Accurate Armour 1/35
AS-90 Upgrade Sets

The Trumpeter AS-90 kit has a number of problems, and Accurate Armour has released two separate sets to correct models of either of the barrel length guns that ca be built from the kit. I won’t get into the argument about whether the Trumpeter kit is a deliberate copy of Accurate Armour’s resin kit, though I have seen their evidence which is very convincing.

So, what’s in the two upgrades? A060 is for the 39-calibre gun version and A061 for the longer 52-calibre gun. Obviously each includes a corrected gun to deal with Trumpeter’s failure to reproduce the very visible sag of the concertina shroud where the barrel meets the mantlet, and also the appropriate correct travel crutch for the particular gun. AA’s 39-calibre gun is also the correct length, unlike the Trumpeter one. There’s also a very nice white metal muzzle brake, cast in one piece so there’s no nasty interior seam to be eliminated.

There are also a host of replacement parts, either giving the correct sizes and shapes or simply better detailed, as well as parts which Trumpeter doesn’t provide at all. These are common to both sets, so I’ll start with the etched brass fret. On it are proper mesh screens for the turret-top basket, much better than Trumpeter’s plastic mesh, and tie-down straps for it, front and rear mudflaps, engine deck screens, light guards, replacements for some Trumpeter details and the engine deck lifting hooks that Trumpeter forgot. In the ziplock bag with this fret are thin solder to make the cable to the gun radar unit, braided brass tow cable, and both brass and plastic rod for handles, mirror mounts etc.

The larger of two ziplock bags with the resin parts holds the gun barrel and muzzle brake, gun mantlet and mount, the five turret stowage bins, NBC box, smoke mortars, turret hatchways and hatches with interior detail, and hull-rear hatch with interior detail. Also in this bag are some extra goodies for the interior – the shell and charge canister stowage inside the hull either side of the rear door, with the non-slip flooring that goes between them, and the charge stowage that goes in front of the turret side hatch. These will make a tremendous difference to any model with open hatches since the shell and charge stowage is very obvious.

The second bag holds the smaller resin parts, including the gun crutch. Here are side skirts, return rollers, gun radar, spare track properly stowed in its holders, tools, fire extinguishers, the cable reel, machine gun ammo boxes, lifting lugs and a neat GPMG machine gun for the commander’s hatch, as well as quite a few smaller parts that I must admit to not having identified yet. Again, these are either better-detailed than the Trumpeter parts or aren’t in the Trumpeter kit at all.

The instructions are in Accurate Armour’s usual photographic style. Two pages with five photos show you what to leave off, or cut away from, the Trumpeter hull and turret. The next page covers the fitting of the replacement return rollers in their correct location, Trumpeter’s being in the wrong places, and the engine deck screens and lifting lugs. Next comes a page showing the remainder of the front deck fittings including the gun travel cradle and replacement driver’s periscope assembly – also relocated from Trumpeter’s incorrect position. The following page deals with the hull and rear door interior details, rear mud flaps and other hull-rear details. Four more pages show the turret fittings. Although only a few part numbers are called out the whole ensemble is self-explanatory and text notes are given where needed. The only thing not shown is the 52-calibre gun crutch, which is similar enough to the 39-calibre one shown that the lack of a photograph poses no problem.

My overall verdict: excellent and great value for money! All the resin parts are cast without warps and I found very few “air bubbles”. Do note, by the way, that the line of what look like bubbles along the side of the gun’s concertina sleeve are actually its fastenings, not a fault that needs filler. The brass and white metal is exemplary. There are no decals, since they’re in the Trumpeter kit.