Polish firm IBG Models is the first company to release a kit of Ukraine’s battle-hardened BTR-4E APC
With the war in Ukraine continuing, there has been plenty of interest in the equipment used and Polish manufacturer IBG has just released two 1/72 kits of the indigenous BTR-4E Bucephalus (the name of Alexander the Great’s horse) armoured personnel carrier (APC).
While outwardly similar to the Soviet-designed BTR-60/60/80 series, any resemblance is just skin deep. Internally, the latter’s rear-engine configuration has been rejected in place of a layout more akin to that a Western APC, with the driver and commander forward, a mid-mounted engine and a large troop compartment at the rear. Similarly, although two hatches remain in the roof, the primary means of entrance/exit for the embarked squad is through two large doors at the vehicle rear, while the driver and commander have separate doors at the front.
Primary weaponry comprises up to four 9P135M Konkurs (AT-5 Spandrel) or Bar’er launch tubes (with one pair on each side of the turret); each unit comes with its own guidance optics. A 30mm cannon is mounted centrally in the turret, with a co-axial 7.62mm machine gun. Note that one of the missile pairs can be replaced b…
