Unboxing Review of MENG T-72B3M Model Kit with Bar Armor( TS-060)

Historical background of the MENG T-72B3M

The T-72B3M itself is a deeply modernized version of the T-72B3, also referred to in some sources as the T-72B4, upgraded by Uralvagonzavod. The Mod.2022 specifically refers to a sub-variant put into production after 2022 with reinforced protection based on combat experience. The most visible difference between the Mod.2022 version and the standard T-72B3M is the metal grille cage on the turret roof—a field modification that became widespread on the Russia-Ukraine battlefield to counter top-attack drones, later incorporated directly into factory-standard configuration.

MENG TS-060 is a complete model kit of the T-72B3M Mod.2022 combat-upgraded version from MENG's Tyrannosaurus series. MENG T-72B3M reproduces the full set of upgrades for the Russia-Ukraine battlefield: side skirt ERA, belly armor, hull roof grille, and new fire control system.

On the long side of the TS-060 MENG T-72B3M's box, MENG and AK Interactive jointly mark the painting schemes, directly printing AK paint color codes and color swatches, along with front and rear line drawings of the T-72B3M.

The other side features a side view of the T-72B3M and an introduction to the tank variant.

The TS-060 MENG T-72B3M kit uses MENG's standard white injection-molded sprues. The left side contains common sprues shared with older kits such as the T-90A and T-72B3, mainly including the chassis, road wheels, torsion bar suspension, workable tracks, and other running gear—proven across multiple products with stable fit.

The right side contains newly tooled sprues exclusive to TS-060, with new parts accounting for more than half of the total. Key focus is on reproducing the T-72B3M's signature features: Relikt explosive reactive armor, commander's independent panoramic sight, anti-drone bar armor on the hull sides, and turret sighting components.

The clear parts of TS-060 MENG T-72B3M kit have excellent transparency and strong compatibility. The sprues are directly labeled with multiple compatible variants and product numbers, allowing cross-kit interchangeability and giving modelers great flexibility for conversions.

The photo-etch sheet is a large single sheet, mainly used for the anti-drone roof grille and chain-mail chains on the turret roof. The hull only includes a few photo-etch pieces for anti-explosion mesh and cooling mesh. This is also a design trend in MENG's new kits: minimizing photo-etch usage to reduce bending and gluing difficulty, making assembly more worry-free and efficient.

The cables are made of metal, with excellent bending performance and higher detail fidelity.

The turret main body reuses the old mold from TS-028 T-72B3. The B3M itself is an upgrade from the B3, with changes concentrated in fire control, reactive armor, and the newly added anti-drone roof. The turret base shell remains unchanged.

The turret roof has a large number of pre-marked ERA positioning points. When assembling the Relikt ERA, carefully compare positions to avoid part misalignment and cascading assembly problems.

The tracks reuse MENG's classic TS-006 T-90A double-pin workable tracks. As a mature structure proven in the market for over a decade, this track has an excellent reputation among modelers for its workable structure and simple assembly method, with highly reliable build stability and finished results.

Compared to previous black injection-molded tracks of the same type, TS-060 MENG T-72B3M kit has been changed to white injection-molded tracks.

This kit includes a dedicated W sprue for the machine gun. This machine gun sprue is relatively small and very easy to lose. It is recommended to store it separately and safely during construction, or complete the anti-aircraft machine gun assembly first to avoid losing parts and affecting overall progress.

The suspension adjuster—standard equipment on MENG's T-90 and T-72 series—is a very thoughtful design. Many modelers building workable suspension + workable track kits often encounter the problem of the hull sitting unevenly left to right, making suspension leveling difficult. The included suspension adjuster easily levels the road wheels, saving the trouble of repeated trial and error.

The black rubber bushings are mature common accessories with strong compatibility and excellent workable feel.

The upper hull and chassis reuse the classic mature structure of TS-006. This chassis is extremely versatile and is a classic common module in MENG's Russian tank product line. Multiple subsequent products in the same series have used this structure, with fit and stability proven over time in the market.

The lower hull features MENG's classic torsion bar workable suspension structure, continuing the mature chassis design of TS-006.

Sprue A is a common sprue from TS-028, including mudguards, self-rescue log, dozer blade, exhaust, lower front and rear hull, fender boards, fuel tanks, storage boxes, lights, and other parts.

Sprue B mainly includes fuel drums, marker lights, front and rear suspension torsion bar supports, balance shaft limiters, and other accessories.

Sprue C is a newly tooled sprue exclusive to TS-060, including new-style side skirts, rear hull protective armor, exhaust, storage boxes, rear mudguards, and other exclusive structural accessories.

Sprue D is a common sprue for the T-72B3/B3M, including the turret base, upper front armor, turret front armor, and turret roof armor.

The 2022 version still uses the older K5 upper front armor; it was not changed to new Relikt armor until 2025.

Sprue E is a classic TS-006 sprue, including road wheels, torsion bar suspension, return rollers, smoke grenade launchers, and other basic parts.

Sprue F mainly consists of T-90 series sprues—drive sprocket bases, dozer blade connecting rods, and other parts—usable for building this B3M kit.

Sprue G is a newly tooled sprue exclusive to TS-060, including anti-drone roof components, turret Relikt ERA, two different gun shield positions (including the gun shield outer ERA bracket), and some driver's hatch roof parts.

Sprue K is a common sprue for the T-72B3/B3M, including part of the gun barrel, hull and turret hatches, sighting components, and antennas.

Sprue M is a newly tooled sprue for TS-060, including two new-pattern ERA front mudguards and ERA components matching the anti-drone roof.

Sprue N is a classic common sprue for MENG's T-72/T-90 series, including some engine components and engine cover parts.

Sprue L is a newly tooled sprue for TS-060, provided in two sets, mainly including the hull side Relikt ERA group and some turret side and top ERA components.

Sprue Q is a common sprue for the T-72B3/B3M with a large number of parts in many categories, covering idler wheels, front mudguard connecting rods, spare track links, hatches, smoke grenade launcher bases, drive sprocket mud scrapers, commander's sight, lights, rear mudguards, engine cooling mesh covers, and many other parts across the vehicle.

Sprue U is a common sprue for the T-72B3/B3M, including anti-aircraft machine gun parts, searchlight, commander's turret hatch, commander's hatch ring, and machine gun shield.

Sprue R includes the drive sprocket assembly, idler wheel base, drive sprocket mud scraper, driver's hatch, and sight protective cover.

Sprue X includes various storage boxes around the turret, searchlight, main gun, and spare ammunition cables.

Brief summary of the TS-060 MENG T-72B3M kit

This kit uses a combination of classic common molds plus a large number of newly tooled exclusive parts, corresponding to the latest B3M improved configuration currently in service on the Russia-Ukraine battlefield, covering the anti-drone roof, full-vehicle Relikt ERA, new rear hull structure, and new gun shield ERA brackets. The 2022 version still retains some features of the older B3, such as the K5 reactive armor fitted on the vehicle—it was not until 2025 that it was replaced with Relikt reactive armor. Following this pattern, MENG will most likely release other variants in the same series in the future.

 

 

 

 

The above content is translated from the WeChat Official Account of moxing.net's Evaluator - Model Evaluation Iodine,

The author is a professional reviewer and the person in charge of the Beijing Model Exchange Competition, Professional model tester of Trumpeter, Border Model, DRAMI Model, Zimi Model.

The WeChat Official Account hosts more than 600 original articles, with the most popular posts more than 10000 views.