Modelling the T-72 family by Simon Barnes
   

Modeling the Family

Mods that need to be made to the Revell/ACE kits for the various versions of the T-72.

A note on the fuel barrels

A quick note on the Fuel barrels, the Czechs devised a system for allowing the rear fuel drums to be fed directly into the vehicle fuel system by means of hoses linking each fuel barrel to the rear right hand fuel pannier above the tracks, this system was not adopted by the Russians and so it would be wrong to model any early Russian T-72 with this system, the reason being that the Russians didn't invent it and so disregarded it. However they are now getting over the fact that it was not invented by them and have started to use the system on their own vehicles, so it is worth noting when modeling a vehicle from a specific period in time, the system has so far appeared on the T-90 and Rogatka tanks but it is also possible that it has been retro-fitted to other vehicles.

T-72 (Russian manufacture). As Carried out in this article,

  1. Remove extra armoured plate to the Glacis (for this the Revell kit is the easiest option)
  2. Reshape turret with the correct angles to the front
  3. Reshape the turret rear overhang
  4. Build new RHS optical port
  5. 8 engineering attachment points on the lower hull
  6. Alter engineering attachment points to the upper Glacis
  7. Add 4 bullet deflectors behind the V splash vane and in front of the Driver
  8. Make new small side skirts
  9. Rest of the kit as per Instructions 8 spoked wheel

T-72

With the Russians constantly upgrading their tanks at various refurbishments, the final production version of the T-72 had extra armour added to the turret front, but not in the same way as the T-72A production .

T-72 final production

It is also possible to see the earlier T-72 fitted with ERA bricks

T-72 ERA

T-72 (Czech/Polish Manufacture)

  1. As above, the engineering attachment points on the lower hull and glacis are correct in the kit for this version

T-72 A (Russian manufacture)

  1. Add engineering attachment points to the lower hull (8)
  2. Correct attachment points to the Glacis
  3. Reshape the turret front, the kit needs adding to to build up the extra armour
  4. Reshape the rear turret overhang
  5. The rest of the kit can be built as per instructions 8 spoked wheel although 6 can be used on later vehicles

Early production vehicles lacked the smoke mortars around the front of the turret. Later production vehicles also had a layer of the kovriki armour added to the roof

T-72A Late production

T-72 A (Czech/Polish Manufacture) (T-72 M)

  1. Remove the added armour plate to the Glacis as for the T-72
  2. The attachment points are correct
  3. Reshape the turret front as for the T-72
  4. Reshape the turret rear overhang
  5. The rest of the kit can be built as per instructions 8 spoked wheel although 6 can be used on later vehicle
  6. Early vehicles still used the Gill armour and did not have the smoke grenade dischargers which were a later addition

T-72M

T-72 A (Czech/Polish Manufacture) (T-72 M1)

  1. Here the Czech/Polish vehicles were bought up to the Russian T-72 A standard but still retained the same attachment points as before

T-72 A w/ERA

The T-72A has been fitted with the older brick style ERA, here the layout is different to the T-72B with it more resembling the T-80BV with the distinctive wedge shape around the front of the turret. It is not impossible to find the same layout on the earlier T-72 Mw the co-incidental rangefinder

T-72AV

T-72 B

  1. Add the extra armour to the front of the turret. The ACE T-72B ERA, T-90 turret can be used as they have the extra armour although in my opinion they still need some work.
  2. Hull can be built as per Instructions
  3. Hull attachment points need to be changed to Russian Pattern
  4. ERA version can be built from ACE kit or by using the ERA bricks from Revell T-80 BV kit, although the layout is different and it will take more than one kit to do a complete ERA fitting for the T-72B. I have not yet seen the ACE ERA blocks and as such can not remark on their appearance.

T-72B

T-72B ERA

T-72 BM

  1. The same as above for the turret
  2. New shaped front fenders, can be got from the ACE T-90 or the TOS-1 Kits
  3. New Kontakt 5 ERA package similar to the T-90 in layout, but minus the Shtora defence suite.
  4. New larger gunners sight in front of the gunners hatch, it has been reported that this larger sight is used in conjunction with the Reflex AT Missile.
  5. Vehicles in Chechnya also mounted a system of bar armour around the turret rear and around the rear half of the hull.

T-72BM

T-72M1M

This is a further development of the T-72 mounting the newer Bars defence suite, it can be identified by the turret layout and the radar receiver mounted on the roof.

T-72M1M

Latest Version

The Russians have again upgraded the T-72B,Rogatka, altering the turret stowage layout as well as other internal changes, this vehicle also uses a different armour package to the T-72B and T-90, instead of the Kontakt 5 ERA plates the Rogatka uses the "Relikt" ERA armour which on closer inspection has a slightly different mounting than the T-72B and the T-90.The most noticeable is the addition of the bar armour around the rear half of the vehicle. The Rogatka also has the Agava thermal sight and the Sosna-U combination sight. It also has an auxiliary GTA-18 turbine generator mounted just behind the exhaust, which has dramatically altered the shape on this portion of the vehicle.

T-72 Rogatka

T-90

This is still a T-72 at heart, developed from the BM version it mounts the same Kontakt 5 ERA plus the Shtora defence suite. Early versions were the BM with shtora, later versions had further modifications to the turret and a new commander cupola mounting a remote controlled AA MG new commanders and loaders hatch and using the Track from the T-80. The latest version has an all new welded turret, which is difficult to see under the ERA but can be recognised by the flat turret sides in front of the smoke dischargers.

  1. ACE Make a early T-90 with the remote MG, (although this includes the larger Ammunition boxes and ejected shell catcher, the kit doesn't include the remote sights associated with the remote controlled gun.) new fenders and T-72 tracks.
  2. Unfortunately no conversion yet exists for the welded turret,
  3. The Revell T-80 Track need a lot of work to bring it up to standard, but it is the closest representation in this scale.

T-90

T-90 welded turret

 

BMP-T

A radical modification of the T-72 chassis, also known as the TSV (Tank Support Vehicle) this is not an APC but what in essence is an Urban Fighting Vehicle, mounting twin 30mm guns (the same as used on the BMP-2) 2 30mm grenade launchers and 4 Missiles, it has been suggested that these are AT missiles but instead of mounting a AT warhead they mount a Thermobaric warhead which can be used with devastating results in the urban environment against dug in troops.

BMP-T/TSV

T-72 APC

This is a heavy APC based on the T-72 chassis, similar in layout to the BTR-T based on the T-55, it mounts only a HMG and smoke mortars.

T-72 APC

BREM

A Recovery vehicle based on the T-72m mounts a crane on the LHS. ACE had planned to release this version of the T-72 but it seems to have disappeared from their lists.

BREM

There are various other variants of the T-72 chassis, a Bridgelayer as well as several dedicated engineer vehicles used for obstacle removal.

 

Other T-72 models

 

Ukraine

T-72 Banan (Banana)

This uses the T-72 B hull and turret with a different ERA layout to the Russian Bricks it also uses the T-64 B/T-80 UD engine which can be sourced from the Galaxy T-80 kit should you be able to get hold of one.

T-72 AG

The same as the T-72 Banan but has the later Kontakt 5 ERA panels, it also has a new commander cupola mounting a remote controlled AA MG. Also has a new turret stowage layout and side skirts similar to the T-80UD/UM vehicles.

T-72AG

T-72 MP

A further modification of the T-72 AG with a new raised commander cupola to incorporate the French SAGEM stabilised sight.

T-72MP

T-72 120

The ukrainians have tried to market the T-72 fitted with a NATO 120mm gun, Because the 120mm Ammo is one piece, this has meant moving the Autoloader to the back of the Turret, this has totally changed the look of the turret because of he huge one piece ammunition.

T-72 120mm

Poland

PT-91 Tawdy

This is a Polish produced T-72A fitted with a Polish produced ERA package using smaller square bricks than the Russian Brick shape. The ERA layout has been seen in two different patterns, the first pattern had the squares following the contours of the turret. The second style has the squares mounted in flat panels to the turret front.

PT-91

Slovakia

T-72M2 Moderna

This is the T-72A mounting the locally produced Dyna ERA packages, it also incorporates various fire control upgrades with new commander and gunners sights made by SABCA of Belgium. The most unusual feature of these tanks are the twin mounted 20mm cannon mounted each side of the turret at the rear intended for Air defence but could also be used against soft skin targets saving precious Tank rounds. Later models are fitted with just 1 2A42 30mm cannon (as fitted to the BMP-2/BMD-2).

Moderna

Czech Republic

T-72M4

This is a T-72A mounting the same DYNA ERA as the M2 version, The Czech vehicle doesn't have the externally mounted 20mm/30mm cannons of the M2. The M4 also has various sights and electronic fire control upgrades from various sources, of note is the larges panoramic sight just in front of the commanders cupola and the new large gunners sight, The M 4 also has a Magnetic Mine neutralization devices fitted to the glacis. Another major change is the engine deck, the M4 mounts a new 1,000 HP engine developed by the UK firm Perkins, this has changed the louver layout of the rear deck, as yet I have not seen a clear picture of it.

T-72M4

Serbia

M-84

This is the Serbian version of the russian T-72 A and includes a new fire control package of which the gunners sight and the wind sensor are the main external differences.

M-84

Croatia

M-84A4

Croatia also produced the M-84, after the split of Yugoslavia Croatia went on to develop the M-84, using locally manufactured parts, the Hull and turret are basically the same as the M-84 but with new stowage arrangement and smoke grenade layout, the A4 also has locally designed wheels which in essence are similar to the T-55 wheels but without the large holes between the spokes.

M-95 Degman

The Croatian further developed the M-84 into the M-95 due to problems with casting the large turret a new welded turret was designed, although the hull is still the M-84 at heart.

 

India

India also produces its' own T-72s' fitted with and without ERA, the vehicle is basically the T-72A but is fitted with the front fenders of the T-72BM, it also has a new Thermal sight fitted in front of the gunners hatch and a new Auxiliary exhaust port fitted on the RHS of the hull behind the turret extending over the fuel cells.

Note

A lot of countries have now started to fit rubber padded tracks to their tanks, these are similar to the tracks used by the Leopard, by contrast the Russians seem to be using the all steel T-80 style tracks for their tanks.

 

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