The T-72B (Object 184) was a much improved version of the T-72A model. It was accepted into service in 1985, and mass produced from 1988. The tank has received an improved 1A40-1 fire control system, improved composite armor (Super Dolly Parton) on the turret, and extra armor on the front hull. The new main gun (2A46M) was capable of firing 9M119 antitank missiles. The gun was also supplied with a new, improved sight (1K13-49), and a better gun stabilization system. The tank was powered by a new 840hp V-83-1 engine. The smoke dischargers were placed onto the left side of the turret to make room for the reactive armor (ERA) bricks.

These changes have significantly improved the tank: in many ways it is comparable to the T-80U model (although with poorer engine power). It is the last modification of the T-72 line; the next model has received the designation of T-90 (for obvious marketing reasons after the First Gulf War). Earlier models were later brought up to the T-72B levels, and this makes this model one of the most widely used tanks in the world.

Armory has released the earlier T-72B model without the ERA bricks (there are countless variants of the ERA equipped tank, if you want them). It uses the excellent Revell T-72 kit as a base. All of the conversion steps are straightforward, and do not include extensive surgery: the new parts simply replace the plastic ones.

The model comes in a small paper box. It has the photo of a finished T-72B on the cover (with an added commander’s shield, which needs to be ordered separately, as I discovered). The parts are placed in small ziplock bags, and there was no damage during transport. (As opposed to the Revell kit, where the AA machine gun was broken after the mail delivered it…)

The instructions are simple, but not very clear; however there are plenty of reference photos online to help with the assembly.

The parts are cast in dark, somewhat brittle resin. The detail is very fine; Armory has captured the changed shape and texture of the turret, and the composite armor sections very well. The hatches provided have interior detail, but since the turret does not have any (it’s solid resin), I chose to close them.

Some of the flash is actually quite thick, but nothing that you can’t solve with a fine saw. (Please remember that fine resin dust is toxic; use wet cutting and wet sanding techniques.) You do have to be careful though, not to damage the parts themselves while sawing.

The construction is easy as was mentioned previously: after cleanup you simply have to switch the resin parts for the plastic ones. The fit is excellent, and I have not run into any difficulties during construction. As mentioned the commander’s shield is depicted on the boxart photo with the small print that it has to be ordered separately; I think this should have been included with the kit (or the print made larger…) As it was I felt a bit disappointed when I realized that I’d have to pay (and wait) some more to have the complete package.

Painting

As I usually do I used black primer to create a good surface for the paint. I applied some hair-spray to most of the model, as I decided to try doing the chipping this way, instead of painting them on using a fine brush and a sponge.

I’ve used the modern, Russian two color scheme for this build. I used Tamiya Tan for the yellow (as it’ll be darkened, and modulated by subsequent filters), and Tamiya Dark Green mixed with Tan to get the green color. Due to the scale effect, most colors should be lightened anyway, but I noticed it makes less of a contrast between two colors if I mix the lighter into the darker color. The base color was yellow, and added the green using my airbrush free-handed.

The chipping is very discreet; due to the long time it took to get the final paint layers on (about a week, as life and work unfortunately interrupts the modelling sessions), the hairspray did not dissolve very easily. In this case it’s fortunate, since in 1/72 only the largest paint chips would be visible, and I try not to overdo the weathering effects. It’s something worth keeping in mind however. If you want large chips, you have to work fast, and do the chipping phase soon after you applied the chipping fluid/hairspray. The process itself is simple: you dampen the surface with water, wait a bit, and use a toothpick/brush to remove some of the paint.

I wanted to depict a serious flaking of paint on the rubber side-skirts, as they are normally very much battered and abused, so the black rubber readily shows through, but unfortunately, in this case the long waiting time worked against me. It was pretty difficult to remove the paint using water; in fact for the larger scratches I used black paint and a fine brush.

Since we’re talking about the side-skirts: they are amazingly detailed. What irked me about Trumpeter’s 1K17 is that the side-skirts looked like they were made out of armored plates. Many older models have this fault, and for the longest time I did think they were made out of metal. Only in the last couple of years when I had a chance to look at a T-72 in person, watched some videos and reference photos realized that they are, in fact, rubber.

In the next step I added umber and yellowish colored filters; once they were dry, I added a semi-gloss varnish layer, and did some pin washes with the usual black/burned umber mixture.

I tried AK Interactive’s fuel stains product (without diluting). It’s not bad, but it definitely needs thinner, otherwise it looks way too thick.

I’ve used different light earth colored pigments for depicting dust and dried mud on the lower part of the hull. The mud was applied wet (pigments mixed with white spirit), which was rubbed off using a stiff brush (with downwards motions, focusing on the top sections mostly, leaving the pigments undisturbed on the bottom). The “dust” was applied dry, and I did not use anything to fix them in place. (The model will live in a closed box, well protected from probing fingers and dust.) Black pigment was rubbed on the side-skirt close to the exhaust port.

As a finishing touch the edges were treated with the usual graphite pencil to give them some metallic shine, and the tank was mounted on the base of a display box.