BTR-70 - Soviet ArmoredPersonnel Carrier

Manufacturer: PlanetModels (Kit No. MV 002)

This is an outstanding kitand an excellent choice of subject. Kits of modern Soviethardware are seriously lacking in the small scale armor industry,so this is a welcome addition. The kit is composed of elevenresin parts: the main hull of the vehicle, the turret, the cannonand eight wheels. There is also a fret of 19 photoetched parts,mainly handholds and foot rungs.

At first glance, I hadthought that the detail on the resin parts was flat, andunimpressive, but in retrospect, I think that illusion was due tothe light-colored and somewhat transluscent resin. In fact, thedetail on this kit is top-notch, and after a good wash anddrybrushing, looks outstanding.

The quality of the resinis excellent. It held the detail exceptionally well, and had noair bubbles, or other imperfections. The pour-block for the hullwas attached to the rear face of the hull, and consequently,there was no detail on this surface. After looking at severalphotos, I added two access hatches from sheet styrene to thisrear face, and there were also two brass pieces to attach, whichrepresent a water propulsion unit. Underneath the front lip ofthe vehicle is another perfectly smooth face, so I added anothersmall access hatch and two tow hooks from my spares box.

Construction of the kitwas straight-forward. Glue the cannon to the turret, the turretto the hull and the wheels to their respective axles. There aresix brass foot rungs and six hand holds to add to the sides ofthe hull, and two headlight guards to attach over the threeheadlights, which are molded onto the hull. Also, there were twoprotective frames that had to be folded into shape and glued tothe engine deck around the intake vents.

I must profess myignorance concerning the purpose of the final brass piece, whichis some sort of hinged plate that attaches to the front lip ofthe vehicle. I believe it is meant to block water from splashingup into the driver's viewports while in the water.

There was only one problemthat I encountered during the construction of the kit: the wheelaxles (which are molded onto the hull) are not centered properlywithin their wheel wells. Thus, the wheels do not fit within thewheel wells. I had to cut off the axles, and re-attach them in amore centered position. Although this was a very simple task, Iwonder how that particular flaw got past the design stage of thiskit.

I had some troublefiguring out how the front "splash guard" attached tothe hull. I examined as many photos as I could find of thisvehicle on the 'net, and finally decided on a position, but I'mnot sure if it's correct. The instructions, which were otherwisequite clear, could have been more helpful for this piece.

Alterations and additionsI made to the kit were few. As I mentioned, I added some detailon the rear face of the hull, and some tow hooks. I also added acoaxial machinegun for the turret, three lift rings on the turretmade from wire, and I substituted thin brass rod for thephotoetched hand holds. I thought the photoetch was too2-dimensional.

No decals are provided inthe kit. Two painting options are described in the instructions,one for a Guards parade vehicle in Moscow (painted dark greenwith white trim, with a Guards emblem on the turret), and theother for the Afghan War in 1985 (light grey with dark green wavycamouflage). The drawing for the latter vehicle shows a sparewheel on top of the turret, but one is not included with the kit.The actual Afghan colors should be green with wavy graycamouflage, opposite what the instruction show.

In conclusion, I am veryimpressed with this kit. It was only the second complete resinkit I've built, and it was a very simple project. Planet Modelsdid an outstanding job with this vehicle, and even without thefew minor changes I made to my kit, it builds into an excellentmodel. My only reservation is my lack of knowledge on thesubject, so I cannot comment on the accuracy (or lack of) of thekit.