit contains 2 sprues, 7 individual parts that constitute the gun turret, a 7 piece photo etch fret and metal gun barrel for a total parts count of 111. There are no decals.  Once assembled the gun will elevate and the turret will rotate.  

There is no flash or warp on any parts and no knockouts will be visible after the kit is assembled.  The overall level of detail is excellent.

An 8.5x5 inch 8 step instruction booklet is included.  Each step appears to be simple with well drawn instructions. I would anticipate no issues in building this model.

Sprue Map  

Individual parts for the turret:

The doors are deeply etched and the grab handle/step attachment plates are pronounced.  Both will really stand out when a pin wash is applied.  There are also several large sprue attachment points on the back sides of the parts that will need to be removed.

Sprue H:

Additional parts for the turret and gun mount.  The rear of the turret also has a well done door and more grab handle/step attachment points.

Sprue J:  

This sprue contains the remaining detail parts for the gun, including 34 grab handles/steps and 8 foot steps.  These as well as some piping are somewhat delicate looking and will require care when removing them from the sprue and neatening them up. There is a nicely done one piece muzzle brake for the metal gun barrel.  Mold seams are minimal and will be easily cleaned with a few swipes of a sanding stick.

   Detail shot of steps and handles

Photo etch fret and metal barrel:   


The painting guide shows only an overall gray color with a darker grey (blue?) around the gun opening. There are no paint color callouts on the guide.

Conclusion:

With a low parts count, large pieces and a simple paint job this is a perfect build for beginners to get their feet wet in the modeling world.  For more advanced modelers, this would make a great weekend kit and a fun getaway from our normal builds.

Highly Recommended for Beginner to Advanced builders, pending Full Build.

Thanks goes out to TAKOM for this review kit.

Reviewed by Brian Campitella

 

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