Well here is my newest project I an starting up that will be combined with several other vehicles for a diorama set in the closing years of the Russian-Afghan war. My goal is to achieve the tank seen here in the photo moving along the road with a KMT-7 mine roller.



For this project I will be using Trumpeter’s T-62 Mod. 73, Mig’s T-62M1, and KMT-7 mine roller.





Now there has been a lot of talk on different website that Mig has miss labeled the kit as a M1 instead of M. Mostly stems around the engine deck not being correct in the picture on the box as it displays a standard M and not an M1. With all the research I have done so far, I have not been able to find solid facts to say what the M1 deck is suppose to look like. The T-62M was fitted with V-55U engine, while the M-1 had the V-46-5M installed which supposedly had a different deck. Here are just some examples of the M engine decks.




The real problem for is the turret supplied in Mig’s kit is completely unusable for me. The turret has too much shrinkage in it to be of any use for the construction. Which is too bad since it had some nice details on it.




So now I will be using it as a template for my construction. I’m still debating as to which version of turret to build since within the M family there are many different configurations that could be made. I’m not going with the anti-radiation gladding and going for more common turrets.. I’m either going with the standard TPN-1-41-11 gunner’s sight supplied in trump’s kit, or go with the 1K13 sight/fire control system supplied in the Mig kit. Here just a few examples of possibilities.





I’ve started construction on the lower hull and first thing I did was to move the pesky wheel bump stops for the road wheels. Easy fit, just cut and move slightly over more. I also replaced all the missing weld seams and filled in location holes on the side of the hull (still needs to be sanded down). I also corrected the crew escape hatch on the bottom of the hull. One thing that I plan to improve on is the belly armor, the hole for the front drain plug does not line up the armor plate. Also the armor panel need to be widen just a bit more. But this will more a little bit later since I need order more plastic stock. Another thing to address is, if you plan to build any of the M’s, you need to add a second shock absorber to the number 2 road wheel. This not necessary since the road wheel will hide the part missing, but since I’m adding this much detail I will add.









Hopefully I will have more posted soon, I’m still casting parts from my first T-62 I built.

Hi there!

Very cool project you have going there! Nice progress so far. Sad to see MIG´s set being so unusable. I will follow this with a lot of interest.

All the best,

Andreas

Hi Christofer

Me too, i'm very interested in your project. I still remember your latest stunning georgian T62 so I think you'll amaze us

Very interesting pics and a very good start so far. Now I'm waiting for your step ahead

Regards and congrats

next time i am the tank scrap yard i will take some deck shots for you, there are plenty of 62s around.

Please Mike, take some pics also for us

Cheers

will do, i am heading there in a week for a range.
this is from a post i did earlier in the year, theres some 60 series pics in there

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/159924#1342382

Stunning pics indeed thanks a lot Mike!...

Wow Mike those are some outstanding pictures, take all the pictures you can!
I'm sadden that the turret in the Mig kit is unusable for this project, but I will be able to use it for a later project down the road. Sucks considering I paid 45 for the kit plus shipping and handling, once all said and done, somewher in the 50's. But yes thisproject will be along the same lines as my last T-62, lots of scratch building.

A shame to hear about the turret problem. A very interesting project, I'll be watching.
Hey Mike, while your taking pics over there, can you take pics of the interiors?? Looking for motor compartment pics of T-62's. Also any BTR 70's interior shots would be great.

Rob
www.scratchmod.com

Well here is just a small update on the construction so far. The rear lower hull plate is completed with all new details. All the missing weld seems have been added with stretch sprue and a soldering iron. I opted not to have the fuel drums mounted, instead I made new mounting brackets for the drum supports. The spare tracks came from fruilmodel with the retaining brackets made from strip and rod. New position light mounts and electrical conduits replaced the kit parts. The ditching beam straps are workable to allow me to add a piece of timber later during the painting process. Last the final drive housing has be detailed with a fill port cap, lock wire stop, and some sort of guard.






I moved my attention to the rear part of the engine deck to test fit parts and work out details missing. The photo etch screen supplied in the kit have a slight gap and needed to be filled with plastic strips

inspiring build bro bursting with details!:D exciting to follow!:D

cheers!

iking

Truly Outstanding
I have on T-62 in the stash
I should give it a shot

Howdy Christopher,

Nice progress so far. Your detailing tips will come in handy once I start my own T-62 build.

Regarding the turret you might want to check out this M-L thread:
http://www.network54.com/Forum/47209/message/1296296228/Mig+T-62M1+turret+too+small-+Edit+-+photos+added


Specially Olafs latest post here:
http://www.network54.com/Forum/47209/message/1296561933/Mig+response

Cheers,
/E

Hello

I also just spoke to the MIG Productions staff regarding this issue. They have asked me to write this posting on their behalf. MIG Productions would like to apologize for the problem regarding the shrinkage in the T-62M1 turret. They are currently correcting this isolated incident. Anyone else who has purchased a T-62M1 turret with this problem please send a letter to: [email protected]

This is a very interesting thread Christopher. I have saved all of the photos to use for reference on my PC. Keep us informed.

Sincerely
Adam Wilder

Hi Adam,

I just read the posting over on missing link and just sent you a message regarding the problems with the turret. But the whole turret has shrinkage in it, not just the sides. The TC and loaders hatch will not fit the race tracks in the turret and the mantel will need trimming in order to fit into the slot on the turret. The rest of the parts in the kit are just fine and match up with those supplied by trumpy. Just glad to see the problem will be fixed, now that's damn good customer service. My hats off for Mig listening to us, just wish other companies were this great with service.

Cheers
Chris

Guys,

Yeah, I have the same problem. I was pleasantly surprised by Mig Productions' response so far, and am waiting for the new turret to arrive. As said on ML, I'll keep you posted.

Cheers,

Olaf

Well progress has been going very slowly on the build. I’m in the middle of casting parts as I go and learning new things along the way. Since this will not be my last T-62 I will build, I felt it would be in the best idea to cast parts so I do not have to keep remaking them, more or less as a time saver. It has been at least ten years since the last time I cast any parts, so I’m kind of picking up were I left of at. Trying to think of new approaches to casting which is just trial and error for me. Thanks to a fellow Modeler Steve, I’ve manage to find just the right way to cast parts.

First up I made a copy of the crew escape hatch on the bottom of the hull. By far one of the easiest parts to make a copy of.


One of the things I hade to tackle was the missing second set of shock absorbers on the number two road wheels. I had to make a mold of the only contoured shock mount on the hull. This needed to be sanded to shape in order to match the hull.



Next up I made a new belly armor plate for the hull since the one provide in the Mig kit is just a bit small and holes for the drain plugs do not line up. For this I made just one armor plate with the correct hole in the middle and cast six copies needed for the new armor. I’m still not fully finished with this just yet as I still need to make the back portion of the armor, once finished this will also be made into a mold for copying.



One of the biggest areas for me was the engine deck. The photo etch screens provided by Trumpeter were a tad bit small and had a few gaps around the frames. Also the frame needed to built up more with a better separation between the two intakes. Bump stops and a few smaller details were added to the deck along with grill work in the smaller intake. Again this was also cast to help with future builds. All the intake covers are left of so I can paint them separate from the rest of the build to add some tonal difference in the paint.



Last but not least, I have moved my attention towards the front of the hull. Here I have added the bow frontal armor provided by Mig. Detail welds have been added with strip plastic and a soldering iron. New electrical conduits have be added with plastic rod and bent to shape. The driver’s periscopes have been detailed with strip and metal wire. I have also started to mount the equipment for the KMT-7 mine roller. I’m going to be pinning the mine roller support arms so I can paint everything in sub assemblies and pin everything back together once finished.


I still have a long ways to go, but now that I have my casting down, things should start to pick up more……..I hope. I have everything I need for the build now or just waiting for the mail to arrived to really dive into the build. Just waiting on Master club’s new Afghanistan figure to arrive in the mail from Hong Kong which just cleared customs.

Stunning work Christopher!

Look here

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=1762

and here

http://www.army.lv/files/246.pdf

Maybe will be useful for you (although I've noticed your build is very accurate and well documented)

I'm sorry for my huge ignorance about the t 62. I collected a lot of pics about this tank, but i've nevever studied yet because i've been involved in other projects
Would you mind answering me to one question?

I have saved some T62 manual drawings



To be honest...I have never noticed the second shock absorber near the third front wheel

Is just my low consciousness about the subject or the second shock absorber is mounted just on the T62 1972 variant?

Thanks a lot in advance for your reply

I think it was part of the M/M1/M-1 upgrade program to help the suspension deal with the extra weight. It wasn't a feature of model 62/67 or 73 T-62s.

Great work Christopher can't wait to see it all painted up and dirty.....

You should tackle a Tiran next.... Muhahahaaaaaha

Chris

Thanks Chris...It seemed strange to me

I' haven't collected yet any info about the M1 variant because I'm interested in 1965 version at the moment...

Yes the second shock asbober was only ment for the up armored version and you would not see it on the standard 62, 67, or 73 models. When the russian came out with the BDD package it added another something like 2 tons to the tank and shifted the center of gavity towards the front. You can actually see the second mount for the shock in this picture.


Also keep in mind the BDD package could be added to any of the three
variants. I have pictures of the plain 62 model with round loaders hatch and the old style engine deck upgarded with the new armor, LRF, and new gunner's sight. Once you get into the M's, it get a little confusing with the many different combo's of new equipment and the styles of the hulls. I might tackle one of the East German version with the 67 turret that only had the LRF installed.

Very interesting thread ! I'll look forward to you updates, this construction seems to be a good challenge!

May I ask you how did you exactly replicate the welding seems? You use stretched plastic sprue as the base material, but how do you make the ''texture'' of the seems ?

Great work so far!

Tom,
Some areas I use stretch sprue, other I will use plastic rod or strip depending on the welds I'm trying to make. I have a soldering iron with an X-acto blade lock wired on that I will use to make all the weld marks. Cheap and easy for me to use this method over trying to apply putty.