MG144-SV015 T-160 Tsar Orlov Super Heavy Tank

Soviet Remnant

1:144th scale (10 or 12mm)

Size (Bounding Box, assembled): 107.5mm x 48.2mm x 27.2mm

The T-160 Tsar Orlov Super Heavy Tank is the heaviest ground vehicle in the Soviet Remnant arsenal. The design was still in the prototype stage when it was required to enter the battlefield in 2340, despite the protests of the design team, who were still ironing out the flaws. 90 of these prototypes were built and deployed over the next six years, to mixed successes – the vehicle performed adequately to start with, but significant maintenance problems began to occur, since too much of the vehicle was still in the prototype stage and some of the components – essentially still in a pre-production state – had to be hand-manufactured.

This became a catastrophic issue with the formation of the GTSR, as GTSR absorbed entirely the one factory facility that was able to produce the prototype’s needed parts – most especially the one in the drive train and tracks.

Fortunately for the Remnant, work on the proper production version had been continued, albeit at a slow pace, during the six-year period. A remaining loyalist technical group managed to successfully smuggle out the data in a daring escape. A frantic re-development program was embarked on.

The weapons, engine, power core and electronic components of the T-160 still fortunately rested within Soviet Remnant control, but the loss of the chassis necessitated a redesign – essentially around the skeleton of the internal frame.

The T-160’s original four tracks were very heavy and while this meant they were harder to shed a link, the weight of them meant that it was extremely difficult for the crew to be able to replace them. The full production version of the T-160 instead made use of the copious amounts of T-140 and BMD-22 tracks and chassis from the older vehicles. Thus, the T-160 now has twelve tracks – two modules with two T-140 tracks at the rear, and two modules with no less than four BMD-22 tracks each at the front. Initial reports suggest these have worked surprisingly well, though critics have pondered whether this will in the end, merely exchange one maintenance problem for another.

The main hull has been completely redesigned from the prototype version, though it retains almost identical performance. It is also slightly larger and more comfortable for the crew, yet while using more advanced full-scale production materials; it is actually slightly lighter in ground pressure. The various tools are also more secure, all now under armoured hatches, as opposed to being clamped to the open hull.

The prototypes carried ten small fuel tanks; four on rails at the rear, and six on the side above the main track module which were not easily jettisonable – a facet of the prototype’s incomplete status. These have been replaced by eight standard tanks on the full production model. Four on rails as before, but the other pair are mounted in a framework on the sides. This has a rear ramp which is folded up. Thus, if the vehicle needs to quickly jettison (or reload) those tanks, the ramp can be lowered and the fuel tanks simply rolled off or on easily.

Heavily armoured and protected by a shield generator, the Tsar Orlov can withstand significant damage. It is armed with twin 350mm cannons, larger and improved versions of those carried by the T-150 Indrik. The larger barrels allow it to fire AT-14V Spriggans, rather than the T-150’s AT-11V Sniper missiles. It also has two particle beam turrets for anti-infantry and anti-aircraft defence and a pair of turret-mounted rocket pods for additional firepower.