Manufacturer & Stock Number: Tamiya 35329
Price: $77.98
Product Name: JGSDF Type 10 Tank
Scale: 1/35
Review Type: Sample (Pre production) Kit.
Parts Count: 205 PS parts, 24 PE caps, two vinyl tracks, one vinyl mesh sheet and one clear acetate sheet.
Pros: Well engineered kit with excellent textures and painless assembly.
Cons: Ejector pin marks on skirts, sight housing and suspension, no 50 cal ammo.
Type 10 History:
The Type 10 is the newest JGSDF MBT and is designed to complement and eventually replace the Type 90 MBTs in service. Development began in the 1990s, the prototype was unveiled during 2008 and the first tanks entered service in January 2012. The JGSDF plans to acquire 68 examples at a cost of between $6.5 and $11.3 million dollars as production ramps up.
The Type 10 has a crew of three: Commander, Gunner and Driver in the standard layout with the Commander and Gunner in the turret and the Driver in the hull. The tank is equipped with an autoloader for the main gun. The Commander has a panoramic sight and fully integrated c4I systems to allow integration with other tanks and the infantry they are supporting.
The Type 10 is armed with a locally developed 120mm/L44 smoothbore gun likely derived from the Rheinmetall L44 120mm. The Type 10 also has similar options for longer 50 and 55 caliber length barrels. The gun will fire newly developed AP ammunition as well as standard NATO ammunition. Small arms firepower is provided by the M2 12.7mm HMG in the commander’s station and a 7.62mm GPMG coaxial with the main gun.
The Type 10 weighs about 44 tons which is six tons less than the older Type 90. It is also physically smaller while being fitted with more advanced and capable nano-crystal steel and modular ceramic composite armor. The 1200HP V8 diesel engine coupled with a continuously variable automatic transmission which allows a top speed of about 43MPH (70 KPH) in either forward or reverse and the tank is fitted with a hydropneumatic active suspension that allows the crew to adjust the suspension height as desired.
Kit Overview:
The Tamiya Type 10 is a very well designed kit with 205 light grey, green in the retail kit, PS parts, four large polyethylene caps, 20 small polyethylene caps, two vinyl tracks, one vinyl mesh sheet and one clear acetate sheet. The instructions are clear and concise and the kit goes together without any major issues. Further, it is very well detailed and has excellent surface textures. The vision blocks have separate acetate pieces for use as the viewports and the turret hatches, panoramic viewer and gunner’s sight can be modeled in the open or closed positions with the provided doors. There are several antiskid pads, hinges, light fixtures, exhausts, intakes and other fittings which are very well done. The model sports detailed laser detectors, an extendable environment sensor and fine guard rails for the environment sensor on the back of the turret. The horn is even molded as a separate piece and fits nicely in its recess in the front of the hull. The vinyl tracks are excellent and are very detailed. Further, they will assemble with the Tamiya cement which makes things much easier.
There are a few minor issues with the kit. Keep in mind, however, that this is a preproduction sample and may not be entirely representative of the market kit. First, there are several ejector pin marks on the rubber skirts which require cleanup. The issue is that there seem to be far more of these, about 30 per side, than necessary. Secondly, there are ejector pin marks on the outboard facing side of each suspension arm. These probably could have been hidden on the inboard side. There was one part, the HMG spent shell ejection port, that had a very visible heat sink on the underside. I used Mr. Surfacer 500 on the above areas to cover the holes. The underside of the sight housing had four ejector pin marks that needed sanding. Again, it seems there are more than necessary. The kit also does not have a belt of 50 cal ammunition and the ammunition box for the HMG is molded empty with no lid.
Kit Construction:
The kit offers no major problems during construction and goes together very easily. The vinyl mesh for the turret basket and headlight guards must be cut into several pieces before being glued in place. The instructions are clear for these steps but the headlight guards require the headlights and surrounding area to be painted prior to completing the hull assembly. Fortunately, the front glacis plate is molded in two parts that are separate from the rest of the hull which makes the task much easier. The acetate sheet must also be cut into smaller pieces to fit the vision blocks but there is plenty of material here and it’s no issue if you cut a few improperly. The tracks appear to be too long and one link may be removed to ensure a better fit. This is not difficult since the tracks can be glued together with Tamiya cement.
Differences in the Model and Actual Vehicles:
There are some slight differences between the model and the prototype and production versions of the actual vehicle. The first is that the tracks supplied appear to be from the prototype vehicle since the photos available online of the production models have rubber pads in the track links and the model does not. Another is the small aperture just over the main gun which appears on the prototypes but not the production vehicles. Further, the tow cable hooks to the rear of the vehicle near the tail lights at the bottom of the hull in the prototypes and at the top of the rear hull in the production vehicles. The smoke dischargers on the prototype are different from the production models in that the production setup has one large oval cutout for the dischargers and the prototype has one round hole per discharger. The prototype’s radio antennae are nearly vertical where the production model’s angle to the rear and the yellow decal that appears similar to the letter “M” does not appear on production models. Finally, the prototypes have round headlights and mesh covers arranged towards the center front of the hull and the production vehicles have these nearer the tracks and behind mesh covers angled the same as the hull. However, some of these differences do not appear in the later prototype versions and the model most nearly reflects an early model production vehicle with prototype tracks.
Conclusion:
The Tamiya Type 10 is an excellent model kit and is extremely rewarding to build. It is very well engineered and the parts count is kept to a very reasonable level which is quite welcome. The mentioned issues are minor especially compared to the ease of assembly and the outstanding detailing of the vehicle. I highly recommend this kit to anyone interested in modern armored vehicles.
Photographs:
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