Soviet T-72A/M1 Turret
1/35 #BL35046K
Review by Terry Ashley
The set is designed for the Tamiya T-72 (kit No.35160) and considering you only get the turret and its fittings the set contains a total of 96 resin parts all cast to an extremely high standard.
Cast in the usual light cream resin there are many very fine and delicate parts as well as the larger turret shell, barrel and storage boxes all with the same high level of details. The casting pour points have a very small footprint on the parts and this makes cleanup easier but due to the finesse of the parts care is needed when removing some of the casting points.
The level of detail and expertise in resin casting is typified by the two
turret hatches that have exquisite details on both sides of the hatches but
in particular have the grab handles mounded integrally and are perfectly
formed without any excess resin film to clean up and are as good as any wire
handles. The image below is as the parts came out of the plastic bag, no
additional cleanup has been done apart from removing the casting point on
the left hand image.
The turret has many fine details included in the casting such as the four lifting hooks, wiring channels for the “Tucha” smoke grenades, coaxial MG as well as superbly done weld seams around the Commander’s hatch coaming and rear turret with small casting numbers on the coaming in front of the Commander’s cupola. As a bonus there are also additional lifting hooks and tie downs in case these details are broken or not fully cast on the turret, that really is a nice touch by Blast Models but as all the fittings were perfectly cast on my sample these extras can be used on other projects.
There are some alternate parts included to build different turret versions such as the large dazzler on Iraqi T-72s, the external extinguisher systems found on the Finnish turret as well as alternate sight fittings for the Russian or Czech version so you must decide which version you plan to build before starting construction.
The other larger parts are the two storage boxes with details on all sides, the barrel cleaning rod container and spare 12.7mm MG ammo boxes plus an exquisite weather shield for the Commander’s cupola.
And now to the Commander’s cupola and Loader’s hatch which just ooze details. The Commander’s cupola has the outer ring separate from the inner cupola for excellent detail definition with the details inside and out of the central cupola are just superb while the details on each side of the hatches are equally impressive; see the images below as these speak more than I can describe.
The “Tucha” smoke grenades around the lower turret faces are well detailed including details on the base of each canister but could be tricky to locate at the correct angle, this is mentioned in the instructions so take care when fitting these.
The 12.7mm MG is almost a kit in itself with 12 parts making up the assembly; these include the excellent detail on the gun to the ammo box, spent shell container and many smaller handles and fittings. The instructions give you six photos from different angles to show precisely the location of the parts and this does make a tricky job a lot easier, but take care with the assembled gun as it is very delicate.
Other fittings include the searchlights on the turret front which include delicate mountings as well as the small pericope covers and other fittings.
The Instructions:
These are in the form of photos of the assembled turret from different
angles as well as close up shots of the Commander’s cupola and
Loader’s hatch, smoke grenades, MG assembly and turret roof to
show the location of these parts and overall there shouldn’t be
too many problems in locating the parts as the more intricate assemblies
have shots from different angles to give a good perspective.
Conclusion:
This is simply a stunning update set with exquisite details everywhere and
the fit of the parts as good as you will see on any Tamiya kit,
I simply can’t
recommend this turret highly enough if you want to build the A/M1 version
of the T-72 and the alternate parts add further to it's appeal.
Page created 29 May 2004