Badger's next build - 1/72 T-55 (model 1958) and 19 other friends

[sardaukar]

59 minutes ago, badger said:

To go alongside the T-55s I have been collecting various Soviet tank crew badges. The last one turned up today so I could finish off my frame.

 

 

That can hang in the hobby room alongside my display cabinet.

 

More soon

Ben

 

Nice collection, reminds me of perusing the army surplus shops as a student, I think I had the one with the star and leaves but likely long gone, or in with my BB badges .

[badger]

Progress!! Actual progress tonight!

 

I went to Capell Military Show yesterday and had a great time. Very much recommend it as worth a visit.

Managed to catch a Type 59 (Chinese copy of a T-54) running around the arena crushing cars so have ordered a second Ammo T-54 to convert into a Type 59 which brings the total to 14 in 1/72 and 3 in 1/35 now!!

 

I managed to get stuck into the AMV today, finished the main road wheels and attached lots of boxes and fuel tanks. I realised the AMV has two extra stowage boxes on the fenders either side of the turret so I've had a go at scratch building these from a pair of suitably sized boxes from an old Revell T-80 sanded to fit and the ribbing added with lead wire. 

Hopefully these will look a bit better under a coat of primer, otherwise I'll redo the ribbing.

 

I've attached the turret and added the extra armour around the cupolas and the radiation padding in the centre (green filler still to be smoothed). I've also attached the laser sight over gun but can't add the barrel until all the Kontact bricks are on.

 

Speaking of these I've finished off tonight by adding another row of these on the glacis plate.

 

More soon

Ben

[badger]

On 03/09/2021 at 23:37, sardaukar said:

 

Nice collection, reminds me of perusing the army surplus shops as a student, I think I had the one with the star and leaves but likely long gone, or in with my BB badges .

I spent a fair portion of my youth doing the same.

 

I believe it's an officers peaked cap badge, whereas other ranks just had the red star.

[badger]

Not a lot of progress over the last couple of days sadly as work has been frantic. Hard to believe we are only 2 days into the new term 🙄.

 

I did manage to finish adding the Kontakt blocks to the glacis plate last night, but thats about it.

 

The latest of my various international orders arrived today, this one from Jadar models in Poland. Amongst some non T-55 bits was a set of SG Modelling resin engineering equipment fixing points that are earmarked for the Tiran as Trumpeter didn't add these to their hulls sadly. This means I now have everything to build that.

 

The latest T-54 has been dispatched today and I managed to track down two aber metal barrels from a seller in Poland so have ordered both which will leave me a spare. Rather expensive and postage was a bit high but since RB seem to stopped production and have almost nothing in stock anymore I didn't have much choice. Still fractionally cheaper than the alternatives I found on ebay from china though (search type 59 barrel if anyones interested).

 

Also spotted Creative models have more of the miniart 1/35 models on offer via their ebay shop - this time the T-54a for £24 posted and the T-54b for £27 + £3 p&p. Must resist (although I did send Mrs Badger the link in the hope I get one for Xmas)!!!

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Just caught up with your epic project Ben.....Mine are buried under a deep layer of dust. 

[badger]

8 hours ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Just caught up with your epic project Ben.....Mine are buried under a deep layer of dust. 

Hi Sarge

Great to see you back!

It has turned into a bit of an epic hasn't it 🤣

 

There are more variants I could add as well (AM and a Tiran 5 immediately spring to mind), but for now these will do.

 

Its been a fun project so far and having multiple builds on the go has helped my focus strangely enough.

 

Just need to finish some of them now!

 

All the best 

Ben

[sardaukar]

Given that you've been eyeballing the miniart kits will you do it all again in 1/35th?

 

I bought the tamiya 1/48 kit along with photoetch after seeing it on youtube, very nice it is too. not trying to encourage you or anything .

[badger]

7 hours ago, sardaukar said:

Given that you've been eyeballing the miniart kits will you do it all again in 1/35th?

 

I bought the tamiya 1/48 kit along with photoetch after seeing it on youtube, very nice it is too. not trying to encourage you or anything .

I've got a couple of Miniart and a Takom kit in 1/35. Part of me would be quite keen to give it a go but the more rational part tells me I haven't got the space and given I haven't finished anything in 1/35 for 25+ years I'm unlikely to see it through.

 

For now I'll try and stick with the 3 kits I have but can't promise this won't change, especially as Creative models have some others on offer at a very good price.

 

Thanks for looking in

Ben

[Bullbasket]

It's looking excellent Ben (as are all of them). I know that it's not your favoured scale, but give the Tamiya 1/48th T-55 a go. You won't be disappointed. It's a great compromise scale between the two. The only thing missing are the positioning lights.

 

John.

[sardaukar]

On 05/09/2021 at 22:55, badger said:

Progress!! Actual progress tonight!

 

I went to Capell Military Show yesterday and had a great time. Very much recommend it as worth a visit.

Managed to catch a Type 59 (Chinese copy of a T-54) running around the arena crushing cars so have ordered a second Ammo T-54 to convert into a Type 59 which brings the total to 14 in 1/72 and 3 in 1/35 now!!

 

I managed to get stuck into the AMV today, finished the main road wheels and attached lots of boxes and fuel tanks. I realised the AMV has two extra stowage boxes on the fenders either side of the turret so I've had a go at scratch building these from a pair of suitably sized boxes from an old Revell T-80 sanded to fit and the ribbing added with lead wire. 

Hopefully these will look a bit better under a coat of primer, otherwise I'll redo the ribbing.

 

I've attached the turret and added the extra armour around the cupolas and the radiation padding in the centre (green filler still to be smoothed). I've also attached the laser sight over gun but can't add the barrel until all the Kontact bricks are on.

 

Speaking of these I've finished off tonight by adding another row of these on the glacis plate.

 

More soon

Ben

Looking forward to seeing this build complete. A t-55 covered in kontact bricks is an interesting sight.

[sardaukar]

5 hours ago, badger said:

I've got a couple of Miniart and a Takom kit in 1/35. Part of me would be quite keen to give it a go but the more rational part tells me I haven't got the space and given I haven't finished anything in 1/35 for 25+ years I'm unlikely to see it through.

 

For now I'll try and stick with the 3 kits I have but can't promise this won't change, especially as Creative models have some others on offer at a very good price.

 

Thanks for looking in

Ben

 I've stuck with 1/72 for the same reasons although a few 1/35 kits do sneak into the stash usually of current favourite subjects. I bought a miniart t-54 with interior and get it out to admire it unstarted in the box about once a month, it's a ton of sprues, then somehow the Tiran 4 joined it too. The 1/48 tamiya t-55 seemed a lot more manageable, but one day....

[badger]

5 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

It's looking excellent Ben (as are all of them). I know that it's not your favoured scale, but give the Tamiya 1/48th T-55 a go. You won't be disappointed. It's a great compromise scale between the two. The only thing missing are the positioning lights.

 

John.

Hi John

 

Thanks for this. Should a reasonably priced one cross my path I might very well be tempted. 

 

1 hour ago, sardaukar said:

Looking forward to seeing this build complete. A t-55 covered in kontact bricks is an interesting sight.

It is - I have a bit of a thing for tanks covered in kontakt / era blocks and have a selection of different ones in the collection.

 

As no-one makes a T-55 with them in 1/72 then I thought it would be an interesting challenge to give it a go.

 

1 hour ago, sardaukar said:

 I've stuck with 1/72 for the same reasons although a few 1/35 kits do sneak into the stash usually of current favourite subjects. I bought a miniart t-54 with interior and get it out to admire it unstarted in the box about once a month, it's a ton of sprues, then somehow the Tiran 4 joined it too. The 1/48 tamiya t-55 seemed a lot more manageable, but one day....

I've  been building 1/72 for the last 30 odd years. I started with matchbox tanks as a kid as I could afford them with my pocket money and have stuck with the scale ever since. 

 

My 1/35 are the non-interior versions but even so the sheer number of parts is rather daunting.

 

Thanks for looking in all.

Ben

[Old pro]

The problem with the enigma, is the side armour and how it rises in height towards the rear, https://www.onthewaymodels.com/gallery8/SBarnesEnigma.htm this is the ACE one built aeons ago but I did base it on the one at the tank museum and a ton of walk around photos, apart from models, I have never come across a picture of the real thing with steps in the side armour and as only a few were ever built would have thought they would be pretty similar but who knows?

[badger]

42 minutes ago, Old pro said:

The problem with the enigma, is the side armour and how it rises in height towards the rear.

Hi Simon

 

Thanks for looking in. I'd never noticed that about the blackdog set! Can't believe I've missed it as it's rather obvious now you've pointed it out.

I should be able to detach the side armour and trim them to correct this.

 

All the best

Ben

[badger]

On another note the Ammo T-54 arrived the other day so this will join the queue and be turned into a Chinese Type 59 in a rather fetching sand and green scheme eventually.

[badger]

Following on from @Old pros sage advice I revisited the Engima to see what could be done.

 

I was unable to remove the side armour panels as they had been welded on with some thick superglue, but I was able to remove the turret armour (which is probably more important).

 

I then trimmed the side panels down from this:

 

To this:

 

I added the panel separation lines back in with a razor saw and jobs a good un. Much better and as a result the turret armour sits better so will fit that back on in a bit as just out for an hours blackberry picking whilst the weather is nice(ish).

 

More soon

 

PS - copying in @sardaukar in the hope you are able to catch this for your own build.

[sardaukar]

4 hours ago, badger said:

Following on from @Old pros sage advice I revisited the Engima to see what could be done.

 

I was unable to remove the side armour panels as they had been welded on with some thick superglue, but I was able to remove the turret armour (which is probably more important).

 

I then trimmed the side panels down from this:

 

To this:

 

I added the panel separation lines back in with a razor saw and jobs a good un. Much better and as a result the turret armour sits better so will fit that back on in a bit as just out for an hours blackberry picking whilst the weather is nice(ish).

 

More soon

 

PS - copying in @sardaukar in the hope you are able to catch this for your own build.

 

Looking good Badger, I found the blackdog resin takes the superglue extremely well to the point that even the debonder didnt make much headway.

 

From what I've seen no two enigmas were exactly the same and that looks like a decent solution. Will try and post some progress on mine but there hasnt been as much as I might like yet.

[badger]

2 hours ago, sardaukar said:

 

Looking good Badger, I found the blackdog resin takes the superglue extremely well to the point that even the debonder didnt make much headway.

 

From what I've seen no two enigmas were exactly the same and that looks like a decent solution. Will try and post some progress on mine but there hasnt been as much as I might like yet.

Thanks for that - I found the same - there was no way the side armour panels were coming off but luckily I managed to prise off the turret armour which gave me some space to work.

 

The side panels were trimmed down with a pair of snips and a sharp knife, finished off with a file and then the panel dividing lines added back in with a razor saw.

 

Once both of these were done the turret armour was reattached. I'll need to add a little filler but to be honest the fit was rubbish anyway.

I then added the brass cowlings for the lamps which I had bent to shape a while back and the whole thing was put to one side to throughly dry.

 

 

Next I did some work on the T-54B which will be an NVA one from the fall of Saigon. Most reference photos show the front and rear trackguards missing and the fenders dented and bent. I cut away the trackguards which really changes the profile of the tank in my eyes.

The fenders were dinged up a bit with some tweezers. The rear barrels have already been pinched for another build as they are missing in my photos, along with the log. A bit of filler took care of various location holes.

 

 

More soon

Ben

[Bullbasket]

I don't know how you find the time to build all of these models at the same time, and mark some homework. But you seem to be managing. Nice work Ben.

 

John.

[badger]

2 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

I don't know how you find the time to build all of these models at the same time, and mark some homework. But you seem to be managing. Nice work Ben.

 

John.

Thanks John.

 

Luckily as I teach post-16 we don't have the same homework policies as schools so my marking comes in very intensive batches a couple of times a term, but the rest of the time I don't have any.

 

Hopefully I will get some time later to do a bit more.

[badger]

Some very exciting news - a parcel has just arrived at work from Germany containing 4 sets of the Revell T-55 wheel sprue (probably the best bits of the kit!).

 

I sent an email to Revell months ago asking if I could buy some sprues to save having to clean up the Trumpeter ones and got a reply some weeks later saying they would look into it and let me know. I hadn't heard anything so promptly forgot about it until today.

 

Once again great service from Revell.

 

More soon

Ben

[badger]

And, what at present, I plan to be the final version of my T-54/55 epic build has just been ordered.

Whilst browsing Kingkit's website for a birthday present for a mate, I might have "accidentally" added Trumpeters T-55 with BTU-55 dozer blade to my basket (it was a very reasonable price). Of course I only noticed this after I had confirmed and paid for the order .

 

Quite how Star decals Croatian T-55 decal sheet got in there as well, I have no idea!!

 

The plan for this is to be lightly modified into one of the Croatian tanks with a 50cal Browning M2 on the loaders position and the Star decals sheet gives options for this.

 

The dozer blade will be donated to one of my other builds, probably one of the Soviet ones.

 

Very glad now I ordered a spare Aber metal barrel when bought one for the Type 59 last week. I had a feeling it might come in handy. I'll  also replace the wheels with some of the Revell ones that arrived today.

[badger]

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: Adding final 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, metal barrel and Revell wheels

 

Ammo Type 59 - To be built as a Chinese tank

 

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 an Ethiopian tank.

 

Trumpeter / Black Dog T-55 Enigma: Adding final details. To be built as an Iraqi tank.

 

Trumpeter T-55 with KMT-5 mine rollers: To be built as a Finnish tank.

 

Italeri T-55A Model 1970: Mostly built, needs some small details. To be built as a Romanian tank.

 

Revell T-55AMV: Tankograd turret and SG Modelling Kontakt blocks. To be built as a Soviet tank.

 

Revell T-55A Model 1981: To get Tankograd turret, laser sights and smoke launchers. Possibly to have BTU-55 dozer blade. To be built as Soviet Navy tank.

 

Revell T-55AM2 Merida: To get Trumpeter turret with Tankograd cheek armour. Needs laser sight and smoke launchers scratchbuilding. To be built as a Polish tank.

 

Trumpeter T-55A Model tbc: To be built as a Croatian tank with Revell wheels and Star decals. Needs Dragon M2 Browning for loaders hatch.

[Bullbasket]

20 hours ago, badger said:

Once again great service from Revell.

Yes, I've had similar. I was given a Revell Crusader 1/35th, by a member of the model club that I was in, but he'd used the wheels on another project. An email to Revell, offering to pay for the complete sprues, and then a couple of weeks later, they turned up. Respect! Incidentally, my wife used to work in that factory in the 60's, before Revell took it over. They were known then as Bunde Glas.

 

John.

[badger]

4 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

Yes, I've had similar. I was given a Revell Crusader 1/35th, by a member of the model club that I was in, but he'd used the wheels on another project. An email to Revell, offering to pay for the complete sprues, and then a couple of weeks later, they turned up. Respect! Incidentally, my wife used to work in that factory in the 60's, before Revell took it over. They were known then as Bunde Glas.

 

John.

Hi John

 

I have found Revell to be very good in their customer service. Like yourself I was very honest about why I wanted the parts and offered to pay all costs and postage.

However there was no charge which I was blown away by.

 

Now I just need some time at the bench (actually my dining room table), to be able to use them!

 

More eventually

 

Ben