Trumpeter’s BTR-80 in 1/72nd Scale By Will Perry

Introduction

The BTR-80 is a contemporary Russian armored personnel carrier. It can carry up to ten equipped soldiers and provide some light fire support along the way, thanks to its turreted 14.5mm and 7.62mm machine guns. With eight powered wheels and amphibious capabilities, this is a most capable and flexible way to transport troops to and around the battlefield. The vehicle has been in Russian service since the late 80’s and has been exported to 28 countries around the globe: in total, over five hundred BTR-80s have been produced.

For such a prolific vehicle, there doesn’t seem to be that much reference material around. Wikipedia references one old Concord title and there are a couple of Russian language monographs. There are a few short articles scattered about the web for example this has several jumps to useful photos, and this contains nice photos of a Romanian example used in the KFOR peace-keeping force. A Google image search will produce more interesting images, including a couple of the Macedonian vehicle that I modeled. Further, some excellent detail shots can be found here.

The Kit

Trumpeter’s small scale armor offerings have continually played second fiddle to Dragon’s. Trumpeter kits typically have fewer parts, less & softer detail, and a higher price tag. While Dragon boxes feature excellent artwork, Trumpeter’s usually show a photo of mediocre model. The BTR-80 kit stays with the Trumpeter formula, though there is no Dragon competition for this subject. The kit contains 67 parts, well molded in medium gray plastic. I started snipping parts right after the shrink-wrap came off, so the part scans shown here are from the Trumpeter website. The kit had a few ejection pin marks–inside the wheels (hardly visible) and on the back of the turret grenade rack (gotta’ deal with this one). All hatches are molded closed and pioneer tools are molded onto the hull in low relief. The vehicle’s large splash shield is also molded on the top of the hull–this would look much better had it been molded as a separate piece. The tires are supplied in a black rubbery material. The kit’s instructions use crisp line art for the assembly section and toned illustrations for the finishing section. Color callouts refer to Gunze Sangyo paint numbers. The kit’s small decal sheet provides for one Russian vehicle.

The Build

The kit’s plastic was a bit on the soft side, sometimes requiring a bit more attention when cutting or scraping. The hull of the kit is just two parts, and it assembled with no surprises. There is a noticeable seam where the back of the hull joins the sides and top; I chose to ignore it–the strictly accurate folks will fill it. The kit includes five fragile grab rails for the hull. I broke the one on the top of the hull and it took only a couple of minutes to fabricate a substitute from copper wire. All of the finicky details that attach to the hull use triangular attachment plates that fit into slots on the hull. As I discovered, it’s easy to glue on a handrail upside down. The clumsy attachment points leave seams that are quite noticeable, and I decided to fill them all in–a finicky and tiresome chore that was the least fun part of the project. Trumpeter’s attachment design resulted in a sturdy join but I prefer the traditional peg and hole for a cleaner appearance. Trumpeter ignored a number of small handrails scattered around the vehicle and so did I. Those seeking this detail should find it with some copper wire and a drill. The kit’s small turret assembled easily and the machine guns elevates smoothly. The top of the hull also received the only extra bit of detail added by this modeler–an antenna mount scrounged from an ancient Airfix Churchill.

The suspension features reasonable detail and it assembles easily into a sturdy structure. The only complaint here is that the diameter of the front four axles is a bit too big and the back four are a bit too small. There are many quibbles about the wheels, however. I found the tires to be fragile–one of mine split when mounted, so I removed a bit of “rubber” from all the wheels’ inside diameters. Other issues concern the wheels’ appearance. Compared to photos and drawings, the wheels just aint right–specifically, the tires are much too skinny; poorly proportioned (wheels too big, tires too small); they have hubcaps (many vehicles in service don’t); and, no detail on the inside of the wheels.

The Tankograd company has noticed these deficiencies as well, and they offer resin wheel sets (with hubcaps or not) that address all of the problems. This upgrade costs more than the kit itself, and I could not locate any source in the US. The Internet will provide.

Russian armor is often painted some flavor of olive green, though there is a wide range of variation in the color. I chose a Floquil lacquer - Soviet Khaki (#303361–FS 595 #34088) and it looks right. A layer of Glosscote made a nice surface for decals. I chose a Macedonian vehicle from Bison Decals magnificent Balkan Armour sheet #72008. This sheet provides markings for 34 vehicles, many of which are far more colorful than a typical armor scheme. The decals were well printed, thin, tough, and a joy to use. Another layer of Glosscote sealed the decals, followed by a brown/gray wash and some light olive drab highlighting. Some Dullcote dulled it all down and sealed it all up. A little dust and mud, and the model was done.

Conclusion

For the most part, this is a well designed and well produced kit. Even with the funky wheels it looks like the hulking beast it is supposed to depict. Other than a few finicky details, the assembly of the kit was easy, quick and fun. The colorful Bison decals were icing on the cake. These factors added up to a fast, easy and very fun project.