Takom Goes Modern: Type 100 Fighting Vehicle and ZRY-100 Unmanned Combat Systems in 1/35

Takom just announced something that stopped me mid-scroll.

Most of us in the WWII and Cold War modeling world spend our time with subjects that are decades old. That is the comfort zone. But now and then, a manufacturer drops something that makes you look up and pay attention to what is happening right now. This is one of those announcements.

Takom is releasing 1/35 scale kits of the PLA Type 100 Fighting Vehicle and the ZRY-100 Unmanned Combat Ground Vehicle (UCGV), also known as the Robot Wolves. These subjects were officially debuted by the People's Liberation Army in late 2025, which means the plastic is following the real hardware by only months. That rarely happens.

What These Subjects Are

The ZBD-100 Fire Support Vehicle is not a conventional infantry fighting vehicle. Built on a modified Type 100 chassis with a front-engine layout, it carries only three dismounted riflemen, far fewer than a standard IFV. Western analysts have largely classified it as a fire support and network node platform rather than a traditional troop carrier.

What makes it genuinely different is the role it plays on the battlefield. It is designed to operate alongside the fourth-generation Type 100 Main Battle Tank as a sensor fusion and target acquisition platform, sharing automated two-way targeting telemetry with its companion tank. Its unmanned turret carries a rapid-firing 30mm or 35mm autocannon optimized for high-angle elevation to engage low-altitude drones, which tells you everything about the threat environment it was built for.

The ZRY-100 Robot Wolves are the unmanned combat ground vehicles in the same family: autonomous systems designed to operate as part of the same networked battlefield ecosystem.

In short, these are not vintage subjects. They represent a doctrine shift in armored warfare that is happening right now.

What Takom Is Offering

Takom is releasing these as separate kits and as a combined box set, giving you the option to build the full combat team in one purchase. For the scale of the subject and the recency of the real vehicle, this is a smart release strategy.

Full preview with box art and sprue details: Preview: Takom's 35th Type 100 Fighting Vehicle, ZRY-100 UCGV and Robot Wolves — The Modelling News

Follow Takom directly for release updates: Takom Official Facebook Page

My Take

WWII subjects are the core of what I do, but they are not the whole story. I have built a good number of modern vehicles over the years, and that part of the hobby keeps pulling me in. Contemporary armor presents a completely different set of creative challenges compared to historical subjects, and I find that interesting rather than intimidating.

Takom is making a deliberate move here. Releasing subjects that debuted in the real world just months ago, in 1/35, with a combined box option, is a statement about where modern military modeling is heading.

The storytelling with contemporary subjects lives in the technology itself: the sensor arrays, the unmanned turret geometry, the relationship between the manned and unmanned vehicles in the same diorama space. No patina, no heavy weathering from decades of service, no battle damage to interpret. You are capturing a system at peak operational condition, and getting that right requires its own kind of research and discipline.

This release is on my radar. The combined box set, in particular, is an interesting proposition for building an integrated modern diorama. If modern PLA armor is already in your rotation, this one is worth moving up the list.

What do you think about modern armor subjects in 1/35? Is this something you would build, or do you stick to historical subjects? Drop a comment below.

Jorge Damico has been building 1/35 scale military dioramas for over 40 years. Follow his builds, dioramas, and behind-the-scenes content at auttorama.com.