1:35 PLA ZTZ96 MBT

The real subject

The ZTZ-96 is a main battle tank of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and in numbers it forms the backbone of its armored units. It follows on from an older Chinese line of development, has a conventional layout with the turret in the middle of the hull and the engine at the rear, and in later forms it was given changes to its armor and equipment. In training and on parades it is among the most frequently seen Chinese equipment.

What the kit is

A plastic kit in 1:35 scale, supplied unassembled and unpainted. The parts are held on sprues, and the builder cuts them off, cleans them up, glues them and paints them according to the enclosed instructions. A scale of 1:35 gives plenty of room for working up the surface of the hull, the turret and the running gear.

Building and painting tips

Try the running gear dry before gluing, so that the wheels sit in one plane and the track runs without rippling. Clean the barrel up along its whole length and check that it points straight once fitted. Leave the small grab handles, eyes and headlights until the end of the build, so that they are not broken off while the model is handled. Let the base finish cure properly, and only then bring out the shadows around the hatches and the mechanisms, lighten the horizontal surfaces and dust the lower hull and the running gear.

Who it is for

The set suits collectors of present-day armored equipment who want to add Asian tanks to their collection, and builders of dioramas of a training setting. Take the paint list and the markings offered from the instructions. Paints, glue, filler and other materials are not part of the delivery, unless stated otherwise.