I take it that's a repop of say Trumpeter's T-72? The box art is identical to Tamiya's T-72, just never heard of Modeler before.

Not sure, have not seen this kit. Are you sure it is in 1/35th scale? There is a lot of "unregistered" 1/48 stuff.

However, I would assume that it is the Trumpy kit repopped, or else a copy of the trumpy kit!

Is it Modelist spelled in Russian? If so it is 'normal' re-box of Tamiya kit without photo etch, but also without flaws in Trumpeter/Hobbycraft re-boxings.

No, on the box the text is all Asian. Definetly not Russian.

Looking at the link you sent me...caveat emptor. For the $15-$17 range, I would get the Trumpy kit with its warts...sorta a "the devil you know" argument.

If you are feeling daring, you can buy it and a Trumpy kit and compare them.

So how bad really is the Trumpeter T-72? Its been so long since I've even considered them and then written them off entirely. How do they compare to say the DML T-72s? I've been looking to ditch all of my DML T-72s and just bite the bullet and get Tamiya when I can afford them (for the various resin conversion that I have). But if the Trumpeter T-72 is a good affordable alternative even with its issues (and consider the conversions [T-90, Czech T-72M4CZ] replace the turret and in some cases portions of the hull), would it stil be worth it?

The trumpeter kit is, essentially, a copy of the Tamiya kit. While the Tamiya kit had a questionable turret, the Trumpeter one is BAD, no matter which version of thier T-72 you buy.

I am most familiar with the one they sell with the KMT mine Roller.

What you need to make the Trumpeter kit good is close to what you need for the Tamiya kit: New turret, Eduard's Zoom PE for the engine deck screens, maybe a Eduard Metal Barrel.

The lower hull is a good, solid piece. It has a couple of annoying areas for motorization that trumpeter added, but they did not stretch the hull or anything like they did with the AAVTP-7 series they copied.

Your call though. The Tamiya kit is better in that it is the original, parts fit is better and detail is crisper, and the turret is usable if you don't mind it. Trumpeter's kit is definately best used for conversions or adding new parts. Overall, you may end up paying the same price IF you do not replace anything on the Tamiya kit.

I have the Trumpeter T-72 with mine roller, bought mainly for the mine roller, beware of the moulding, although a copy it's a bad copy in that many parts have very soft detail, gotta love those shiny stickers (with raised squares if I remember correctly) for the engine grilles too!

IMVHO only worth getting for major conversions, if you change the roadwheels (for instance to get another type as made by MiniArm, MR Models and CMD).

If you just want to build a kit from the box, get the Tamiya original, I have found some quite cheap over the last few years, either at shows or on E-Bay.

Cheers,

Christophe