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Takom T-55 AMV.


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I'm getting into russian tanks in a big way, I'm going to work through a few, starting with this one. I like all the boxy armour stuff.



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Some sprue shots.



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Some PE

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Yep, those tracks again. At least the bag is more robust than the Chieftain's was.

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Took a while to work out that this is actually Sprue M, not a second sprue E.

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I like the subtle waves they molded into these plates

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Glorious turret and rubbery bit.

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correction to instructions, a bit weird.

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I made a start, the underside is nocely detailed, the wheel legs are complcated little things, with many small parts.

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I spent so long down here looking for A7 that it qualified as a valid part of the process worthy of a photo. No luck.

The part just vanishes, no sound to idea how far it bounces...

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Wow! I lost this small handle for another model about 6 weeks ago!

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More wow, Takom somehow knew I would lose this part and included two spares! In fact, there are two spare drive sprockets on the sprue too?

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Takom included a pair of polycaps with the kit, but don't refer to them anywhere on the instructions? They look like they fit inside the front idler wheel but the peg the wheel fits onto is very short. Takom are crazy.

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With the wheel legs done (it is wheel legs right?) onto the hull top, which is split into three, presumably for versions.

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Just checking ahead to see what the instructions say about the tracks.



These are the same 'instructions' as the chieftain, in other words, 'Here's a bag of links that don't clip together, good luck, brave modeler'.

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Cheers!

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Nice! I'll be following this one as I want, no need, no must have one of these!

My only gripe with the Chieftain was some sprue gates were in irritating places on parts.

With the tracks I only bothered to build enough to cover the visible part, I didn't bother with a full run as it was covered by the bazooka plates. The same approach would work here I suspect!

Phil

Edited by SaintsPhil
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NIce stuff, nevertheless you can leave a very interesting model. I would also drop small pieces, and if present, is when I no longer need, because the soil is also a nightmare for that :banghead: . Cheers Tristan :thumbsup:

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Thanks Andy for the polycap tip! I totally forgot it was the same as the chieftain, if I recall, they were very stiff. It is wierd that the wheels are designed to hold polycaps though, I wonder they didn't include more.

Phil, I know waht you mean regarding sprue attachment, the road tires have a fine tread detail that will be very difficult to preserve when removing the sprue bits. The drive sprokets also require a lot of cleanup.

Thanks Francis!

Yeoman, did you see miniart's new T-54?

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Coming nicely - I have the T-55AM in the stash, but it's the Type 69-II that I'm really looking forward too! However, the wheels aren't quite correct for that variant, (all the wheel hubs should be the same size) so some creative thinking will be in order, I think. I can see me buying a Tamiya T-55 specifically for use as a parts mule.... :hmmm:

As for the drive sprockets, Takom have included both styles used during the life of the tank. This kit and the T-55AM use the later one.

There's also another manufacturer releasing a T-55 kit - Panda Hobby are going to release one that can be built as either a Russian or Czech produced vehicle: LINK.

Mike. :)

Edited by MikeR
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Yeoman , I don't know how they compare I'm afraid, this only my second tank kit!

My First was takom's cheiftain, and I used the included track and doggedly perservered until I had them so I could remove them for painting, including the top links. I don't want to go throught that again so I went for some Friulmodel.

I don't know at lot about tanks really, Like how the AMV uses later (T-72?) tracks, or why they included a small chain?

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On the left are the Takom tracks, with Friulmodel's on the right.

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Are Mike R pointed out the second sprocket was for earlier tracks, and fits these Friulmodel tracks. I theory I could use them still although there is a guide (that thing in the middle of the left hand sprocket that looks like an old phone dialer wheel) takom only give you one set of these and I already glued it onto the sprocket.
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There are some intereting ejector pin artifacts on the inside of the turret, also inside the hull.

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made a start on the brick things. Incidentally, The instuctions call for 1mm holes to be drilled, I found that if you instead drill 0.7mm you can get a good friction fit of the parts. The hole on the far right of the hull is the only small one I managed though. Also, I think the holes that are in between the lego brick strips are not centered in between the lego bricks, I think is is supposed to be in the center though.
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Looks good all bricked up. The two tow cable hooks between the brick parts are not a comfortable fit, I went against the instructions and glued the hooks on first.
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Some wheel assembly, the tires are separate and a snug fit, might even paint them off the wheels.
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I did end up removing the tread detail, which reveals a bad seem on most of these tires.
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Made a start on turret bricks. This was tricky to get them all the the right level.
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Some bricks going on.
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Cheers!
Edited by TristanR
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Thanks for the track info. Most Russian kit is pretty interchangeable, so upgrades between tanks is pretty common. I will go for the Takom kit and bring in my track expert ( my son) to build them.

Your build is looking good.

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Part S7 is a clear periscope part. It is also in here somewhere.


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One side of Era bricks (thanks Sean) fiddly to do, but fun.


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I lost a hinge part here, had to make a field repair

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Some work on the sills, with it's boxes and such.

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I find the gap on the box under turret weird. The PE part doesn't really cover it, I think I want to make a wall there.

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I'm not sure of the layout of T55's but my guess is that the box is an upgraded gunners sight. There is a photo on Wikipedia that shows a similar looking box. If I'm right then it could well be proud of the turret roof.

Your build is coming on well. The crew look very lifelike

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These are Masterclub's T-72 RMSh type tracks, and They will fit this kit. I was going to do a write up of the process, but I keep accidentallly swiping left with two fingers which goes back in the browser, loosing the write up. So let's hope the pictures tell the story.


Further down there are some tricky parts about the cable and fuel tanks.


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Fantastic build Tristan, i am just catching up, re your carpet exploits you have my complete empathy, i do ponder changing to a different floor covering but then think the flying part would only bounce further. At least i found another use for the pound shop head torch.

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Thanks Wogga! I forgot to mention, Against all odds I found the missing periscope, clear part S7. It turns out bare feet are effective at finding pointy items in carpets. I really should use a mat or something, this carpet has to be the worst possible floor covering after lava.

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