Zvezda 1/35 BTR-80A
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BTR-80A
As documented in the kit instructions,
the BTR-80A is a further development of Russia's basic 8-wheeled armored
car. It has an improved turret allowing it to take on enemy helicopters.
Enhancements include an infrared night fighting system able to hit its
targets up to 900m away.
The Kit
 The
box art gives you an idea of how
to paint and decal your BTR-80A. Inside the box you will find six part
sprues molded in olive drab styrene. Visual
inspection shows that there is some flash. The injector pin marks are
on the inside surface of parts but are on smaller parts requiring some
cleanup. Part detail is average but to scale. Also included in the kit
are 8 vinyl tires, decal sheet and
a clear acetate sheet. The 6-page instruction sheet is very well
illustrated without  needing
any translation. Unfortunately there is no numbered parts location diagram
as with some kits.
Assembly begins with the upper
hull assembly in steps 1 - 5. The upper hull has the option of leaving
all hatchs open which is nice if you would like to populate the BTR-80A
with a full crew. The grab handles are very thin but due to the flash
you would be better off using brass wire instead. During this assembly
you will use  the
clear acetate sheet for windshield glass. Don't use super glue as this
will fog the acetate. I prefer to use white glue. After the
upper hull is finished, steps 6 - 14 begin the lower hull assembly.
As with most multiple wheeled kits the suspension
assembly is by far the most complicated
and time consuming. Be careful that your suspension is level on
all arms otherwise when you are finished
some of the tires may not touch the
ground. It may involve quite a bit of test fitting as you assemble. Speaking
of the tires,  these
are nicely molded in a black vinyl. The tread pattern is very
pronounced and would really benefit
from a good dry brushing with oil
paints. In steps 15 - 23 you will assemble
the gun turret. The turret is pretty much straight forward. Finally, the
painting and marking of the BTR-80A is done. There is a Model Master color
reference to use when painting the
camo-scheme for this model. You can
choose between three vehicle markings.
The decal quality is excellent in that the film is very thin and the
printing of the
markings are fine. Positioning
of the decals should be easy due
to the BTR-80A's flat angular surface.
Conclusion
Even though the BTR-80A is a unique
subject to model the overall quality
of this kit is average. One thing going for
Zvezda is there kits are very reasonably priced. I am
somewhat disappointed  with
the quality of the injection process and the number of injector pin indentations.
The experienced modeler would have to put a little more effort into building
this unique modern armored fighting vehicle. I would like to thank MMD-Squadron
for the review kit.
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