T-80 Soviet Light Tank

Ron Garcia
Quick build. Having just completed MiniArt's T-70, which other than the turret is basically the same, I thought about just using the plastic grills. Glad I didn't. The instructions show some sort of filing required to install the side grill. I didn't and it went on fine. It's a tad too wide. The instructions show to put the overhang to the outside edge but I put it going towards the turret. I was able to burnish the slight overhand with no fuss. The rear grill was excellent. The instructions are poor about how to install the cooling fins (?) so I just spaced them out evenly. It was kind of a waste of time because after the grill is installed, they are barely visible. After I painted it, they absolutely were invisible. Oh well. The actual grill fits perfectly over two side PE parts and looks way better compared to the plastic version I used on the T-70. I used most of the other PE parts, but there were some other super tiny PE parts for the stowage bins on the side that I figured weren't worth the trouble. The turret went together without any trouble. It is interesting to see just how high the gun can elevate. The various grab handles located throughout the hull and turret were a bit fussy. Some bent slightly when I removed them from the sprue, but don't you dare try too hard to straighten them. The plastic is brittle! No decals. No part numbers on the sprue were a bit inconvenient. Overall, though, a nice little kit. Recommended if you have a bit of experience with tiny PE parts and individual track links. Optivisor and PE bending tool highly recommended!