[Review] Revell T-90A "Vladimir" - Russias Main Battle Tank in 1/72

Oh god... was lazy for two months... 😞... but I managed to get some stuff and footage to show here. So get ready for some Christmas holidays ful of modelling.

So hi friends and fellow modellers!
Today I want to showcase Revells 1/72 scale plastic-injection T-90A. I was thiking about trying the Zvezda or Modelcollect T-90A here, but as I ran over this little kit in a store for just 15€ I wasn´t able to widstand the temptation.

The Vehicle:
Developed from a modified T-72B, the T-90 was becoming Russias standard MBT in the late 90s and early 2000s. Although this design wasn´t bad in many respects, the Uralvagonzavod desin bureau started producing a new variant in 2005. This vehicle had a distinct "new" cast turret derived from the first T-90 planning-phase in the eaarly 1990s were new turrets and even a new hull were considered to be used in the future replacement for th T-72B. The Object 188 incorparated many improvements at that time, but the simpler Object 187 (basic T-90) was choosen instead. For the T-90A, the Objects 188´s cast turret returned together with a bunch of improved protection elements like APS systems, reactive and passive armor as well as a new, powerful 950HP engine.
 
The Kit:
The kit itself is a newer release from Revell and of those  I started to expect some finely detailed models. The box is a typical modern Revell boxing with a nice boxart depicting a Russian military service-vehicle.

After opening the box, you´ll find some easy to follow instructions, a small decal-sheet and a bunch of sprues packed in a plastic bag. Unfortunately one of the parts broke off the sprue but didn´t break or go anywhere because of the aforementioned bag.

Very informative instructiuons....

... and a usefull plastic-bag for the parts are included.
The unique turret-sprue for this kit features a  bunch of parts for the new cast turret. Most of them are really well detailed with even the anti-radiation cover being visible. As mentioned before, one of the storage boxes fell off the sprue.

Also the soft plastic tracks are included. As with some Revell kits they are just two pieces for each side. I wondered a bit how they would work out.

As said, the detail on the turret is very nice.
The next sprue contains upper hull parts which have a good amount of detail.

Some detail of the engine grilles... photoetch isn´t really needed.

Lower hull and smaller accessories also share another sprue. I like the detail on the machinegun and the other smaller parts... just please don´t break while cliping from the sprue.

The last sprue contains parts for the roadwheels and the sideskirts of the vehicle. Luckily they have a very nice detail and the sideskirts look as if they´re really bent a little bit, which is definetly cool.

The gun is a three-piece assembly, but I replaced that with a brass one.
Decals allow four versions of the Vehicle of which one is a Tunisian T-90AM with some optional parts.

The Build:
I started to assemble the lower hull and roadwheels. They fitted well and largely alligned properly.

The next step was to finish the upper hull assembly with all it´s smaller details (headlamps etc.).

Then the sides were fitted with the passive Kontakt-5 ERA plates ready to be joined with the hull later.

Basic turret assembly icluded fixing the brass barrel (not included!) to the turret...

... followed by adding the details.

Looks like a modern tank should look... I like the APS "eyes" on the front 👀....
Next I fitted the tracks. They were a little pain in the ass because they didn´t want to bend the way I wanted them to... but in the end I succeded and joined the major subassemblies together and primed them in a dark grey. After that I highlighted some spots with Vallejo ModelAir White.

Conclusion:
The T-90 is quite a common subject in scale-modelling and Revell certainly didn´t sleep when they released their T-90A in 1/72. A good fit is accompanied by some really amazing detail not really requiring the use of aftermarket-parts. I don´t yet know what to think about the bend-it-in-hot-water-s
style tracks as they do not want to bend properly sometimes, but on the other hand they are pretty well detailed and a portion is hidden by the sideskirts anyway. Small parts on this kit might be fiddly to assemble or to remove from the sprue but thats well worth the result.

Rating: 8/10 - A kit well worth the money! But the tracks... 😕

But anyway have a good time and enjoy your modelling!

Tom