Preview: Amusing Hobby's T-80UM-2 in 35th scale...

The ultimate version of the T-80? The UM-2 version demonstrator is the latest kit in 35th scale from Amusing Hobby. We look at the test kit built & the real tank in our preview...

Preview: Amusing Hobby's T-80UM-2 in 35th scale...

T-80UM-2 Amusing hobby

From Amusing Hobby

Kit No. 35A068

1/35th scale

Injection-moulded kit

Photo-etch included.

Release date: August

Amusing Hobby FB page

The Subject: The T-80UM-2

The T-80UM-2 (Object 219AS-M) was a prototype of the T-80U series for possible future upgrades with Drozd hard-kill APS onboard. Omsktransmash built a prototype of the T-80UM as their solution to upgrade the fleet of T-80Us in Russia by the late 1990s. However, the worsening economy of Russia hindered any further development of this upgrade, and the tank was only displayed during an equipment demonstration in 1997.

T-80UM-2 at the VTTV exhibition in 1999.

The T-80UM2 featured a different crew arrangement compared to the T-80U, with the gunner seated on the right and the commander on the left of the turret, swapping sides compared to the earlier tank. Otherwise, the new tank used the same main armament as the earlier T-80 series, with a 125mm 2A45M smoothbore gun, but this was now fed ammunition via an improved type of automatic loading system. The magazine was moved from below the turret to the bustle, at the back of the turret, apparently in response to survivability concerns highlighted during fighting in Chechnya.

T-80UM-2 in the echelon of the Kantemirovskaya division after the exercises "West-2021"

In 2022, the only known prototype was destroyed by Ukrainian forces some time in March. This has been visually confirmed via photos taken by Ukrainian soldiers as well as the 3rd-party monitoring site, Oryx. The T-80UM2 is said to have been part of a larger column of Russian vehicles that came under attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and photos show destroyed trucks alongside the T-80UM2. Its turret was knocked off and its hull burnt out, although it’s not immediately clear how it was hit and by what.

This one-of-a-kind piece of technology was lost in the Sumy region, north-west of Kharkiv, back in March 2022.

The kit from Amusing Hobby:

This new kit, number #35A058 from Amusing Hobby, features the add-on reactive armour, mudguards & new sighting equipment for this variant.

There are no notes on markings or colour schemes for this tank, but it would be difficult to see how many colour schemes come from this single tank. This is a very cool-looking variant of the T-80, and we expect it to sell well.

More shots below of the test kit with grey plastic showing the new additions.

There is no more information on this kit at the moment. For all of their kits, check out Amusing Hobby's Facebook page, as their website does not seem to be working right now...