HD VIDEO REVIEW
Ref: 03190
Review by Geoff Coughlin (Sep 2013)
Our thanks to Revell for supplying our review sample. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit www.revell.eu or email ukbranch@revell.de
A little bit of inspiration here…
Image courtesy of: Vitaly V. Kuzmin
Check out the ‘flying-firing’ capability at around 3.25 on this incredible footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyBFNil-wpk
Background
The T-90 is currently the most modern Russian Battle Tank. Developed on the basis of the T-72, it has been in production since 1992. The typical low silhouette of Russian tanks reduces the size of the target area. Due to the fully stabilized 125 mm smooth-bore gun, the T-90 can successfully engage enemy combat vehicles at up to 1,000 meters range. The gun can also fire laser-guided missiles.
The T-90 appears in the standard version with a cast turret. The kit also provides the opportunity to configure both the T-90K (Command Tank) and T-90S (Export version, India amongst others) using the additional parts included.
Initial assessment
There are several other reviews of 1:72 Revell armour subjects in Here Now like the Panzer IV, Challenger and M 2 A2 Bradley? These are all really impressive little kits in this scale and this Leopard 2A6/A6M is no different.
Moulding quality is to a high standard with very fine levels of detail across the board. The attached images should speak for themselves and you can decide what you think, especially as armour is probably your area. So I offer a basic insight into this Revell kit that’s widely available and this will be good news to all of you that are interested in armour modelling in this scale.
Watch our SMN HD Video Review
The package
Five sprues moulded in dark green plastic form the basis of the model, a set of instructions, and small decal sheet make up the package.
Initial impressions
One of the first things I note about this new release is that it appears to be a completely new-tool model and that’s always exciting. Mould quality looks good and the level of detail is excellent given the small scale. The hull moulding and overall surface looks very slightly ‘soft’ to me around the edges but that may just be me and my lack of type-specific knowledge, so do check this out in any references that you can access; don’t be put off though, the look and feel of the model is superb.
There’s no flash or excess plastic on any of the parts, so this will help build time greatly.
Other highlights include
The detail on the hull top, track links and one-piece gun barrel – the latter being easy to drill out with a pin vice hand held drill and bit. The crew hatches are designed to be set open or closed and the internal detail in exceptional for 1:72 scale – a real highlight for me.
Another strength is the way the rubberised side skirts are moulded in a slightly irregular way so that you can make them look much more realistic than pure flat surfaces – check out the attached video clips above and you’ll see how these side skirts move and sit on the real tank.
The tracks are broken down into small sections that should allow you to pose them fairly naturally. In fact, if you add the side skirts them much of the track section along the upper run will be invisible, so what’s provided looks to be just fine in 1:72 scale.
Decals
There’s a small sheet with the respective number plates and unit badges for the options contained in the kit. Quality looks fine and colour definition also good.
Versions are:
• T-90 Russian Armed Forces, 2005
• T-90K Russian Armed Forces, 2011
• T-90S Indian Armed Forces, 2004
Instructions
These follow the usual Revell format with Revel colour references, parts and sprue layout diagrams followed by a 41-Stage build (no less) and finishing sequence. The sequence looks to be logical to me but of course you will want to leave off all the small, delicate parts like the aerial until near the end of the build to avoid damage.
To sum up
Well, I really like this little kit, it is well detailed and when you open the box the parts say ‘build me!’ what more can I say?
SMN Quick Summary SMN Star Rating out of 5
| FEATURE | STAR RATING (out of five) |
|---|---|
| Quality of moulding | **** |
| Accuracy | **** |
| Instructions | *** |
| Decals | *** |
| Subject choice | **** |
| Overall | **** |
Geoff C.