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Well, like buses, you wait for ages, and then two come along. In this case, it's T-55's, but mine is what the Israeli's did to the ones that they captured, namely the Tiran 5.

A brief history.

During the 67 and 73 wars, the Israelis captured hundreds of T-54s and T-55s from the Egyptians and the Syrians. Not being able to get their hands on the number of Centurions and M-48s that they wanted, the Israelis set about putting their war booty back into service, initially mainly unchanged. These were as follows;

Tiran 1; Unmodified T-54.

Tiran 2; Unmodified T-55.

Tiran 3; Israeli designation for unmodified T-62.

Tiran 4; T-54 with major modifications.

Tiran 5: T-55 with major modifications.

Tiran 4SH; Tiran 4 upgraded with a 105mm main gun and other items.

Tiran 5SH; Tiran 5 upgraded with a 105mm main gun and other items.

Tiran 6; Ex Syrian T-62's with 105mm main guns replacing the Russian 115mm.

There's also the Ti-67, but that's another story.

So actually, I suppose that this is really a Tiran 5SH. As well as the Tamiya kit.........

e4366bb6-ee4e-4026-8c4e-8d8dd313bcbd.JPG

 

......I'm going to use the Aber replacement 105mm gun, RB Models 7.62mm and 12mm mg's, along with the Voyager etched brass set and the Legend set for the fuel tanks.

 

543253ab-62dd-4bcf-bc3c-47365c3280c5.JPG

 

Progress on this will initially be slow as I'm still finishing my M1 and I have a trip back to the UK  coming up, but I like to have something started even when I'm still into a previous build, otherwise I get withdrawal symptoms!!

 

John.

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Yes, I've had this kit for a couple of years and have been gradually collecting the AM parts. Still got to get the tracks yet as the rubber bands are not what I want.

 

John.

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At the risk of adding to the cost burden, Blast Models do an engine deck correction (BL35255K): the Tamiya kit is a mix of Czech and Russian features, and the rearmost grilles are wrong for a Tiran.  They also do a nice T-55 detail update set for the Tamiya kits, which includes the engine deck parts (BL35036K).

 

I'll be watching this as I have the Tamiya kit too for a planned Tiran 5 with BTU-55, but I'm toying with using the Takom T-55 as a basis instead or waiting for the MiniArt T-55 (not listed for 2017 yet): I bought the Legend conversion before the Tamiya Tiran appeared.  The AM parts count for this project is up to about £130 now.  Takom have announced a Tiran 4 for 2017, which has considerably simplified that equally expensive sister project.  What's the betting they'll sneak a Tiran 5 out too?

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11 hours ago, Carius said:

Let's go together with our T-55 projects my friend :popcorn:

 

Slowly but surely. The tracks are what will slow me down, but hopefully, I'll be able to pick up a set in England.

 

John.

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11 hours ago, Das Abteilung said:

At the risk of adding to the cost burden, Blast Models do an engine deck correction (BL35255K): the Tamiya kit is a mix of Czech and Russian features, and the rearmost grilles are wrong for a Tiran.  They also do a nice T-55 detail update set for the Tamiya kits, which includes the engine deck parts (BL35036K).

 

I'll be watching this as I have the Tamiya kit too for a planned Tiran 5 with BTU-55, but I'm toying with using the Takom T-55 as a basis instead or waiting for the MiniArt T-55 (not listed for 2017 yet): I bought the Legend conversion before the Tamiya Tiran appeared.  The AM parts count for this project is up to about £130 now.  Takom have announced a Tiran 4 for 2017, which has considerably simplified that equally expensive sister project.  What's the betting they'll sneak a Tiran 5 out too?

 

So far, this is turning out to be one of the most expensive builds I've done. The kit alone was £46, and when you factor in the cost of p&p with the AM parts, I'm already past £100, and I haven't got the tracks yet!!

I looked at the Blast site and they have the update set in stock, but there are a lot of parts that are not needed. Unfortunately, the engine deck is out of stock.

That's great news about Takom and the Tiran 4 as that saves buying a T-54 and another conversion kit.

Thanks for the info.

 

John.

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1 hour ago, FrancisGL said:

NIce Project, a very nice stuff...Another success...:popcorn:

Cheers John

 

1 hour ago, snapper_city said:

Watching with interest. 

 

A long way to go, but it should be enjoyable.

 

John.

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11 hours ago, phildagreek said:

Interesting stuff, definitely on my "to do" list.

 

It's been on my "to do" list for a couple of years now. I thought that it was time to give the Shemans and cruiser tanks a rest, so this was a good choice.

 

John.

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15 hours ago, sonofjim said:

Great project , I do like a bit of IDF Armour ,and a T-55 to boot !

You have a very nice selection of AM there also John.

 

Yes, I've got a bit of a thing going at the moment for IDF tanks, what with this and the M1 that I'm doing and an M51 that I finished not long ago. Apart from the Aber barrel, the other AM stuff is new to me so fingers crossed.

 

John.

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40 minutes ago, Bullbasket said:

 

Yes, I've got a bit of a thing going at the moment for IDF tanks, what with this and the M1 that I'm doing and an M51 that I finished not long ago. Apart from the Aber barrel, the other AM stuff is new to me so fingers crossed.

 

John.

Something really neat about IDF isn't there ?  You'll get along great with Voyager etch John , I think I must have 75+ sets in the stash and they are my number one favourite etch co . Legend are also fantastic  and again you should find them a breeze and a pleasure to work with . 

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2 hours ago, sonofjim said:

Something really neat about IDF isn't there ?  You'll get along great with Voyager etch John , I think I must have 75+ sets in the stash and they are my number one favourite etch co . Legend are also fantastic  and again you should find them a breeze and a pleasure to work with . 

 

Gotta agree there. With an M50 and M51 built in 1/35th, an M50 scratch built in 1/48th, the M1 in WIP and now the Tiran 5, plus I've got another (albeit later version) M50 to build, I'd say yes, I do find something neat about IDF tanks. I also have a hankering after doing the M1 Super Sherman once I've got hold of a suitable kit.

I'll let you know how I get on with the AM stuff.

 

John.  

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2 hours ago, robgizlu said:

You've grabbed m attention and got me looking up Tirans.  The Takom offering sounds promising

Looking forward to seeing this unfold.

 

You're very welcome. I'm pleased to say that Takom haven't just duplicated what Tamiya have already done, but announced a different model, namely the Tiran 4. Now  I don't have to buy a T-54 plus expensive conversion kit, just expensive AM stuff!!

 

John.

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  • 1 month later...

I said it would be slow in starting, but finally, I've begun putting it together. Visit to Blighty over and I've now got the Fruilmodel tracks (and very glad that I have). I've also got the Blast Models update set which includes the engine deck.

Not a great deal of progress, but at least it's up and running.

 

7b0eac20-97f4-4a51-994a-78b167c69da5.JPG

 

ea480391-b415-4826-94ba-613801967aed.JPG

 

e3071493-619a-4066-9877-60fdccf94580.JPG

The only problem that I had with the tracks was when I used thin super glue on the end connectors. I used too much on one side and it flowed right through the links and welded them together. I think I got away with it this time, but I'll be using thick super glue in future.

As an aside; Fruilmodel give you plenty of links. So much so that I had around 70 plus left over. Do a couple more and I'll have a free set!!

 

John.

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The Tracks are looking good.  

 

For mine I opened the holes out to 0.6mm and used some 0.55mm wire I had here that gave more or less a close tolerance fit so I forwent superglue... If you are going to use some 'track fluid' on them to blacken them then I can suggest from experience that you need to soak them in some degreaser and really scrub the links to get the release agent out of the track patterns as if left it repels the blackening solution. 

 

Have fun...

 

Plasto

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