{"id":917,"date":"2013-06-27T16:14:09","date_gmt":"2013-06-27T20:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/njipms.org\/?page_id=917"},"modified":"2013-06-27T16:14:09","modified_gmt":"2013-06-27T20:14:09","slug":"dml-t-80-u-smt-1989-kit-3512","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/njipms.org\/?page_id=917","title":{"rendered":"DML T-80 U (SMT 1989) KIT #3512"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"t80\"<\/a>Kit Review by Ken Ekelund<\/p>\n

Someone once said to me that Soviet Armor should be built two ways: Fresh from the factory, or burned out . I disagree with this statement , So when DML came out with a model of the T-80 U, Russia\u2019s premiere battle tank in 1\/35th scale, I felt that now was the time to end this practice.<\/p>\n

The overall layout of the T-80 is similar to that of the T-64 series with the driver\u2019s compartment at the front, two-man turret in the center and engine and transmission at the rear. The T-80 uses the same horizontal ammunition system as the T-72 as well as the same 125mm 2A46 smooth-bore gun. It can fire either the At-8 “Songster” ATGW or 125mm ammunition . A 7.62mm PKT machine gun is mounted coaxially to the right of the main gun and a 12.7mm NSV machine gun is mounted on the commander’s cupola.<\/p>\n

Standard equipment includes snorkels for deep fording operations, an NBC protection system, night vision equipment for all three crew members, unditching beam, a laser warning device, laser designators or precision-guided munitions fitted with laser guiding devices. The T-80 U can be fitted with various types of defensive aid systems such as the Kazt (Arena) Tank Active Defense system and Reactive armor blocks as with the T-80BV.<\/p>\n

THE KIT<\/p>\n

As with all DML kits it is molded in a light gray plastic, a set of multilink tracks are included as well as a decal sheet with many options to model different vehicles.<\/p>\n

CONSTRUCTION<\/p>\n

The kit went together rather smoothly while following the detailed instruction sheet. A few problems arose while fitting the upper and lower chassis but nothing a little sanding or a strategically placed camo netting or tarp can\u2019t fix. The rear hull mounted gas tanks are a chore to set into position but a little time and patience can fix that.<\/p>\n

The 12.7mm gun mounted on the commanders cupola is a model in itself requiring a modeling session all it\u2019s own but when finished it looks great.<\/p>\n

ADD-ONS<\/p>\n

While the detail on the kit is excellent it is missing a few small extras that can make a real difference for instance : On the real tank there is a lens cover over the turret mounted searchlight – not included in the kit I made one out of a paper clip and lead foil with great results. Also a cable bundle located on the side of the turret by the loaders\u2019 hatch absent on the kit can be recreated by a small section of heated styrene rod and lead foil. Thirdly the gun mantlet is covered by a thick leather type material on the real tank ,this can be copied by using tissue and diluted white glue.<\/p>\n

PAINTING AND MARKINGS<\/p>\n

I painted my T-80U in the standard camo scheme adopted in 1989 for all Soviet vehicles using Polly S colors, Soviet Sand ,Dark Green ,and Midnight Black. The tracks were painted Black then washed with a liberal amount of Rust and highlighted with Burnt Umber . I then dry brushed the entire tank with a combination of Tamiya Buff and Dark Green with excellent results.<\/p>\n

The Markings on my vehicle represent a tank from the 4th Guards Katemirovets Division based in Naro-Fominsk outside of Moscow as it would have appeared as it rolled into Moscow during the failed Communist Coup attempt in August 1991.<\/p>\n

MISCELLANEOUS<\/p>\n

I draped a moist tissue over the 12.7 NSV gun mount to represent a heavy tarp and laid camo netting across the turret mounted snorkel because Russian tanks traditionally travel light so you won\u2019t find many packs and gear attached to the outside.<\/p>\n

CONCLUSION<\/p>\n

The T-80 U represents the culmination of Soviet Armored Technology to date and is compared to be at an even footing with it\u2019s American counterpart ( M1A2) . Perhaps the T80-U will best be remembered for it\u2019s role in the failed Communist coup much as the T-34 tanks which took part in the battle for Berlin in 1945.<\/p>\n

To conclude in the words of Tom Clancy “It is wise to know the ways of one\u2019s adversaries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kit Review by Ken Ekelund Someone once said to me that Soviet Armor should be built two ways: Fresh from the factory, or burned out . I disagree with this statement , So when DML came out with a model … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":422,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-917","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P3mIjh-eN","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/njipms.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/njipms.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/njipms.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/njipms.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/njipms.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=917"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/njipms.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":919,"href":"http:\/\/njipms.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/917\/revisions\/919"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/njipms.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/njipms.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}