japanese futuristic main battle tank model kits from the 80s

The instructions do a nice job of laying out the puzzle. What will take a wee bit more time is adding on the various individual and groups of ERA blocks to the front hull and turret. Once these are in place, the track is assembled with a minimum of fuss.

The suspension arms are molded onto the lower hull, so assembly here is limited to the road wheels, drive sprockets and various fittings. Two additional trees in dark gray styrene contain the track sections. The kit comes on four parts trees molded in olive green styrene containing the upper hull, turret, suspension, wheels, etc., plus the lower hull is molded without the tree.

Zvedza (Russian for 'star') has released their first in the T-80 series as the T-80BV, the turbine-powered MBT with ERA protection. These ERA add-ons are the brick-like devices that sit on key areas of the hull and turret. The T-80BV adds explosive reaction armor (ERA) to its hull for additional protection against high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds. Like the M1 Abrams, the T-80 is turbine-powered, though the T-80U was a follow-on development returning to the diesel engine. It retained the low profile of its predecessors and incorporated a 125mm main gun that could also fire the 'Cobra' guided missile. The T-80 was built upon lessons learned from earlier tank designs. Against the 120mm main guns of US and Israeli tanks, the T-72 was no match. The T-72 provided improved armor protection, though it is understood that the exported versions of the T-72 lacked some of these improvements. In combat however, the earlier Soviet MBTs like the T-55 and T-62 proved vulnerable to the 105mm main guns of US and Israeli tanks. Unlike their western counterparts, the Soviet MBTs were low-profile, making detection more difficult at longer ranges. The Soviet Union is well-known for producing capable main battle tanks (MBT).

Japanese futuristic main battle tank model kits from the 80s