Let's just say parts of this model were assembled and painted around 20 years ago, or when it first came out. The hull with the glacis roughed in has been staring at me for at least ten years, along with a Miniarm turret in the box, so the other day, after flipping through the Abrams Squad books on Syrian armor, I got motivated. This will be a T-72 "Ural", operated by the crew of the day, rode hard and put up wet, over and over and over.
I "re-started" with a basic hull, no details added yet, and the turret in the box. So far I've added the necessary fittings and fixtures to the hull, torn up the fenders a bit and added a few small bits. The Friuls have been ready for years, so on they went. The turret is, well, a bear. It has excellent detail but lots of short shots, incredibly fragile small parts and only the merest hint of instructions. I'm using a RB barrel to avoid the three piece resin barrel in the turret box, and am about half way there with it. Lots of parts will be "missing", copying the general poor state of repair most of the pictured tanks are in.
IMG_3612 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
IMG_3611 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
IMG_3610 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
IMG_3609 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
I have some basic PE for the kit and am using extra bits from leftover T-55 and T-62 sets as well. The turret has its own PE too, mostly for the gun tube.
After a good coat of Russian green, I plan on adding a loose pattern of sand and tearing the paint up, even doing chipping... and I never "chip".