Tamiya 1/35 T-72M1 MBT

The Tamiya 1/35 T72M1 Tank from our 1/35 scale military vehicle model kits range range accurately recreates the real-life Soviet main battle tank that entered service during the Cold War. This plastic model kit requires paint and glue to complete.

Modern Russian tanks are well known for superb mobility and a distinctive, low silhouette, offering as small a target as possible on the battlefield. In the late 1960’s, the highly sophisticated T64 tank was produced to replace the Soviets T62 main battle tank. The T64 had the advanced feature of automatic cannon loading, that eliminated the requirement for a loader, reducing the crew from four men to three. The T-64 tank; however, proved to be unreliable due to its complicated mechanics, and this led to the development of the T72 tank. The T72, despite its close external resemblance to the T-64, was created in an attempt to simplify the overall design; improve its maintenance capability; and to also enhance productivity. The refined type 2A46 125mm gun with its auto-loading system is capable of firing high explosive or hollow-charge, armour-piercing ammunition. The powerplant is a type V-46, V-12 cylinder, multi-fuel engine. The standard production designated T72M1 uses reinforced frontal armour and incorporates a laser range finder. This versatile tank, which began service at the beginning of the 1970s has been in production for many years, and had been license produced in many of the Warsaw Pact countries. Even during the 1980’s when a new T80 main battle tank was introduced to replace the ageing T-64, the T-72 series continued to be the centerpiece of the Russian armed forces. On September 7th 1945, the allied nations were staggered by Russia’s disclosure of their JS-3 heavy tank at a victory parade in Berlin. Although coded a “JS” (Josef Stalin) tank, it had a totally different appearance from its preceding models. The one-piece cast turret had a simple flattened hemispherical shape. The maximum thickness of the turret armour reached 250mm. The front hull was constructed by welding three 120mm thick armour plates, forming a shape like a ship’s bow. The main armament used the same L/43 122mm gun as the JS-2. The 520 horsepower diesel engine provided 40km/h of maximum speed. With the concerted effort of the talented Russian tank engineers such as N. L. Jukhov and Z. A. Kotin, the prototype was completed in October 1944 and the mass production began in the following year. There have been a lot of controversy concerning whether or not the JS-3 saw any fighting during the Berlin campaign. At least one regiment was equipped with the JS-3 by then, but it’s still uncertain if they were committed to the actual fighting. Other sources claim that it was first deployed in combat against the Japanese in Manchuria in August 1945. Incorporating several modifications, its production was continued until 1951 and about 1,800 JS-3’s were produced. Its simple and effective turret and hull configuration deeply influenced not only the following Russian tanks, but also fighting vehicles of the western nations.

Manufacturer: Tamiya
Model: 35160 Modern Russian T72M1 Tank
Scale: 1/35