Starting with one of the Skif T-80 kits, how can I build a Cypriot T-80U? I understand I might need at least one SP Designs update kit, but I'm not sure which kit and which update set I should buy..

There has been a lot of discussion about what is needed to make a Cyprus T-80U. To the best of my knowledge, the 27 T-80U and 14 T-80UK tanks that Cyprus bought all came stock from Russian Army storage with no significant changes. I may be incorrect, but I have not seen any differences in my searches. What to do? SP Designs Kit 216 added to SKIF's T-80UD is the correct base. You will need SP Designs kits 213, 214, and 195 to round out the improvements. For PE, there are 3 sets from Eduard, none of them will fully work. They do provide some extra bits, but the biggest improvement to the SP Designs hull, the engine grills, can be dealt with by using PE mesh. Other details can be changed out, like if you want a metal barrel, etc., but are not needed. I hope this helps.