K1A1 ROK Army MBT

K1A1
Ref. # 13215
Scale: 1/35
Manufacturer: Academy
Price: Unknown
Material: Styrene

To see higher resolution photographs used in this preview, please see the GALLERY ALBUM.

Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3, Pic 4, Pic 5, Pic 6, Pic 7, Pic 8,

Introduction

The K1A1, the Main Battle Tank of the Republic of South Korea is at first glance, similar in appearance to the US Abrams. Armed with a 120mm gun and weighing in at just fifty-two tons though, it's quit a bit different.

The Kit

Inside the large box there are three very large sprues of tan-coloured styrene, and two slightly smaller ones containing the running gear, a decal sheet, a small rectangle of clear acetate, plot caps, and a short length of nylon cord. The lower hull and deck are supplied as large separate parts. Two black vinyl track lengths are provided.

Mouldings-wise, there are no ejector-pin marks to speak of, and no flash. The moulding is crisp, with fine detail.

The kit is built conventionally, i.e. installation of the running gear onto the lower hull, completion of the turret etc. There is some detail moulded in place on the main deck, that I would have expected to see as separate parts. For example, the grills on the engine fans are moulded already in place, which I suspect most modellers will find slightly strange on a 21st Century kit, but having said this, take a close look at picture 10 and believe me when I say that in reality it looks even better than this. With a skilled paint job it will look superb. There are various non-slip textures moulded in place around the deck too...and these are extremely well done also.

Pic 9, Pic 10, Pic 11, Pic 12, Pic 13, Pic 14, Pic 15, Pic 16,

Each of the road wheels is made from two halves, trapping a poly cap in the middle, which makes removal for painting a breeze. Each of the suspension's swing arms can be positioned where desired before being cemented in place. The tracks, as mentioned at the beginning, are black vinyl, and unfortunately hark back to the bad old days of tracks being totally impervious to any known glue. In the best traditions of 20th Century modelling, we're recommended to join them with a heated screwdriver!

The main barrel for the gun also comes in two halves, and given the detail on this item it's going to take some very careful sanding to maintain all of it unmolested. Unusually, the .50 cal supplied for the pintle mount on the turret is also supplied in two halves, although to be honest it doesn't look that great detail-wise and is on of those items easily replaced for a better detailed one. There's also an M60 provided for the ring mount to the left of this on the turret roof.

The complicated stowage bins around the turret of this vehicle are provided as quite complicated looking mouldings on one of the sprues, and although they'll take some careful clean-up, they should look quite good once in place....if not broken during assembly!

There are two crew figures provided in the kit, one as a three-quarter figure and the other full. There's a choice of heads offered with one of the figures, one having a scarf covering it's face, but to be honest I thought it was a mis-mould. The detail on both of the figures is a bit soft, and although useable, the heads at least should be replaced.

Pic 26, Pic 27, Pic 28, Pic 29, Pic 30, Pic 31, Pic 32, Pic 33, Pic 34, Pic 35, Pic 36, Pic 37,

There's one four-colour camouflage scheme depicted on the instructions, and a decal sheet provided with some very nice decals on it. Unfortunately the marking scheme shown on the instructions doesn't actually show where any of the decals go? The vehicle shown in the box art doesn't carry any markings either...so it's a case of supply your own references or not use them?

Conclusion

Before I received this kit I never even knew this vehicle even existed, and even though I know a little more about it now, I admit that's very little. From a model point of view, it looks to be a reasonable kit, although not bang up to the modern standards we expect from some far eastern manufacturers. So it will need a little work to get the best from it. I'm going to pass it on straight away to somebody for a build review which I'll link in to the bottom of this article. Stay tuned as they say!

Korean K1A1 on Prime Portal

Thanks to Toyway Ltd., for the review sample, importers of Academy kits to the UK. To see the full range of Academy kits then please see their website: ACADEMY.