Search the Community

Type 89 Japanese Medium Tank Kou (Gasoline Hybrid Production) 1:72 IBG (72039) The Type 89 I-Go was a medium tank employed by the Imperial Japanese Army between 1932 and 1942. It has the distinction of being the first mass-production diesel engined tank, although the version depicted in this kit is the petrol engined version. Armed with a 57mm main gun, the Type 89 proved to be effective against enemy fortifications in campaigns in Manchuria and China. Despite being upgraded and modernised at various points during its life, such as with the addition of a radio, it was still a fundamentally 1920s design and was considered obsolete by the outbreak of the Second World War. Based in Warsaw, Poland, IBG Models started out in 1991 as a model kit importer and distributor. They released their first plastic kit – a 1:72 scale Bedford QLD - in 2008, and have gradually built up a range of interesting kits of different vehicles from the WWII period in both 1/72 and 1/35 scale. They have kitted a variety of Type 89 tanks, with this hybrid production version being the latest in the line. The kit arrives packed into a surprisingly large top-opening box inside which are a large number of sprues of crisply moulded grey plastic. Just because this producer hails from central/eastern Europe, don't think for a moment that this is a limited run kit. It has all the hallmarks of a cutting edge kit, with high quality, slide moulded parts as good as those from any other mainstream producer. Construction starts with the lower hull, suspension and running gear. The road wheels are each moulded with separate inner and outer faces, both of which fit onto the pre-moulded leaf spring suspension units. The drive sprocket, idler and return rollers are all nicely moulded too. The tracks are very nicely rendered and are of the link and length variety, for which I have a strong preference. The box-like hull is made up of upper and lower parts, with just the front glacis plate needed to finish it off. Extensive use has been made of slide moulding in order to reduce the part count whilst retaining a high level of detail. You won't need to worry too much about the fit and finish of the suspension components, as for the most part they will be covered up by the large armoured covers. Next up are the fenders and stowage boxes, which have to be fitted to the sides and rear of the hull. Naturally smaller details such as tools are all moulded separately, which is great for detail-hungry modellers. A rather nice exhaust is included, as well as photo etched parts for the exhaust shroud. This will prove to be a shrewd move, as such as part could not be satisfactorily recreated from injection moulded plastic. The turret is made up of eight parts, and again slide moulding has been used to keep the part count down and the detail level up. The muzzle of the 57mm gun has also been manufactured using a multi-part mould to save the modeller having to drill out this small part. The commander's hatch can be finished in either open or closed positions. For once you can actually take advantage of this feature because IBG have thoughtfully included two crew figures – and very nice they are too – although they are not mentioned in the instructions and don't even feature on the diagram that shows the layout of the sprues. Just one marking option is shown in the instructions, a Type 89 tank of an unknown regiment deployed in Shanghai, China in 1937. The decal sheet itself is nicely printed. Conclusion I really enjoyed reviewing IBG's recent AFV kits, so it's great to see them turn out another Type 89. Detail is excellent and the quality of manufacture looks to be up there with the very best. The inclusion of photo etched parts and particularly crew figures is very welcome too. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Type 89 Japanese Medium Tank Kou (gasoline early) 1:72 IBG Models The Type 89 I-Go was a medium tank employed by the Imperial Japanese Army between 1932 and 1942. It has the distinction of being the first mass-production diesel-engined tank, although the version depicted in this kit is the early petrol-engined version. Armed with a 57mm main gun, the Type 89 proved to be effective against enemy fortifications in campaigns in Manchuria and China. Despite being upgraded and modernised at various points during its life, such as with the addition of a radio, it was still a fundamentally 1920s design and was considered obsolete by the outbreak of the Second World War. The first variant to be depicted by IBG was one of the earlier petrol powered variants with the later turret and tracks/running gear. Now they have turned their attention to the earlier petrol powered version with the earlier turret. In usual IBG style The kit arrives packed into a surprisingly large top-opening box (I've worked out that their boxes are a standard size, regardless of the volume of plastic contained within) inside which are a large number of sprues of crisply moulded grey plastic. Just because this producer hails from central/eastern Europe, don't think for a moment that this is a limited run kit. It has all the hallmarks of a cutting edge kit, with high quality, slide moulded parts as good as those from any other mainstream producer. Also included is a decal sheet, a small fret of brass parts and colour instructions. All-in-all, it looks like a quality package. Construction starts with the suspension and running gear. The road wheels are split into inner and outer faces which fit either side of the pre-moulded leaf spring suspension units. The suspension and road wheels fit onto the floor of the hull, which then joins onto the box-like structure of the upper hull. The glacis plate is moulded separately. The drive sprocket fits into the side of the hull, while the idler fits into the side skirts before being joined to the hull along with the return rollers. The tracks are very nicely rendered and are of the link and length variety, for which I have a strong preference. Construction of the running gear and tracks looks like it will be quite labour intensive, but IBG have made some use of slide moulding in order to reduce the part count whilst retaining a very good level of detail. With the hull, running gear and tracks assembled, construction turns to details such as the fenders and stowage boxes. These have to be fitted to the sides and rear of the hull. Naturally smaller details such as tools are all moulded separately, which is great for detail-hungry modellers. A rather nice exhaust is included, as well as photo etched parts for the exhaust shroud. This is a shrewd move, as such a part could not be realistically recreated from injection moulded plastic. The turret is made up of six parts, including the rather puny main gun and rear-firing machine gun. The muzzle of the gun has been manufactured using a multi-part mould to save the modeller having to drill out the opening. The commander's hatch can be finished in either open or closed positions. For once you can actually take advantage of this feature because IBG have thoughtfully included two crew figures – and very nice they are too – although they are not mentioned in the instructions and don't even feature on the diagram that shows the layout of the sprues. Two marking options are shown in the instructions, a Type 89 tank of an unknown IJA unit, based in China in the 1930s and a tank of the Special Navy Landing Forces, IJN, based in Shanghai in the 1930s. The decal sheet itself is nicely printed. Conclusion I really enjoyed reviewing IBG's recent small scale armour kits, so it's great to see them turn out another variant of their new Type 89. Detail is excellent and the quality of manufacture looks to be up there with the very best. The inclusion of photo etched parts and especially the crew figures is very welcome too. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of IBG Models

Type 89 Japanese Medium Tank Kou (gasoline late) 1:72 IBG Models The Type 89 I-Go was a medium tank employed by the Imperial Japanese Army between 1932 and 1942. It has the distinction of being the first mass-production diesel engined tank, although the version depicted in this kit is the petrol engined version. Armed with a 57mm main gun, the Type 89 proved to be effective against enemy fortifications in campaigns in Manchuria and China. Despite being upgraded and modernised at various points during its life, such as with the addition of a radio, it was still a fundamentally 1920s design and was considered obsolete by the outbreak of the Second World War. The first variant to be depicted by IBG is one of the earlier petrol powered variants, but it has the later turret and tracks/running gear. Based in Warsaw, Poland, IBG Models started out in 1991 as a model kit importer and distributor. They released their first plastic kit – a 1:72 scale Bedford QLD - in 2008, and have gradually built up a range of interesting kits of different vehicles from the WWII period in both 1/72 and 1/35 scale. The latest addition to their catalogue is the Type 89 Medium Tank. The kit arrives packed into a surprisingly large top-opening box inside which are a large number of sprues of crisply moulded grey plastic. Just because this producer hails from central/eastern Europe, don't think for a moment that this is a limited run kit. It has all the hallmarks of a cutting edge kit, with high quality, slide moulded parts as good as those from any other mainstream producer. Construction starts with the lower hull, suspension and running gear. The road wheels are each moulded with separate inner and outer faces, both of which fit onto the pre-moulded leaf spring suspension units. The drive sprocket, idler and return rollers are all nicely moulded too. The tracks are very nicely rendered and are of the link and length variety, for which I have a strong preference. The box-like hull is made up of upper and lower parts, with just the front glacis plate needed to finish it off. Extensive use has been made of slide moulding in order to reduce the part count whilst retaining a high level of detail. You won't need to worry too much about the fit and finish of the suspension components, as for the most part they will be covered up by the large armoured covers. Next up are the fenders and stowage boxes, which have to be fitted to the sides and rear of the hull. Naturally smaller details such as tools are all moulded separately, which is great for detail-hungry modellers. A rather nice exhaust is included, as well as photo etched parts for the exhaust shroud. This will prove to be a shrewd move, as such as part could not be satisfactorily recreated from injection moulded plastic. The turret is made up of eight parts, and again slide moulding has been used to keep the part count down and the detail level up. The muzzle of the 57mm gun has also been manufactured using a multi-part mould to save the modeller having to drill out this small part. The commander's hatch can be finished in either open or closed positions. For once you can actually take advantage of this feature because IBG have thoughtfully included two crew figures – and very nice they are too – although they are not mentioned in the instructions and don't even feature on the diagram that shows the layout of the sprues. Just one marking option is shown in the instructions, a Type 89 tank of the 7th tank regiment deployed in Luzon, Philippines, 1941-2. The decal sheet itself is nicely printed. Conclusion I really enjoyed reviewing IBG's recent Toldi tank kits, so it's great to see them turn out another cracker in the form of this new Type 89. Detail is excellent and the quality of manufacture looks to be up there with the very best. The inclusion of photo etched parts and particularly crew figures is very welcome too. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of IBG Models