Z (32) T-80U (Russia)

The T-80U ("U" for uluchsheniye meaning "improvement) appeared in 1985 as a development of the basic T-80 gas turbine equipped Soviet tank from the end of the 70's. It was equipped with a more powerful GTD-1250 gas turbine that can use jet fuels, diesel and low-octane gasoline and had a good dynamic stability, service life and reliability. It also received a 2A46 fire control system in a new turret and was protected by Kontakt-5 second generation explosive reactive armour. In 1995, the Buran thermal imaging sight was installed in place of the Luna IR.

One of my favorite Soviet/Russian tank, I tried for a long time to get the T-80U kit from Modelcollect and, when I finally got it, I had to wait a long time before finding the time to tackle it. This kit is certainly a very good base but leaves the door open to improvements and modifications. I finally improved the rear generator and the fuel arrival, remade the wiring on the turret, replaced the Luna projector by a thermal system, added the supports for the external machine gun, replaced the awful NSVT from the kit by 2 copies from Best Resins, replaced the auxiliary tanks and the smoke dischargers by those from SG-Modelling, added the towing cables and their ties. I am very satisfied with the result and the 3 tones camo painting tired by a winter in the field.

Z T-90A little photo comparison

A little photo comparison between the T-90A from ModelCollect and the one from Camel Model.

The details are definitely more precise and finely rendered on the Camel Model kit which is certainly the most accurate currently at this scale. The ModelCollect kit requires a lot more work but also offers more easily the possibility of integrating modifications or combat damage... and that's also the fun of modelism 😉

Z (31) T-90A (Russia)

For the background about the T-90A  I refer you to my publication Z(28) from last October.

This is the kit from ModelCollect and, although not as accurate and full of details as the Camel Model one, it leaves room for lots of improvement work an I really enjoyed it. I added a KMT-6 mine clearance system from the Revell T-55 A/AM kit, a "cope cage" from, like the few accessories, from Scale23, and a figurine from China found on Ebay. I must say that the result suits me perfectly.

Some photos without the cope cage