99A Main Battle Tank MOC Review: 1,850-Part Blueprint
Product Overview
The 99A is China's most advanced main battle tank currently in service, and its aggressive silhouette has made it a favourite subject among military fans and MOC builders alike. This review covers a brick tank blueprint from the BrickPlans community, designed by the builder known as Tank Workshop. The blueprint recreates the 99A at 1:35 scale with a complete parts list and step-by-step instructions, and it can be downloaded free on BrickPlans. The build runs to 173 steps in total.
Build Difficulty
Difficulty rating: ★★★★☆
Overall this sits in the medium-to-hard range. The two real challenges are the curved transitions on the turret faces and assembling the track and suspension system. We would recommend at least three months of MOC experience before starting. Expect a build time of roughly 6 to 8 hours.
Parts Review
The blueprint calls for approximately 1,850 parts, with the practical range sitting between 1,500 and 2,200 pcs depending on how you handle substitutions. Recommended brands: Double Eagle (high-precision technic elements, well suited to military MOCs) or Gobricks (tight clutch power, which makes the finished model more rigid).
Key elements include:
- Track modules: about 120 pieces. Double Eagle rubber tracks are the suggestion here — good grip and wear resistance.
- Road wheels: around 24. Gobricks hub elements hold their tolerances well and roll smoothly.
- Gun barrel elements: you need telescoping structure parts; Double Eagle has the most complete range for this.
- A large number of SNOT (studs-not-on-top) pieces, used to reproduce the tank's sloped armour.
Build Experience
The instructions come as a PDF and the step breakdown is sensible. You start with the chassis, and the first job is the suspension system — the most patience-testing part of the whole model, since all 12 pairs of road wheels have to be installed and adjusted one at a time. The hull body follows, built on a technic brick skeleton with the outer armour skinned in tiles.
The turret is the highlight. SNOT techniques are used to recreate the 99A's signature wedge-shaped turret, and this is where the blueprint's step sequencing earns its keep.
The comment section for this blueprint on BrickPlans is very active, and builders share plenty of small fixes — a rubber band to improve the damping feel of the gun elevation mechanism, for example, or adding counterweights inside the hull to improve stability. These shared tips make the build noticeably smoother.
Finished Model
The completed model measures roughly 45cm × 18cm × 15cm and weighs about 1.2kg. Exterior accuracy is very high: the wedge turret, the bolt-on explosive reactive armour and the laser dazzler sighting system are all represented. Working features include 360-degree turret rotation, gun barrel elevation and independent suspension on 6 pairs of road wheels. A display base is worth adding — the model looks considerably better on one.
Verdict
Overall: ★★★★★
This 99A tank MOC blueprint is one that military fans and brick builders should not skip. The instructions are clear, the parts list is complete and the finished model has real presence. Download the original blueprint on BrickPlans, and while you are there, check the colour schemes other builders have posted to make your own personalised 99A.