T-54 and Type 59

[flyinghorse]

Are there any visual differences between a T-54A and a Chinese Type 59 tank? If so, what are they?

[Old pro]

12 hours ago, flyinghorse said:

Are there any visual differences between a T-54A and a Chinese Type 59 tank? If so, what are they?

The easiest way to tell the two apart is by the weld line on the glacis, the T 54 has a distinct interlocking plate weld, the Type 59 has a straight weld similar to the T 55 along the bottom. The early type 59s also never fielded the IR gear seen on the T 54, otherwise the Type 59 is a straight copy.

[flyinghorse]

1 hour ago, Old pro said:

The easiest way to tell the two apart is by the weld line on the glacis, the T 54 has a distinct interlocking plate weld, the Type 59 has a straight weld similar to the T 55 along the bottom. The early type 59s also never fielded the IR gear seen on the T 54, otherwise the Type 59 is a straight copy.

Awesome, this helps. Any photos available that can help differentiate this? The T-54/55 family has always been a headache for me to identify, but being one of the most common tanks in the post-WW2 period, its a cool subject to model. I am currently thinking of building a North Korean T-54, but its virtually impossible to find good reference photos. I purchased a Trumpeter T-54A, and I am not sure if this kit could be used to try and replicate such a subject. 

[John Tapsell]

8 hours ago, Old pro said:

The easiest way to tell the two apart is by the weld line on the glacis, the T 54 has a distinct interlocking plate weld, the Type 59 has a straight weld similar to the T 55 along the bottom. The early type 59s also never fielded the IR gear seen on the T 54, otherwise the Type 59 is a straight copy.

Strictly speaking, the Type 59 is an officially licenced version of the T-54 rather than a 'copy'. This was agreed before the Chinese fell out with the USSR, which is why they never produced a version of the T-55. The Type 69 was an upgraded Type 59 with some T-62 features. (they captured a T-62 in a border skirmish and reverse-engineered some of the features to upgrade their '59 design).

The image below is from Net Maquettes (https://www.net-maquettes.com/pictures/t-54/). It shows the T-54 weld seam very clearly and demonstrates how the T-54 upper and lower glacis panels dovetailed together. On the T-55 and Type 59s, the weld seam runs straight across the full width of the upper glacis panel (one of a series of changes to simplify manufacture).

 

[Old pro]

17 hours ago, flyinghorse said:

Awesome, this helps. Any photos available that can help differentiate this? The T-54/55 family has always been a headache for me to identify, but being one of the most common tanks in the post-WW2 period, its a cool subject to model. I am currently thinking of building a North Korean T-54, but its virtually impossible to find good reference photos. I purchased a Trumpeter T-54A, and I am not sure if this kit could be used to try and replicate such a subject. 

North Korea used T 54, T 55 and Type 59 tanks, although as with most North Korean tanks, information about which variants are sparse and photos are rare. 

[Old pro]

10 hours ago, John Tapsell said:

Strictly speaking, the Type 59 is an officially licenced version of the T-54 rather than a 'copy'. This was agreed before the Chinese fell out with the USSR, which is why they never produced a version of the T-55. The Type 69 was an upgraded Type 59 with some T-62 features. (they captured a T-62 in a border skirmish and reverse-engineered some of the features to upgrade their '59 design).

The image below is from Net Maquettes (https://www.net-maquettes.com/pictures/t-54/). It shows the T-54 weld seam very clearly and demonstrates how the T-54 upper and lower glacis panels dovetailed together. On the T-55 and Type 59s, the weld seam runs straight across the full width of the upper glacis panel (one of a series of changes to simplify manufacture).

 

Didn’t mean to imply that they just copied it, of course it was a licensed, done before they parted ideologies, the lower glacis is also an identifier to the simplification of construction with it being a rectangle instead of having the lower corners cut at an angle near the road wheels, something that is hard to see in action photos. The type 69s main identification point is the larger cooling fan from the T 62 causing the bulge in the lower rear plate.

[Terance Wong]

On 13/06/2022 at 08:03, flyinghorse said:

Are there any visual differences between a T-54A and a Chinese Type 59 tank? If so, what are they?

 

The first 20 Type 59 is no different with T-54A. Chinese use T54A parts produced in Russian to built the tanks. The next 70 tank, parts produced in Russian, is almost identical, the different is the infrared searchlight is sometime missing. Only the commander tanks have the infrared searchlight. 

 

After the 90th tank left the factory, the Chinese stop building the type 59 tank for 2 years until they have production lines to make their own parts at home.  

 

 

Edited June 14, 2022 by Terance Wong

[badger]

You can download all of miniarts instructions from their website which might help.

 

I've been using them to help with my multiple 1/72 builds.

[flyinghorse]

On 6/13/2022 at 4:19 PM, John Tapsell said:

Strictly speaking, the Type 59 is an officially licenced version of the T-54 rather than a 'copy'. This was agreed before the Chinese fell out with the USSR, which is why they never produced a version of the T-55. The Type 69 was an upgraded Type 59 with some T-62 features. (they captured a T-62 in a border skirmish and reverse-engineered some of the features to upgrade their '59 design).

The image below is from Net Maquettes (https://www.net-maquettes.com/pictures/t-54/). It shows the T-54 weld seam very clearly and demonstrates how the T-54 upper and lower glacis panels dovetailed together. On the T-55 and Type 59s, the weld seam runs straight across the full width of the upper glacis panel (one of a series of changes to simplify manufacture).

 

Sorry, I cant see the image from Net Maquettes that shows the weld seem

[Old pro]

2 hours ago, flyinghorse said:

Sorry, I cant see the image from Net Maquettes that shows the weld seem

If you click on the link, and scroll down there are several pictures that show the interlocking plate weld on the T 54, that are not present on the Type 59