badger

Some progress on the Italeri kit tonight but before we get to that I'll explain the issues with the Black Dog Tiran turret. I tried fitting this last night to the hull of the Trumpeter T-54 I collected from a mate. It was immediately obvious something was wrong as the turret was much too shallow. On further inspection the bottom of the barrel (not the mantlet - the barrel!!) hit the hull roof. As the Blackdog box lid shows this there is obviously something wrong with the turret height. After a detailed inspection I noticed the turret was shallower on one side than the other, but the whole thing was way off (kit turret on the left). I was reluctant to bin it, as it was expensive. I did ponder cutting the Tiran fitments off and attaching them to the plastic kit turret but this looked very challenging In the end I decided that I would need to resculpt the lower turret. Mrs Badger was having a look at this point and asked if I could attach anything as a former to give the correct shape. Inspiration hit and I pulled out a spare Trumpeter turret base. This was the correct shape, and once the ring for attaching it to the hull was removed, fit nicely over the resin mounting area of the Blackdog turret. I then spent a fair bit of time getting the height of the Blackdog turret set correctly, using various spacers (bits of sprue) between the resin and the plastic base to both raise and level the turret. Once this was done I applied copious amounts of superglue, let it all dry and smeared on some greenstuff filler, poking it into the gaps between base and turret. I estimate I have had to raise the turret by at least 3 or 4mm, particularly on the left hand side. I sanded the greenstuff down this morning and applied a coat of vallejo filler to smooth it all out. I am now much happier with it. It may still be a fraction of a mm too low at the front but I can live with it now. Not sure how or why this has happened. All the photos of the built up kit on Blackdog's website clearly show it so it isn't just a bad casting. He has other T-55 sets with turrets in and these don't have the same issues. Having said this, I am also struggling to find anyone who has built a Tiran using the Blackdog set. If I ever build another I'll investigate the Model Miniature conversion instead as I really can't recommend the Blackdog set now. On a happier note my mate also gave me a single metal barrel, so the Italeri kit now has a gun. I've also been adding some more details, mostly using Revell bits. The log on the rear is from the Revell T-80 I think as the Italeri one is about 1/48 scale in thickness. I've filled the front grab rail mounting points on the turret as the supplied rails are way too short. I'm also part way through replacing the commanders sight for a more detailed one. Not too much more to do on this now. Back soon Ben

I've got a fair few Shermans in the stash as well! I also have the 1/35 one I bought from yourself which I keep looking at but am resisting the temptation so far. Kind regards Ben

The updated build plan: T-54 Trumpeter / Black Dog T-54 Model 1951: Almost finished, fuel lines on external tanks to add plus some small details. To be built as Soviet tank. Ammo T-54B: Hull and turret built, adding small details. To be built as NVA tank in Saigon. Trumpeter T-54: Just acquired. To be built as an IDF Tiran 4 with 105mm gun using Blackdog conversion. T-55 Trumpeter T-55 Model 1958: Original build in this thread. Built, painted, decaled. Just need to finish off the base and figures and weather the tank. Built as Soviet tank in Prague uprising Revell T-55AM with KMT-6 mine plow: Built and painted in base colour. To be built as East German tank. Modeltrans / Trumpeter / Revell T-55AM2B Kladivo: Built and primed. To be built as Czech tank. Trumpeter / Revell T-55A Model 1965: Hull built, turret conversion under way. To be built as a Soviet tank. Trumpeter / Black Dog T-55 Enigma: Hull built, turret fitted. To be built as an Iraqi tank. Trumpeter T-55 with KMT-5 mine rollers: Just acquired. To be built as a Finnish tank. Italeri T-55A Model 1970: Mostly built, needs gun barrel and some small details. To be built as a Soviet tank. Revell T-55AMV: In the post. Will get Trumpeter turret and home cast ERA blocks and laser sight to become an AMV version. To be built as a Soviet tank (tbc). Revell T-55A Model 1981: In the post. To get Trumpeter turret, laser sights and smoke launchers. To be built as Soviet Navy tank. Revell T-55AM2 Merida: In the post. To get Trumpeter turret if the Revell additional armour will fit. Needs laser sight adding. To be built as a Polish tank. That's the plan as it stands. I have all the kits (or they are on the way). There's a couple of barrels coming from various places and some resin to cast my own ERA blocks so once they arrive then things can really get moving. In the meantime I'm going to try and finish building the Ammo T-54, Trumpeter T-54, Italeri T-55 and the Enigma as these are all pretty close now. More soon Ben

Back home tonight complete with the two Trumpeter kits from my mate. I may also have ordered 3 more revell ones off ebay as they were going cheap!! Too late now but I'll update the build plan tomorrow. I've also been having serious issues with the Blackdog Tiran turret as it is way too low and appears to be missing several mm from the bottom edges. It also doesn't sit level on the hull. I've taken some photos which I'll upload tomorrow and have a fix in progress but its late now and I'm back at work in the morning.

Five 1/72 T-55s for my ongoing multiple build. Two Trumpeter which were free from a mate Three Revell off ebay That brings the total (currently) to 14!! I have a problem!

Lots of progress on the Italeri T-55 today. Turret has had the commanders hatch and periscope section replaced with Revell spares that were more accurate and better detailed. Mantlet cover, again Revell, has been added and will need filling at some point. Lifting eyes have been added at the front from Trumpeter spares - still need to do the rear along with various other fittings that Italeri have missed off. Lower hull is now complete, having had towing brackets, fuel drum mounts (the drums are not fitted on the real tank I'm modelling), and the idler wheels which were a pain to fit. Upper hull has had spare Omsh track links added from the spares in the Blackdog Tiran set that arrived last week (I said they'd come in useful!). The rear grille covers have also been fitted. Engine has had the final parts, the exhausts, added and is ready for paint. More in a few days as I'm away this weekend visiting family (and hopefully collecting the two Trumpeter kits from a mate).

It's been a strangely satisfying build so far sorting out all the problems and trying to make the best out of it.

Mouldtastic!! The parts are tacked to the thick foil (actually a pie dish) and then covered with two part silicone putty which dries in minutes. Once my resin arrives (I only have clear in) I can hopefully then cast up as many of these as I need. A clue as to a future T-55 project can be glimpsed here as some of these are under the moulds in the above photo More soon

Hi John Thanks for looking in. Yep sadly the hatches are moulded closed on all the Black Dog conversions. I contemplated opening the loaders hatch when I corrected the Enigma to have the machine gun but haven't got suitable figures so closed it in the end. It might be well worth an ask about doing it in 1/48. They have a range of 1/48 sets so it would fit in. Busy making some silicone moulds at the moment to try casting my own parts. Have ordered some resin to give it a go. Main item is the rear intake grilles from the Italeri kit as I need several sets of these to correct the Trumpeter hull. More soon Ben

This is where I'll leave off for today. I've managed to get the road wheels fitted this evening. Went with the Trumpeter spares I had as the Italeri ones were quite flashed up and would not fit together as the mounting point on the rear wheel simply wouldn't fit in the socket on the other wheel. The axles were a pain as the mounting pin is too short to securely fit to the hull. Italeri also try and key them so they sit at the correct angle but the moulding is so sloppy the axles just spin making setting the ride height quite challenging I've also glued the inserts with the lifting hooks into the turret. These are overscale and will be trimmed off, filled and some Trumpeter spares used instead. The mounting pins for the engine have been removed so it can sit further towards the front of the tank. With some ignition leads and a little more detailing it should look fairly good under the hatches. Finally Italeri have used a strange, hard plastic for this kit. Very reminiscent of the old Airfix Chieftain, Sheridan and Leopard. More soon Ben

A couple of hours this afternoon has led to this: I have replaced the stowage boxes and fuel tanks with Revell spares as these had better detail. I'm also replacing the turret hatches with Revell as these have interior detail and the drivers hatch as this seems too small. The engine is a little basic, but I'm hoping with some wiring up it will look the part as is a nice inclusion. The kit has it mounted much too far back, I've referred to some photos and a Miniart full interior build I found on the internet to figure out where it should go. As the transmission is attached this then ends up in the wrong place. There is a fair bit missing from the transmission area anyway so I decided to close the larger rear access panel. So far I'm not hating the kit but with a bit more effort it could have been spectacular which is disappointing.

A quick photo to illustrate the turret shape differences. Revell on the left, Italeri in the middle and a Blackdog resin copy of the Trumpeter one on the right. The Italeri and Trumpeter are very similar which is good news. The Revell one is clearly wider and more round which is very incorrect.

Couple more points on the Italeri kit: Gun is missing the mantlet cover fitted to all T-55s. Ammo box stowage is missing from the turret sides, as are all the tie down points. I really don't like how the turret lifting eyes are inserts into holes in the turret. On the plus side the Romanian markings seem accurate based on this screengrab from a youtube video of Saber Guardian 2019 exercise. More soon Ben

The Italeri kit has just arrived at the Badger lair and I've had an initial inspection. The good news is the wheels look usable and the turret looks a better shape than Revell, although I need to compare it to the Trumpeter one. The tracks are rubbish - very simplified and toylike. These will get replaced with some spare resin Model Miniature ones. The turret is missing the radiation padding between the cupolas, but this may not have been fitted to all. However cupolas and loaders hatch have the radiation protection so this omission is a bit odd. Easily corrected by using a piece cut from a spare Revell turret roof. The machine gun is fairly basic and may get replaced with a Trumpeter one (I've ran out of Revell ones). I'll have a better look at it later and may even start some construction. Ben

Progress!! The T-55 Model 1965 has had the commanders cupola grated on from a Revell kit as it needs the radiation armour on this build. I have cut out the loaders hatch and have a cunning plan as to how to replace this as I don't have the early forward opening hatch amongst my spares. I've also filled the holes on the turret for the grab rails and will replace these with wire. Moving on the the T-54 Model 1951. This has had the gun barrel reattached. Again. This time using araldite 5min epoxy so hopefully it'll stay attached. The Enigma has seen a bit of work attaching the armoured counterweight on the rear of the turret which had turned into a bit of a stumbling block. The Italeri kit should be arriving tomorrow from Jadlam so I can see what I've left myself in for with that. More soon Ben