Tuesday, June 22

Meng unleash their "Black Panther" the PLA ZTQ15 Light Tank in 35th scale

The People's Liberation Army's new PLA ZTQ15 Light Tank is known as the "Black Panther" - A light weight & agile tank, with the ability to operate in tight & high environments - it is the subject of Meng Models next release in 35th scale. We have some information on the kit & the real thing in our preview...
Meng unleash their "Black Panther" the PLA ZTQ15 Light Tank

PLA ZTQ15 Light Tank
From Meng Models
Kit No:#TS-048 
1/35th scale
Release is in July 2021
The Subject: the PLA ZTQ15 Light Tank
Recently a new ZTQ-15 light tank was adopted by the Chinese army. It entered service in 2017. This tank is also commonly referred as the Type 15 or the "Black Panther".
In the military parade on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 2019, a light tank known as the "land vanguard" appeared in the first echelon of land warfare equipment. This new face is a new star of the tank industry, and it is the PLA ZTQ15 light tank.
The new tank weights around 33-36 t, depending on its armor configuration. Mobility and rapid redeployment is the key factor of this new tank. It is intended mainly for reconnaissance and infantry support operations. It can be airdropped and operate in areas, such as mountains, jungles and river regions, that are not accessible to heavier China's main battle tanks, such as the Type 96 and Type 99.
This new Chinese tank is armed with a fully-stabilized 105 mm rifled gun. It is compatible with all standard NATO 105mm tank ammunition. The gun has an automatic bustle-mounted ammunition loading system, which allowed to reduce the crew to 3. In turn a smaller crew allowed to reduce overall dimension of the tank, making it a smaller target on the battlefield. The ZTQ-15 has an effective firing range of 3 km. Its APFSDS round penetrates up to 500 mm of rolled homogeneous armor. Such penetration capabilities are not sufficient to defeat modern main battle tanks over the front arc. However this tank can also launch 105 mm anti-tank guided missiles in the same manner as ordinary munitions.
Modular armor has been applied on this tank to provide proper protection. This tank’s weight has been minimized, and it is powered by a stable and powerful power pack. This perfectly solves the problem of tank power drop due to lack of oxygen in hot and high areas. The Type 15 light tank is equipped with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) protection, an tail autoloader mechanism with ammunition stored in the turret bustle, air conditioning system, command and control equipment, commander's panoramic sight, gunner's thermal imaging sight, laser rangefinder, advanced ballistic computer, a tactical command system and a navigation system that includes inertial navigation system (INS) and satellite communications. The vehicle also features oxygen generators to aid in high-altitude operations.
The new kit from Meng:
This latest MENG TS-048 1/35 PLA ZTQ15 Light Tank model will be 280mm long and 92.2mm wide after assembly. Now, let’s take a look at the details.

The new 105mm rifled gun in replicated in several pieces.
The gun mantlet cover is designed by digital sculpting.
The exclusive panther symbol is a separate part for easier painting.
All crew hatches can be built open or closed.
Auxiliary equipment for parade formations are precisely reproduced.
Clear lights and crew observation port parts are included.
Torsion bars are used to replicate the movable suspension system.
The small diameter road wheels with lightening holes are accurately represented.
The one-piece tracks made of high-quality material make the assembly process efficient and fast.
For mode on this kit look at the Product Link on the Meng Models Website