HobbyBoss 1/72 scale A-222 Bereg plastic model kit review

Produced in the late ’80s, the A-222 Bereg is a 130mm coastal artillery piece mounted on a MAZ 543M chassis. Still in service with the Russian Navy, it is designed to cover coastal areas too close to be protected by missile systems. It can fire up to 12 rounds per minute with an effective range of 12 miles.

The new HobbyBoss 1/72 scale A-222 Bereg features fine plastic parts and eight soft vinyl tires with an excellent tread pattern and minimal seams. The main cab, engine compartment, and gun turret are well-detailed single parts, and clear parts are provided for the windows, headlights, and searchlight. The instructions include clear assembly diagrams but lack any detail-painting instructions for the cab interior. A full-color painting and markings guide includes diagrams for two camouflaged Beregs and two in overall Russian green. The decal sheet provides markings for all four and a dashboard.

The single-piece frame requires little cleanup for such a complex molding. Sadly, all four of the platform supports (parts A1 and A2) are molded in the down position, although it wouldn’t be difficult to modify them into a retracted position. I added all the detailed parts through Step 5, except for the wheels, which are easy to pop on and off.

Without any painting instructions for the cab interior, I chose Tamiya Sky (No. XF-21) overall and painted the dash, steering column, and some wall details semigloss black; Vallejo Leather Brown (No. 70.871) colored the seat cushions. I left installing the windows and cab interior until I’d finished painting the camouflaged exterior. I suggest waiting to install Part A28 on the underside of the driver's compartment until the cab is mounted to the chassis because it’s easily broken. The side stowage bins/fuel tanks had no bottoms, but you could correct this with a styrene sheet. While the painting instructions say to paint the frame steel, pictures on the web looked more black to me, so I painted the lower frame and wheels semigloss black.

The rear stowage bins lack rear plates and are noticeable if the gun turret is mounted in any way except in full forward or back position.

The engine cover and gun turret assembled easily. I left the gun barrel, handrails, and antenna array off the turret until the exterior paint was finished. The decals are very thin and laid down well over clear gloss. They probably didn't need any setting solvent, but I used Micro Sol as a precaution. They didn’t silver and the clear film disappeared under a coat of clear flat.

With the paint and decals on, I added the detailed parts to the cab and gun turret and hand-painted them to match the camo.

I spent about 12 hours building my HobbyBoss 1/72 scale A-222 Bereg. The finished model matched perfectly to the scale of the dimensions I found on Wikipedia. I was impressed with the quality of the detail and the fit of the parts. I think any modeler familiar with 1/72 scale armor would have no difficulty building this kit. It would certainly make a fine addition to any modeler’s collection of modern armor.