Who makes 1/35 scale Soviet tank models? I recall DML/Dragon, but it would seem the T-80 kits are out of production? Is this correct? Also, what other model manufacturer makes modern Russian armor?

Woodstock:
Tamiya and ICM also make Russian kits, ICM is mainly WWII. SKIF also makes Russian kits. Most of the DML stuff is OOP or had to find, just like the Old ESCI stuff.... Italeri has a kit or two, but those are derived from Zveda kits

Wood:

If you can, get a Squadron flyer. They are not the cheapest, but they have a number of 1/35th kit offerings for Russian armor. Good luck.



Steve

If i'm not wrong, several of the DML kits are now being reissued by ZVEZDA.
They have BMP2, BTR70, T72...
SKIF has T64, T80, BMP3, BMD1...
tamiya has the T55...

penpen is right. I was at my local shop last night and they had quite a few of the Zvezda armor kits. I looked at a couple and they are the DML kits. Eastern Express as well as Revell of Germany both have modern Soviet equipment. RoG kits are DML kits as well as other's kits reboxed.

Currently Skif's T-80UD is the best one on the market (or least worst as some would say). It is relatively inexpensive. DML made several T-80 variants, with and without ERA and a couple of others. Lindberg made one but it only "looked" like a T-80 from a distance when completed. I still see a lot of the DML kits on the shelves still like T-72M2, BMP-2, BTR-70, BRDM-2, etc.

Looking for anything in particular?

Really interested to see the options I have for modern Soviet MBTs. Not sure if I'm going to make a purchase anytime soon (too many current unbuilt kits...), but I have always wanted to do a contemporary Russian MBT (T-72, T-80). Thanks for all the advice, now I know what to look for on the Net and at my local hobby shop.

Are there any companies that make or are planning to make the newer T-90 russian tanks. I know about the Zhengdefu 1/48 toy, but was looking for 1/35.

Then the T-72 that you want is the Tamiya T-72M1. The main problem with the DML (Zvezda, Kirin) T-72s are that the upper hull will not fit on the lower hull with the upper run of tracks in place.

T-80 to buy is the Skif T-80UD. I like building modern Russian armor and have most of the DML T-72/80/BMP/BRDM/BTR kits as well as the Kirin reboxes of the T-72M2 Lion of Babylon and M-84 Free Kuwait tank. I've got the Skif modern MBTs like the T-55A, T-64B and T-80UD as well as their BMP-3. The BMP-3 is a nice kit and is used by many countries like South Korea, UAE, Kuwait, Saudi.

I figured as much about the Tamiya T-72. I have many 1/24 scale sports cars from Tamiya and a number of tanks kits and they are all simply beautiful. They put lots of thought into every aspect of the kit from packaging to the molding itself. It would be interesting to see the design process. How do they produce such beautiful kits?

So the Skif T-80 is the one to get? And I second the inquiry about T-90 kits, anyone hinted at coming out with one?

Kirin made a T-90 conversion for the DML T-72 series. AEF Designs Soviet Equipment has some interesting stuff, but they are currently not taking orders this month in order to catch up on back orders.

There is NO T-90 on the market...all are T-72BM and derivatives, yes even the T-90S marketed by EAF Designs is actually a T-72BM...and the Russians tested the Shtora and Arena on the T-72BM as well...but only as a singel test vehicle, it is not in production AFAIK. TO make a T-90 involves a bit of work with any of the kits (Kirin, Terre Models, and AEF Designs)

Zvezda has made a promise to make a T-90 in the future, time will tell.

The Tamiya T-72 is nice, but the DML T-72M2 is also a good kit for far less money. Just leave the top run of tracks off the kit and the upper and lower hull fit fine. There are still some fit issues, but hey, I'm cheap and would rather doa little work on the DML kit (SInce I have so many as well) than pay $35+ still for the Tamiya kit . But hey, that's me.

There are many conversions for the kit out there for modern russian stuff available from SP Designs find them here:

http://saammodels.tripod.com

They require a bit of skill and work, but make into nice, non standard kits.