Post by iking on Nov 23, 2012 1:17:17 GMT -5
This is a Trumpeter 1/35 scale rendition of Soviet Army T-64 model 1972 main battle tank.
Its a great kit, with crisp detail and good quality materials as this is a multimedia kit containing plastic and photoetched parts. There are even some parts made from rubbery plastic type like the gun mantlet, rear mud guards and the unditching log. Don't worry, they still work with plastic cement.
Details are sharp and precise (though Im not a rivet counter) as they dont look toyish and basic which are enough for me.
IMHO, what I like the most is how Trumpeter balanced the PE parts against the plastic parts. most of the items that needs to have a PE derivative are there except for the GILL armour which I think Voyager already sells.
The tracks are fine but I think they should have maintained the individual track setting instead of the link and length type as they didnt quite fit right and I need to trim a track link in half to accomodate the full loop on each side.
The kit is built out of the box and presented on the standard russian green paint scheme with weathering and worn effects. Paints used are Tamiya acrylics and enamels while the oils and pigments (both Vallejo and Mig) were used for the weathering.
As russian green are elusive, I just used my liberty plus some reference pictures to mix my own brew of the russian green using Tamiya paints Flat White, Flat Yellow and Flat Green.
For the finish, I am depicting a Cold War-era tank so I just simulated chippings and no battle damage were modified as these were not used in combat during the Cold War.
The chippings were done using the sponge technique which Miguel Jimenez are using.
You might notice that there is still a seam on the unditching beam which i plan to remedy sometime later.
Overall the kit is a nice addition to soviet collectors and also to non-soviet ones as the kit is made with great precision and detail.
Meanwhile, the crews are made from the DML Soviet Tank Crew kit which i have in my stash for a long time.
I painted them on th standard black tanker's suit reminiscent of the Cold War. The figures are not permantly attached.
Paints for the figures are Vallejo acrylics.
Many thanks to Trumpeter for producing an alternative T-64 kit aside from the old-school Skif kits.
There are still a lot of spares on the kit so this shows that many more T-64 variants are up on Trumpeter's sleeve.
A bit of history.
The T-64 is a soviet main battle tank that was designed using revolutionary innovations in soviet engineering such as the famed autoloader. The tank was deemed a decade ahead of its time due to the complexity and the intricacy of its design and layout.
With the introduction of the autoloader, the crew were reduced into 3.
However, given the technical advances, breakdowns were constant in a way that huge numbers of civilian mechanics were employed by the soviet army on a semi-permanent basis inside the army bases until the teething problems were resolved.
The T-64 remained only on soviet service and were never exported to the soviet client states even to the most dedicated warsaw pact countries. Most of the units were stationed in East Germany bordering the NATO countries as these are considered category 1 units.
Even after the collapse of the USSR, the remaining T-64 were passed on mainly to the Ukrainian republic which still maintained the T-64 inside the borders of the former Soviet Union.
The basic layout and design of the T-64 will eventually give birth to the T-80 series tanks while the mass-produced, cost effective T-72 tank will pave the way for the T-90.
*resource: Voenno Delo channel on youtube
Voennoe Delo: T-64. History of pure Soviet tank which was way ahead of its time (English Subs)
Here are the pictures:
Critique and suggestions fire away!
cheers guys!
iking
Its a great kit, with crisp detail and good quality materials as this is a multimedia kit containing plastic and photoetched parts. There are even some parts made from rubbery plastic type like the gun mantlet, rear mud guards and the unditching log. Don't worry, they still work with plastic cement.
Details are sharp and precise (though Im not a rivet counter) as they dont look toyish and basic which are enough for me.
IMHO, what I like the most is how Trumpeter balanced the PE parts against the plastic parts. most of the items that needs to have a PE derivative are there except for the GILL armour which I think Voyager already sells.
The tracks are fine but I think they should have maintained the individual track setting instead of the link and length type as they didnt quite fit right and I need to trim a track link in half to accomodate the full loop on each side.
The kit is built out of the box and presented on the standard russian green paint scheme with weathering and worn effects. Paints used are Tamiya acrylics and enamels while the oils and pigments (both Vallejo and Mig) were used for the weathering.
As russian green are elusive, I just used my liberty plus some reference pictures to mix my own brew of the russian green using Tamiya paints Flat White, Flat Yellow and Flat Green.
For the finish, I am depicting a Cold War-era tank so I just simulated chippings and no battle damage were modified as these were not used in combat during the Cold War.
The chippings were done using the sponge technique which Miguel Jimenez are using.
You might notice that there is still a seam on the unditching beam which i plan to remedy sometime later.
Overall the kit is a nice addition to soviet collectors and also to non-soviet ones as the kit is made with great precision and detail.
Meanwhile, the crews are made from the DML Soviet Tank Crew kit which i have in my stash for a long time.
I painted them on th standard black tanker's suit reminiscent of the Cold War. The figures are not permantly attached.
Paints for the figures are Vallejo acrylics.
Many thanks to Trumpeter for producing an alternative T-64 kit aside from the old-school Skif kits.
There are still a lot of spares on the kit so this shows that many more T-64 variants are up on Trumpeter's sleeve.
A bit of history.
The T-64 is a soviet main battle tank that was designed using revolutionary innovations in soviet engineering such as the famed autoloader. The tank was deemed a decade ahead of its time due to the complexity and the intricacy of its design and layout.
With the introduction of the autoloader, the crew were reduced into 3.
However, given the technical advances, breakdowns were constant in a way that huge numbers of civilian mechanics were employed by the soviet army on a semi-permanent basis inside the army bases until the teething problems were resolved.
The T-64 remained only on soviet service and were never exported to the soviet client states even to the most dedicated warsaw pact countries. Most of the units were stationed in East Germany bordering the NATO countries as these are considered category 1 units.
Even after the collapse of the USSR, the remaining T-64 were passed on mainly to the Ukrainian republic which still maintained the T-64 inside the borders of the former Soviet Union.
The basic layout and design of the T-64 will eventually give birth to the T-80 series tanks while the mass-produced, cost effective T-72 tank will pave the way for the T-90.
*resource: Voenno Delo channel on youtube
Voennoe Delo: T-64. History of pure Soviet tank which was way ahead of its time (English Subs)
Here are the pictures:
Critique and suggestions fire away!
cheers guys!
iking
