This is the first (and only) MT-LB available in plastic, and it is certainly a welcome kit. This workhorse vehicle is in use by almost 20 nations, and it's somewhat suprising that this is the first we've seen of it in plastic. ARMO makes this same vehicle in resin, but I have not yet seen their kit. ACE's kits are getting better with each new release. The detail is getting more abundant, and being molded much more sharply, and as always, the accuracy is very good. It is a limited-run kit, but the molding quality is really quite good. There are no sinkmarks in this kit, and very little flash.

The lower hull and chassis are very nicely detailed.

The hull details are some of the best I have seen in any of ACE's kits. As always, my only complaint is the closed hatches. The opening at the rear of the hull is not actually an open fighting compartment, but rather the opening for an insert which will allow the release of other versions of this basic hull.

The wheels and tracks are also very well done. The tracks have very good detail on the outside, but the insides lack the the distinction between individual links. But with the excellent track guide teeth, it will likely not be too noticable on the completed kit. (For the wheel and track scans, two sprues are pictured to show both sides, but only one sprue is included with each kit.)

The best part of this kit is the inclusion of the fret of etched brass. There are some parts to models which can only best be represented with brass, such as the fenders and headlight guards. ACE is one of the few manufacturers of plastic kits who regularly includes etched brass parts with their kits, and they should be commended for it.

Markings are included for six vehicles of four nationalities. As usual, the decals are very thin, matte, and very sharply printed.

I have compared this kit to the scale drawings of the MT-LB within the Russian book, Bronekollektsiya #4/2000 - Soviet Armor 1945-1995, and confirmed it with Jane's Tanks and Combat Vehicles Recognition Guide, and this kit scales out exactly to 1/72d.

A resin MT-LB is available from ARMO, but I have not seen that kit, so I cannot make a comparison between the two.

THANK YOU to Alexey at ACE Models for providing the review sample.