Tamiya Russian Army Tank T-72M1 Plastic Model Kit, 1/35 Scale

Tamiya Russian Army Tank T-72M1 Plastic Model Kit, 1/35 Scale

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 T-64 tank was produced to replace the Soviets T-62 main battle tank. The T-64 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 T-72 tank. The T-72, 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, armor-piercing ammunition. The power plant is a type V-46, V-12 cylinder, multi-fuel engine. The standard production designated T-72 M1 uses reinforced frontal armor and incorporates a laser range finder. This versatile tank, which began service a 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 aging T-64, the T-72 series continued to be the centerpiece of the Russian armed forces.