PMMS
Trumpeter Trumpeter Trumpeter
First Look Reviews
Kit No.00305 Chinese 152mm Type83 Self-propelled gun-howitzer
Kit No.00306 Chinese 120mm Type89 anti-tank gun
Build Review
Kit No.00307 Chinese 122mm Type89 multi-barrel rocket launcher

by Terry Ashley

I don’t know a lot of the history or development of these vehicles and as the Trumpeter instructions don’t have any either, we might as we get on with the reviews.
As the three kits are basically the same with only different turrets / rocket launcher plus other small changes I will combine them in this one review with comments on the basic components and then the different parts in each kit. This will be followed by a build review of the Chinese 122mm Type89 multi-barrel rocket launcher kit where some of the construction is also common to all three kits.

Common parts:
The kits are moulded in an olive drab plastic with an additional sprue in light grey plastic for the engine parts. Additional to this are the two vinyl track lengths, poly caps for the wheels, decal sheets and mesh for the engine screens as well as the instruction booklet.

The quality of the mouldings is excellent with a combination of engraved and raised detail including excellent weld seams on the hull and turrets.
The details and mouldings on the parts are close to the best yet seen in Trumpeter kits and stand up well when compared to contemporary kit makers with no flash on the parts and only some minor pin ejector marks to deal with on some internal parts.

The lower hull has separate axels and suspension details while you have to open up some additional locating holes depending on the kit you are building.
The road wheels and idler wheels have poly caps trapped between the inner and outer wheels to attach to the axles while the drive sprocket is glued directly to the final drive axle. The road wheels themselves have very nice hub detail with well defined bolt heads and wheel contours with the drive sprockets and idler wheels showing the same high level of details included.

The interior of the hull has a full engine/gearbox/transmission/fan assembly and driver’s compartment with seat and steering levers, these are enclosed within various bulkheads in the front section of the hull. To allow you to see this detail the upper hull has separate main engine compartment hatch and central engine inspection hatch as well and the separate driver’s hatch. The main engine compartment hatch also has the large radiator on the inside which has some nice details included. The detail on these parts are superb and with some additional wiring and other small additions will result in a very busy interior indeed, about the only major component missing is the driver’s instrument panel.

The rear fighting compartment has a floor with tread plate pattern under the turret ring and a compressor unit in the forward right corner, this being the extent of the rear compartment details but you can’t really see inside here anyway except through the rear hull door which is also separate. The rear hull plate has two sharp fender extensions sticking out at right angles and these are protected in the box with a small section of packing foam as well as raised guards on the sprues themselves, well done by Trumpeter as these would have inevitably been damaged if left unprotected.
Trumpeter

The upper hull also has excellent details moulded on and as well as the open hatches mentioned above the intake grills on the hull and engine door are moulded with clear gaps between the grills. The upper rear section of the hull is separate to accommodate the different arrangement for each kit while the fenders have nice bolt head details on the outer edges as well on the forward sections with good hinge and retaining rod details. Various locating holes have to be opened up in the fenders to fix the varying storage box arrangements for the different kits.

The 12.7mm machine gun for the turret cupolas is a sensational piece of moulding with no less than 19 parts to make the assembly. As well as the nicely detailed gun there is the multi part cradle with left and right handles and ammo box.
Trumpeter

The tracks are the continuous length vinyl type but feature excellent details for this type of track, as well as nice details on both sides there are also small holes at the end of each track pad as there should be. The instructions asks you to join the tracks by heat melting the locating pins together but I found the lengths would stick together with normal plastic cement, so you could use which ever method you prefer?
Common Sprues
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Click for larger views

Kit No.00305 Chinese 152mm Type83 Self-propelled gun-howitzer:
This kit has 353 parts with additional sprues for the turret, main 152mm howitzer and different hull storage boxes plus other details such as the front lights and barrel travel lock.
The turret has the nice details on the outside which includes separate grab rails and open vision blocks on the commander’s cupola (you get clear inserts to fill these) as well as a detailed interior with the two large side turret doors as separate parts so you can see the details. The bolt details on the front gun supports are very well defined and will look good when painted.
The big impressive 152mm howitzer barrel is in the usual two halves and features an impressive muzzle break. Inside the turret you get a complete breech and gun mount / trunnion assembly, other interior details include the radio, seats, traverse motor and rear bulkhead which has ammo bin doors moulded on. There are some pin ejector marks here as well as amongst the detail on the inside of the side turret doors which mar the detail a little but once Trumpeter learn how to eliminate these better the detail will stand out even more. You should be able to fill these marks without damaging the detail if care is taken when applying and sanding the filler.
You also get new return rollers as these are different on this kit than those on the other two kits and this shows the attention to detail Trumpeter have applied to these kits.

Individual #00305 Sprues
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Kit No.00306 Chinese 120mm Type89 anti-tank gun:
This kit has 305 parts with again new sprues for the turret and 120mm main gun, it also comes in a smaller box (height wise) than the other two due to lesser number of parts. The turret exterior has very nice weld seam details as well as hatch and other fine details including the two large storage cages on both sides and smoke discharger assemblies. There is even tread plate moulded on top of the main sight cover on the front left of the turret and binocular sights for inside the commander’s cupola. Other interior bits include a full breech and trunnion assembly as well as seats, gunners sight other small details.
The main 120mm gun barrel has nice thermal sleeve details as well as textured canvas cover for the mantlet.
Additional storage boxes and fuel cells are provided for the fenders as well as the head light assemblies.

Individual #00306 Sprues
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Click for larger views

Kit No.00307 Chinese 122mm Type89 multi-barrel rocket launcher:
Includes 356 parts and as with the first two kits you get new sprues for the rocket launcher tubes and large magazine box.
The detail on these parts is the same high standard as the other kits with the large commander’s tower featuring nice details including weld seams and open periscopes (with clear inserts), separate grab handles and other small details.
The large mounting bracket on the front hull for the magazine box is also nicely detailed with the magazine box clipping into the hull and bracket mountings eliminating the need for glue here.
The magazine box itself has nice bolt head detail and features internal bracing to ensure the box is square when assembled another nice addition by Trumpeter.
Again different fender storage boxes are provided along with the different head light assemblies.
Click HERE for a full construction article of this particular kit.

Individual #00307 Sprues
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Markings:
Each kit has its own decal sheet with Chinese stars and a selection of generic vehicle numbers to allow you to choose your own numbering. The camouflage scheme is very attractive in a Dark Green, Russian Green (Light Green) and Earth. Paint numbers are given for Mr.Color paints only but it wouldn’t be hard to substitute other paint brands. Some of the painting called out in the instructions is for parade vehicles such as the white circles on the road wheels and red inside the 152mm muzzle break so take care if you want to depict your model in the field and not on parade.

Decal sheets
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Conclusion
Overall these are very nice kits with excellent details and they also show good attention to detail with the many small detail changes between the three kits such as head light assemblies, storage box arrangements as well as the main turret components.
The standard of the kits is probably the best yet from Trumpeter and build into impressive looking kits, if you want something different or just want to build a nice kit out of the box these would do the job.

Highly Recommended.



Page Created 16 March 2003

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