I'm not a huge armor guy, but I know just enough to be dangerous. I know Trumpeter has some very old, very bad T-54/T-55 kits, and of course there's the be-all and end-all Tamiya T-55. But aside from the Skif and Trumpeter T-54s, is there any other choice out there in 1/35? Apparently Panzershop did a resin conversion to do a T-54 out of the Tamiya T-55, but it's no longer listed on their web site.

Anybody got any info??

Tks!

J

AEF Designs does a conversion, albeit poorly, by making changes to the Tamiya turret and recasting it. Save your money and do it yourself. The ventilator dome would take the most time, but is not difficult to do. And of course get a turned aluminum barrel.

Thanks for the reply. I haven't found anything out there on the Panzer Shop conversion except for a review (sans photos) on HyperScale of the early T-54 set (which has the wrong road wheels). Anybody know anything about it??

Tks!

J

I do not. I would venture a guess that they've done similar corrections to theTamiya turret that AEF Designs did, only with far better casting quality and no fear of missing or damaged parts.

J,
Take a look at Tank Workshop.

T-54B conversion for the Tamiya kit.

item # STZ031 T-54B Conversion

http://www.tankworkshop.com/Shop/agora.cgi?cart_id=656.26940&next=30&exact_match=on&product=Tank+Maker

I have done business with them twice recently- very pleased (or I wouldn't point you in their direction).

Steve

Thanks Steve! I'll give them a shout.

Cheers,

J

What type of T54 are you wanting to build? The Tamiya T55A kit is close to a T54 out of the box with a few changes. The TWS T54B conversion set is nice I used it on a T54 with great results.

There are a few things specific to a T54 that you'll need to consider. The front glcis had 2 "z" welds on the front instead of the straight weld line on te T55. The T54 had 4 lifting lugs on the turret - MOST T55s had 3 with 2 in front and 1 in the center rear. THere are a bewildering number of engine deck configurations and storage layouts as well. THe Tamiya kit depicts the earkly style fuel cells so they will work on your T54 - unless its a VERY early model with the boxed style ( these are in the Trumpeter T54 kits). Early T54s had the LHS Storage box on the fender with a different top as well as the rear one.

I wish I could post some pictures to illustrate this differences but ....

I would suggest doing some research into a particular model to represent.

I have been researching T54/55s for about 6 months intensively and Ive found they are very complex to say the least. Many refernces have wrong ids which compound the problem. I have several russian text books that Im working on translating but its taking quite some time. The WWP book on the T54/55 is a great starting point, but its about $40.00
The Russians tended to upgrade their tanks on a fairly regular basis so older T54s would receive newer wheels, gun barrels, etc... this makes it easier for us modellers though........

The Panzershop sets are ok but a little clunky in some areas. They are AFAIK out of production as well. I have spare ventilator domes and other bits I could part with to help you as well as copies of some of my refs if it would help - just send me a pm.

I m currently working on a SLA Trian 5 and a T55 Russian model 58 (the one with the LHS hatch opening towards the front) and it will be an Egyptian one.

Chris

Thanks for the info Chris. I'm aiming for a T-54B as seen in Prague in August '68 during the Soviet/WARPAC invasion of Czechoslovakia. Except for the mushroom ventilator dome and the machine gun on top of the turret, this one appears to be nearly a T-55 from what I can see. I'm not well read or observant enough to notice things (yet) like lifting lugs, etc, so anything you see here that you can point out (compared to the Tamiya T-55), please shout out.

Any idea what that smaller cylinder is that's outboard of the fuel drum on the back end? I'm assuming that thing on top of it is the snorkel, right?

Thanks again for all the help guys!

J

That small cylinder you're talking about is a smoke canister, as seen on T-34/85. There must be another one in the other side. It is a T-54B, so it looks more like a T-55, apart from the mushroom ventilator on the turret roof. It should have four lifting hooks on the turret, T-55 have only three. Engine deck should be a little different as well. I have some pics. If you want them, tell me your e-mail. Good luck with your project. Best regards.

José.

Muchas gracias Jose! My email is [jrh - at - pemtel.net]. Very much appreciated!

J

Can anyone point me to a photo of how those smoke canisters are mounted onto the hull??

Tks!

J

Hi Jennings

I'm currently working on a T-54 my self and have found a walkaround that might help you here: http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=1092

The vehicle is a T-54-2 /m1949, an earlier T-54, and I think it's been updated (it's got new starfish wheels, Luna searchlight, rear fueldrum rack etc., hence new smoke cannister mountings have been added to the rear fenders, as in your photo).
Anyway, it shows two different mountings of the cannisters. Hope this helps a little.

/Tomas