MiniArt Tiran 4 Sharir Early Type w/Dozer Blade (37044) 1:35

[Mike]

Tiran 4 Sharir  Early Type w/Dozer Blade (37044)

1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd

 

 

During the fighting with Syria and Egypt that plagued the Middle East in the 50s and 60s, including the 6-Day War and Yom Kippur, the Israelis had captured many T-54s and T-55s that had been supplied to their opposition by Soviet Russia.  Many were taken intact or very nearly so, and with little work they could be pressed into service in Israeli tank battalions, where they were given the name Tiran 1 for the T-54, and Tiran 2 for the more mature T-55.  Initially they were used almost unaltered from the original Soviet specification, but as time went on changes were made to the T-54s, which became the Tiran 4.  The next upgrade replaced the original smooth-bore 100mm gun with a rifled 105mm gun with fume extractor fitted roughly in the middle of the gun tube, which makes identifying them a little easier.  It was given the name suffix “Sharir” after the name given to the gun, which had an amended breech that allowed the loader easier access to complete the task.  A number of other upgrades were made including improved sights from their own stock of Sherman tanks, and western auxiliary weapons systems in the coax and crew-served weapons.  The new shells also demanded amended stowage, as did the ammo for the machine guns, and the communications equipment was upgraded too.  Infra-red was all the rage at the time, so an infrared searchlight with sight at the commander’s position, plus many other improvements to better integrate with the rest of the IDF’s forces.

 

 

The Kit

This is a partial new tool of the base T-54 kit that MiniArt recently tooled, and part of a long line of brand new and highly detailed T-54 and T-55 kits that they are producing on a regular basis over the last year or so.  The kit is an exterior kit, so inside the box we find sixty nine sprues in grey styrene, three in clear, an enlarged fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, and a decal sheet, with the instruction booklet having a colour cover that also includes the painting guide for the five decal options.  Many of the sprues are from the base T-54 kit, but some have been culled from the recent SLA APC T-54 with dozer blade, which shares the same rear part of the dozer in that kit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the lower hull, which will be familiar to anyone with another T-54 kit, beginning with the lower portion of the hull, which has the axle mounts inserted into the curved sides, then has the torsion bars inserted and the swing-arms attached around them.  Armoured covers are fixed around the axles, then the side portions of the hull are made up and added to the sides one at a time, with final drive housings inserted into the holes at the ends.  The engine firewall is used to brace the sides, then the glacis plate is prepared, with different parts used depending on whether you are fitting the dozer or not.  A choice of bow deflectors is given, and a full set of light cages are made from PE, with the clear lensed lights hiding within, then the assembly is attached to the lower hull along with a small section of the rear bulkhead, then the upper section is detailed with parts and covered by a stowage “bucket” that overhangs the rear of the vehicle.  The top surface of the tank is then assembled with turret ring, engine deck with access panels and PE grilles, and a group of straps that stretch across the aforementioned stowage bin.  About this time the twin road wheels are made up with caps and attachment pins, plus the drive sprockets and idler wheels, the latter right at the forward edge of the sides of the hull.

 

The fenders that run along the sides of the tank are both detailed with fuel tanks, stowage boxes and fuel lines, plus a number of PE parts that detail the forward mudguards and create cages for fuel cans that are also mounted on the fenders.  There are a lot of parts added, including the exhaust, after which they are slotted into the sides of the hull on their tabs.  The track links need to be assembled and fitted, with 90 links per side and each link having four sprue gates to clean up, but no ejector pins or sink marks – just excellent detail.  They are glue-fit, so are best assembled with liquid glue and wrapped around the wheels while the glue is still “damp” and malleable, then taped, clamped and braced in place to preserve the correct amount of sag where necessary.    At the rear of the hull an infantry telephone is installed on a PE bracket, which was one of the extras added to the Tiran 4 to facilitate easier communications between troops and their supporting armour.

 

The turret is next, and there are some spare parts that won’t be used, so take care to clip the correct ones off the sprues.  The ring is built first, then slotted inside the lower turret and joined by some small parts of the operating mechanism.  The basics of the breech are then made into a sub-assembly and glued in place on the turret lower by two upstands with a pivot point moulded into it that allows the gun to elevate.  The upper turret is prepped with track links, hatches on an insert with vision blocks, vents and emergency self-defence Uzi sub-machine guns clipped into place inside the roof.  A pair of machine guns are made up on pintle-mounts with ammo boxes and lengths of link connected to the breech, with the larger M2 variant in front of the commander's hatch.  The gun tube is a single part that slides into the mantlet inner during the assembly of the two turret halves, and other small parts  including aerial bases, the blast bag around the gun (with PE clips), more spare fuel cans and stowage are all added before attention shifts to the dozer blade if you are using it.

 

The dozer blade is a Heath-Robinson affair, 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, then mated with the base using three pins at the lower edge, and a small control rod at the top that prevents movement during transport.  In addition to the blade, there is also a projection at the centre of the main blade surface, which attaches via two brackets and has a single “foot” at the end, then the whole assembly is glued onto the glacis and the turret is twisted into place on its bayonet fitting.

 

 

Markings

There are five markings options in the box, with scope for creating other vehicle number plates by using the additional digits on the decal sheet.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• Military parade for Israel’s Independence Day, Tel Aviv, 1973
• 274th Tank Brigade of the IDF, “Yom Kippur War”, the Sinai Peninsula, October 1973
• IDF military manoeuvres in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, August 1973
• IDF, 1973-74
• IDF 1970s

 

 

 

Options C & D don’t have their serial numbers recorded, which explains the extra digits for you to use as you see fit.  Decals are by DecoGraph, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas.

 

 

Conclusion

The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) have a long history of re-engineering less than optimum equipment, and the Tiran series is a good example of this.  A dozer on a tank is also an attractive option, so this early version will doubtless be popular amongst IDF modellers.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[Basosz]

Holy Hannah. 69 sprues and it's "just" an exterior kit. Are they gonna get into triple digits for the interior one?

Not really into modern armor anymore, but this might be something to get. Have been eyeing a T-55 for a while and I like IDF stuff.

[Kingsman]

Tiran 4 and 5 were always Tiran 4 and 5. Never Tirans 1, 2 or 3 as stated above.

 

The 105mm versions were 4Sh and 5Sh. The 2 conversion standards, simple early and more complex late, are simply early and late.

 

However there were no early type Tiran 5s: all were Late 5Sh.

 

Tiran 4s came in early 100mm, early 105mm and late 105mm configuration. However a handful of Lates built for the SLA retained the 100mm gun.

 

These are truly magnificent kits. If there is one let-down it is that the workable tracks are not included as standard.