Skip to main content

[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


Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

[Review] Modelcollect´s T-80UM1 "Bars" - Russia´s Snow Leopard in Braille Scale

You want something modern, that is badass but not an Abrams or a T-90? Export customers have been offered with an alternative for both in the early 2000s in form of the T-80UM1. This isn´t a really popular vehicle, so I was really pleased that we´re now able to build it in 1/72 scale from the kit I´ll review today. Let´s get started! The vehicle: While the T-72 series of tanks were (and still are) a huge sucess on the export-market, the most advanched tank the USSR fielded in larger numbers - the turbine-powered T-80 - wasn´t really used outside Russia. Engineers wanted to chage that in the 90s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Now they wanted to export their high-tech vehicle and maybe even secure contracts for modernisazions of Russia´s remaining vehicles. Their product - called the T-80UM1 - was based on the then most advanched T-80 models in use, namely the T-80U and T-80UK. Having taken a look at recent conflicts around the world, they added advanched features to make...
Post a Comment
Read more

[Review] Revell Cromwell Mk.IV

Hello my friends it´s Christmas time! Which means.. weather isn´t the best here so I had some time for further modelling. Today´s topic is another review, this time of Revell´s 1/72 Cruiser Tank A27M Cromwell Mk.IV... What a designation... but anyways - onto the review. The kit comes in not too pricy at about 15€ as it is the typical fashion for Revells smaller AFV kits. Let´s hope the detail and fitting also goes along those lines. The vehicle: The Cruiser Tank A27M or the Cromwell as it is widely known was a mass produced British medium tank in WW2. It was based on the American Christie-Suspension the UK aquired in the 30s for their new generation of cruiser tanks. These vehicles, namely the A15, the Covenanter, the Crusader and the Cromwell were fast and had mediocore armour plating at best. While the earlier models quickly proved themselfes to be a little out-dated, the A27 was to be a tank up to meet the requrements of the mid to late WW2 battlefields. The first incarnation, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

[Review] Italeri Autoblinda AB 41

Got some new Itaeri stuff in a lokal hobby store a while ago... let´s take a look at one of the kits - the Autoblinda AB41. I got it for about 15€ as 1/72 scale luckily isn´t the most expensive ever scale to build in. The vehicle: So, what is an Autoblinda AB41? Wile Italy wasn´t the the most prominent tank building nation in WW2, it had sucess in the early North African campaigns . There they used indigenous armored vehicles like the newly built Autoblinda AB41 mainly for patrol duties. Although the particular vehicle was really complicated and even needed a rear-driver, it proved quite useful in the desert enviroment and later in the Balkans and on the Eastern Front. It had up to 17mm of armor and mounted the turret of the L6/40 light tank with the same Breda 20mm Autocannon. Its 120HP engine propelled the 7.5ton vehicle up to about 70kph. The kit: As Italeri is an Italian company, they released a bunch of interesting Italian vehicles in 1/72. The particular kit was first relea...
Post a Comment
Read more