1. From looking around the it seems the consensus is that the best match for the Tamiya T-72 is a group of 27 tanks made in [?] and sold to the DDR. Is this correct?

2. If I modeled one of those tanks, what if anything needs to be corrected?

3. Are there any known photos of thes tanks in service?

4. What is the next closest match after the "group of 27"? What do I need to do to match one of those?

I know I can change out the turret, change out the wheels, change out the upper hull, etc. to make Russian or other common versions, but I'm happy to make what's closest to the kit. I'm willing fix somethings, just not wholesale replacements.

Thanks,
KL

Read this -

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/167913&page=1

Pritty much explains everything

Here you are:
With and without smoke dischargers

I think this tread would be incredibly useful for you

http://www.network54.com/Forum/47209/thread/1300646016/Tamiya+T-72+turret-+Good




http://www.primeportal.net/tanks/scott_tremblay/t-72/

http://www.primeportal.net/tanks/jim_caddo/t-72m1_walk_1.htm

http://www.militaertechnik-der-nva.de/Aservatenkammer/VerschrottungT72/VerschrottungT72.html

Regarding the kit correction, as you can see on the real tank the extra fuel cell on the left fender has the hnges on the inner side...



On Tamiya kit they are on the outside ( I take that pic in the net. I'have never made that kit)

Well . . . that's where I started and while the information may be in there, there is a lot of info on making an Iraqi version, correcting the kit to match the box designation, and making other versions mixed in as well. Heck, there are even a few posts on T-64s in there! I couldn't find one that said "Here is how to make the kit match the prototype" that says (besides the fender box hinges) what should be fixed. I would gladly "follow a photo of a real tank" (I nearly always do) but I couldn't find information on any photos showing those particular tanks.

So, that's why I posted with some direct questions. Maybe having it all in one place will same a few cycles of the periodic "Is the Tamiya turret wrong?" exercise!

KL

Thanks orpant!

Boy, those tanks sure got around. It's amazing that there are so many photos of a variant that only had 27 units.

When were the smoke dischargers applied?

KL

Yes it was, thank you.

KL

I think your right Spider, but you got it the wrong way round,

On the real T-72 the hinges are on the outside, and the latches are on the inside, on the Tamiya kit, the hinges are on inside, and the latches are on the outside.



white = hinges
black = latches

Yes, it must be so. It would be easier to correct. It would be enough remove and substitute the latches with some others made with metal wire

I haven't "studied" the T-72 yet. As usual is incredibly hard understanding the Russian tank develpment and recognizing variants and versions

I have a DML t-72 in my stash, but I don't know if I build it....is too wrong so i think I'll wait (and I hope) for a Trumpeter new tool...

If you (or other guys) need Russian walkarounds let me know. I've recently found a link with 330 walkarounds with on average 70 photos a set (!!!!)

I go on holidays tomorrow. I'm going to Helsinki, I'll be back on 16 Aug

Let send me a pm and i'll give you the link as soon as I'm back

Cheers and Thank you Matt

Something a bit strange about this picture -



It has applique armour added to the front plate, but then on top of that there seems to be a very thin plate of sheet steel added, it's welded around the main edge of the applique armour, but not welded around the detail points, like the tow hooks and fitting bolts, it looks like a thin sheet of steel thats been "layered" on top of the applique, seems a bit odd.

I think what appears to be a layer on the edge nearest the camera is a the way the weld was deposited: a number of beads (wide) on the bottom layer, one less wide on the layer above that, two less wide on the next layer, and so on until the upper most layer was only one bead wide. This is the standard way of making a weld that is triangular in cross-section. (Look up Multiple Pass Fillet Weld.)

On the cutouts, there is less space (because of the protrusions) and less need to have large welds. There is probably only one bead in the openings, essentially just to keep the plate from warping up and opening a gap between the main and applique plates.

KL

Ahh yes, I see what you mean, they have only done 1 or 2 layers of welding around the hooks and fittings bolts, so it leaves a clean sharp inner edge on the plate, making it look like another plate on top, when in fact as you say it's just one thick plate.

Matt and Kurt,

You guys figured it out...those are welds. I have known the tank in the images that Mauroi posted very well since it came into the Canadian Forces possession back in the early 1990s. It is ex-East German and has weathered pretty hard over the years. It was a runner....rough sounding and a very dodgy transmission...but it did run in the 1990s. Canada obtained about a half dozen of the East German tanks after the wall fell.

I was fortunate enough to have crawled all over and inside it many times. The driver's compartment is complete but the turret interior is pretty bare....the sights have been removed as well as the gunner's and commander's seats. The warning placards inside the tank are in German.

I figured out how to mount the fording gear on the gunner's hatch and I was able to get the manual override for the auto-loader working....what a nightmare it would have been in the turret.....scary bits everywhere!

The tank used to be parked on the base in Calgary before it closed in 1996....in the same compound with our Squadron of Leopard C1s! Since then the tank has sat at "The Military Museums"....a great reminder of the Cold War!