introduction

Replacement barrel from Model Point for the 2A64M 125mm Main Gun found on the T-64, T-72, T-80, and T-84. This barrel is listed by the manufacturer for use with SKIF, Tamiya and Dragon/Italeri/Zvezda kits. This is a very nicely machined barrel with a couple of small shortcomings.

details

This 2 piece barrel set, split at the fume extractor, is made from machined aluminum. Attaching the barrel to the DML/Italeri/Zvezda kits is simply a matter of replacing the kit barrel and drilling a 5/16inch hole to accept the barrel to proper depth. SKIF T-80 and T-64 kits do not need a hole drilled into the mantlet, but there is noticeable slop in the fit of the barrel. SP Designs turrets, based off of the SKIF turrets, also have too large a opening. Tamiya‘s T-72 has the barrel already molded onto the mantlet, so it will require gluing the barrel/mantlet together and then cutting off the main gun barrel and then drilling the 5/16inch hole. AEF Designs T-72 turrets need to have the opening widened to 5/16. Anubis Designs T-72 turret opening also needs to be widened.

The barrel offers many advantages over plastic kit barrels (NO seam to clean/file/sand/worry over) and other machined barrels (nice, clean machined demarcations between the segments of the barrel, especially around the fume extractor). It also has a nice tapering of the barrel from the base towards the first thermal wrap. Some other machined barrels have a rough machined finish, but the Model Point barrel is smooth and unblemished.

There are grooves cut into the barrel at the correct areas so you can add the ridges along the barrel found on Russian tanks. This seems to be a part of the thermal wrap and is a noticeable detail. Make these from evergreen strip, #100 .01x.02 is my suggestion. However, none of the strap buckles are on the barrel or provided as detail, so these will have to be scratch built or scrounged from a PE set.

I used three references for my scale comparison, and unfortunately, the barrel did not exactly match any of them. However, it was far and away the closest match. The barrel matches the length of all three drawings as well as the circumference. It differs in two ways: The bore evacuator is placed about 1/4inch further forward on the Model Point barrel and the muzzle is too long and incorrectly shaped. SKIF, believe it or not, got the muzzle correct compared to the drawings. There is no easy way I can see to fix either problem, but they are only noticeable if compared to drawings. However, compared to photo references, the Model Point barrel appears correct, so the builder/buyer will have to ultimately decide what is truly accurate.

Finally, for comparison, I measured the SKIF, DML, and Model Point barrels for dimensions:

SKIF DML Model Point Prototype in 1/35*
Barrel length 133.5mm 133mm 140mm 140mm
Base width 7.2mm 8.0mm 6.7mm 6.7mm
Barrel width 5.7mm/5.1mm** 6.4mm 5.3mm 5.3mm
Bore Evacuator Width 7.2mm 7.9mm 6.5mm 6.5mm
Barrel Interior (caliber) 3.8mm 4.0mm 3.6mm 3.6mm

* Best guess based on research material, rounded up to nearest tenth. These may be incorrect.
* *The SKIF barrel has thicker sections on the base side of the bore evacuator and smaller ones in front of the bore evacuator.

in conclusion

This barrel is well worth the money, and is especially complimentary for any of the kits, giving them the correct barrel dimensions. Aside from needing PE buckles, this would be a nearly perfect accessory.

Thanks to My Wallet for providing the review sample.

References:

Concord #7508 “The T-72 and T-90 Tank” 2001 By Steven Zaloga and David Markov, ISBN 962-361-673-2
Concord #7503 “Russia’s Main Battle Tank T-80U” 2000 By Steven Zaloga and David Markov, ISBN 962-361-656-2
Polygon “Tank T-80” 1993 : Gonchar Publishing House, ISBN 5-88541-006-2