Trumpeter T-62 Mod 1975 with Mine Plow 1:35

[Mike]

T-62 Mod 1975 with Mine Plow
1:35 Trumpeter

Intended as a replacement for the T-55 in the early 60s, the T-62 was an evolution of its forebear, with an uprated 115mm smooth-bore cannon that could fire kinetic penetrator rounds, a new larger turret and ring, which in itself required a re-designed larger hull. Additional armour was incorporated in the re-design, but this was concentrated in the upper hull at the expense of the lower hull and roof area. Once in service the tank underwent a seemingly endless upgrade process, of which the Mod.1975 was one that had a laser range-finder fitted to the roof of the turret in an armoured box as well as other modifications from earlier changes.

It was successful in the export market too, with many friends of the Soviet Union using them to this day. The later T-62M is still in service with the Russian army, although it has a very different look to it than the early variants.

The Kit
The range of T-62s from Trumpeter just keeps on getting larger, and there are plenty more to go if they are going to make the most of the basic tooling, because there were a lot of variants, especially if you include the overseas operators. The box is standard for Trumpeter, and inside is a small divider to keep the hull and some smaller parts safe, and the following:

• Lower hull
• 10 sprues in mid grey styrene
• 7 sprues in mid brown styrene
• 4 sprues in black styrene
• 1 clear sprue
• 2 Photo-Etch (PE) sheets
• Metal barrel
• Braided copper wire
• Decal sheet
• Instruction booklet
• Colour painting & decaling guide

It's quite a full box as a consequence, and a well-rounded package with separate black styrene tyres for the road wheels, a metal barrel, PE and towing cables adding value. Detail is very good, and the casting texture on the turret is nicely done. The mine plow (sic) gives it a little variance from other marks too, and the inclusion of individual links adds realism to the track runs, although I fully appreciate that not everyone likes them.

The build begins with the road wheels, which are supplied with separate black styrene tyres, which you can paint separately if you're so inclined, and even leave black if you're going for a parade ground or factory fresh finish. Each wheel is paired with another plus a central cap, with a total of ten made up of two types. The idler wheels are made up from two opposing crown-shaped parts, and the drive sprocket is three parts, which of course you make two of. The lower hull is complete save for the rear bulkhead, which has a couple of holes reamed out for small parts before being attached to the hull. Swing-arms, dampers and final drive housings are added, and the lower glacis plate is skinned with a detail panel that has the mounts for the plough moulded-in, the bolts protruding from which must be cut off to accommodate the mount later on. The wheels are glued in place on the axle stubs, and the tracks can then be made up from 97 links per side if the pictorial representation is accurate. Each link is separate and held on the brown sprues with three sprue gates, which are all placed on the curved edges of the tracks for ease of clean-up and hiding of any mistakes. Use liquid glue to make up a run, then drape them round the wheels while the glue is still soft, holding the runs in place using tape or compressible foam to get the correct sag so the track touches the tops of some of the road wheels and not others. In-service machines seem to exhibit this configuration, but museum articles are often seen with poorly adjusted tracks that are either too tight and don't touch any/many of the roadwheels, or far too loose with noticeable sags. At this stage an unditching is added to the rear, with the aft segment of the final drive housing placed beneath.

The top deck is a large part consisting of the glacis plate, driver's hatch deck, turret ring, and the sides of the engine deck, which needs a few holes poking through from underneath before you start covering it with detail. Personally I'd add the main parts of the deck to the lower hull before doing most of the detailing work. But the instructions would have you adding the hatch, light clusters, grab handles, bow-wave deflector etc. beforehand, then adding the engine deck panels with their PE grilles after. They also show the fenders being detailed before installation with stowage, but as these items are quite robust they should stand up to handling. They attach to the hull via a pair of long tabs and slots on the sides. At the rear are two external fuel drums that consist of four parts each and are supported by two curved brackets that slot into holes in the rear bulkhead, plus two towing cables made up from the braided wire and styrene eyes draped around the rear and front decks.

The turret is next, and this builds up in the usual manner with top and bottom halves joined early on, and no breech detail included. Hatches, vision blocks, grab rails the obligatory searchlights and sensors are added, along with a rear mounted deep wading tube stowed on the bustle. The gun is then built up from either the turned aluminium barrel plus some small PE and styrene adornment, or a three stage styrene barrel, the end of which is a single part to give a hollow muzzle. Whichever you choose, you can then also choose to have a canvas covered mantlet or a bare one by swapping parts, after which the multi-part laser range-finder box is mounted to the mantlet shroud and plugs into a hole in the top of the turret next to the largest of the searchlights so typical of Cold War tanks. The turret is a drop-fit onto the ring, so take the usual precautions when handling, or glue it in place.

The mine plow/plough is a complex assembly that uses up quite a few parts, and is actually a pair of handed assemblies, one for each track-path. With careful use of glue you can leave it capable of movement, or take the easy way out and glue it in position. The assemblies fix to the lower glacis plate on the two rows of raised bolts you shaved the heads off earlier in the build. I'd consider pinning them in position with brass rod, as the contact patch doesn't inspire confidence to carry the weight or resist much handling.


Markings
Russian green is about all you need to know for this kit, as that's all that is shown on the colour markings guide. No decals are shown on the guide, but there is a sheet of serials in white and Soviet/Russian badges in yellow and red for you to use after doing a bit of research on an individual machine, or picking a number you like. I find that a little lazy, as there are plenty of interesting schemes out there, but in the age of the internet it's not difficult to pull down reams of photos at the click of a button. I'd have preferred there to be an easy option though, and citing of a few specific schemes and vehicles would have been better. The decals are nicely done though, with good register, a dense white, and closely cropped glossy carrier film.

Conclusion
The mine-plough equipped T-62 has a rather aggressive look that is appealing to this reviewer, and overall the kit has good detail, a comprehensive package that lacks only some decent decal subjects. I like Trumpeter armour for those reasons, and they have a generally good reputation in 1:35.

Highly recommended. Go and research some paint schemes while you wait for it to arrive though.

Review sample courtesy of
UK Distributors for