MiniArt SLA APC T-54 w/Dozer Blade (37028) 1:35

[Mike]

SLA APC T-54 w/Dozer Blade (37028)

1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd

 

 

During the period that the South Lebanese Army existed from 1985-2000, they had a small force of tanks that included T-54s that had been bought from Russia, with little opportunity of topping up losses.  When one T-54 was hit and had its turret destroyed, it was recovered to the workshops and had the remains of its turret removed and replaced by welded sheet metal to give it an open-topped “doghouse” to fill a new role as an Armoured Personnel Carrier, hence the designation APC-54.  It was sometimes seen using a large red makeshift dozer blade that was attached to the glacis plate with a substantial base plate supporting the V-shaped blade.  The APC was painted a pale blue colour and was used in the 80s, surviving to end up in an Israeli museum without its blade, where it has been photographed many times by visitors in a fresh coat of light blue paint.

 

 

The Kit

Hot on the heels of dozer-less variant we reviewed here only a few days ago, this boxing has the dozer blade sprues and a small revision of the armoured upstands that protected the crew from incoming rounds.  The box is slightly more full than the previous boxing due to the swapping out of unnecessary parts for their replacements, with seventy six sprues in grey styrene, one in clear, a revised sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) brass and the new instruction booklet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with a blow-by-blow recreation of the hull as per the earlier kit, with the exception of the more makeshift bench seat mounted perpendicular to the direction of travel, and a box-like seat with stowage space underneath at the rear.  The glacis plate is amended due to the fitment of the dozer, and at the rear the arrangement of louvers is also slightly different, using more individual PE louver panels.  The replacement doghouse parts have been moved forward in the build process, with the addition of two prominent aerials mounted within the corners.  The fenders are then made up with exhausts with additional fuel tanks and a slightly different connection route for the hoses that feed the fuel into the engine compartment.  Pioneer tools, stowage boxes and other items on the fenders are subtly different from the earlier boxing, showing MiniArt’s attention to detail with this duo.

 

The tracks and road wheels are all identical to the earlier boxing too, with 90 links each side that have four sprue gates and should be easy to clean up and put together.  Moving on, the weapons are made up with rolled PE cooling jackets running full-length on the M3, and the shorter one fitted to the M2.  Each gun is well detailed and has a box mag and length of link leading to the breech, plus pintle-mounts that fit inside the doghouse.

 

The most visually different aspect of the build is of course the dozer blade, with the first job to build up the attachment assembly, which has a large number of parts for its size.  It has rams to adjust the angle and deployment of the blade, which is next to be made.  The straight rear is firstly glued together with stiffeners and attachment points for the rams created, onto which the angled blades are added, making a two-layer affair that could presumably allow it to be used in a straight or v-shaped configuration.  Various small fittings are added to the back, then the two sub-assemblies are mated and secured in place by three stout pins, with a slender link at the top.  It is fixed to the glacis plate along with the machine guns, with an overhead drawing giving sufficient detail to ensure it is positioned correctly.

 

 

Markings

There are none!  Again.  The APC is blue, while the blade assembly is a rusty red, and once it has seen any action at all, that paint will become distressed and damaged, with plenty of opportunity to practice your weathering and chipping techniques.

 

 

 

Conclusion

I don’t know what it is that appeals about this kit, but it does.  The addition of the dozer blade in the contrasting red is the cherry on top, or in front at least.  The detail is excellent throughout, with so much scope for weathering that you could go crazy if you really wanted, as some of the photos of it in service show it quite well worn.

 

Very highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[Basosz]

Just so I get this right... this is a model of ONE tank? Just one T-54 that got its top blown off?

If it is, then that's commitment from MiniArt to model every single version of the T-54/55. Also means they got a long way to go!

[Mike]

That's how I understand it, yes.  Why the doghouse was changed, I don't know.  I've searched, but can't seem to find much information, probably for the reason it's a little known operator and possibly just a one-off.  It's certainly quite the commitment from MiniArt, especially with the addition of the dozer blade, which takes up a fair number of parts.