Academy- Soviet Army T-80BV
A Brief History
The T-80BV Main Battle Tank was a late Cold War version of the Soviet T-80 Main Battle Tank. Entering service in 1976, the T-80 was notable for its GTD-1000TF gas turbine engine producing 1,000 hp-1,100 hp. Two years later in 1978, the T-80B added improved fire control and the ability to fire a guided missile through its 125 mm smoothbore gun. Adopted in 1985, the T-80BV built on the T-80B by adding Kontakt-1 explosive reactive armor to the turret and hull for greater protection against shaped charge weapons. The T-80BV required a crew of 3, a commander, driver, and gunner. The GTD-1000TF gas turbine engine was capable of moving this tank up to speeds of 70 km/h on smooth surfaces through its 5 speed manual transmission. Cross country speeds maxed out at 50km/h. The main gun is a 125mm 2A46M1 smooth bore gun. A carousel type auto loader managed 38 rounds of ammunition and 4 missiles. Secondary armament is a 7.62mm PKT coaxial machine gun and a 12.7mm NSVT heavy machine gun.
The Kit
The model kit contains 5 sprues sealed inside a single clear plastic bag, directions, and decals. My initial impression is mixed. Detail appears to be well done. Parts look well molded. No obvious signs of flash or anything that could impact a clean well built model. The main issue I see is the lack of detail given to the link & length tracks. While the individual links appear to be well done, the straight sections are not as attractive. We will look at the tracks more closely later on in this review.
The Directions
A total of 19 over 4 pages will complete the construction of the 1/72 Soviet Army T-80BV. Directions are simple black and white printed on both sides of the paper that unfolds. Images are crisp and clear making the steps easy to follow. The text is very easy to read. The part numbers are clear, quantity of parts needed clearly labeled, and how they attach easy to understand.
As you can see above and below some steps may appear to be intimidating to a beginner modeler. Steps like 10, 16, and 17 have multiple small parts being attached in each step. This may appear to be too challenging for some beginner modelers however, the images are clear enough that with a little patience & time, anyone can be successful with the build.
The Sprues
Four sprues hold all the parts to build this kit in a total of 19 steps. The sprues are not individually identified, rather each part/parts group is numbered in sequence. A closer look at the sprues confirm well molded parts held securely in place. The plastic feels high quality & easy to work with. Clean up looks to be easy and straight forward. Here are photos of the 5 sprues along with some close up images of select parts.
In the photo above you can see the link and length tracks. The individual links make up the portions attached to the drive sprockets and front road wheels. The length sections are missing the tread blocks & do not visibly match the individual links. Granted, only the sections between the road wheels and drive sprocket/idler wheel are visible with the track guards installed.
A one piece barrel is included. A good amount of careful clean up is needed to remove the seam line.
The detail on the reactive armor blocks is very nice. They look as though they will add a great amount of detail to the model.
Conclusion
In conclusion I have to say I am excited for the full build review of this kit. The level of detail in the parts, quality of the mold, and simplicity of the attachment points appear to build a very nice model that will paint up very well. Again my only disappointment is the lack of detail/accuracy of the track length sections. If this is important to you I suggest looking for a set of aftermarket tracks if available. That being said I am grateful to be able to review this model kit. Thank you
References
Highly Recommended for Beginner to Advanced builders, pending full build.
Thanks goes out to Model Rectifier Corporation for this review kit.
Reviewed by Russ Clark
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Minuteman Amps
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