_GOTOBOTTOM
Яusso-Soviэt Forum
Russian or Soviet vehicles/armor modeling forum.
Hosted by Darren Baker, Jacques Duquette
T-55A in Prague 1968
madcow
Visit this Community
Lisboa, Portugal
Joined: December 01, 2001
KitMaker: 33 posts
Armorama: 32 posts
Posted: Wednesday, April 15, 2015 - 12:09 AM UTC
Hi guys,

Quick question. To build a Soviet Army T-55A used in the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 using the Tamiya kit, what option should I use?

I'm thinking it's the B without the machine gun, but I'm not 100% sure.

Thanks in advance,
Ricardo
grunt136mike
Visit this Community
Florida, United States
Joined: November 24, 2012
KitMaker: 1,896 posts
Armorama: 1,858 posts
Posted: Wednesday, April 15, 2015 - 05:42 AM UTC
Hi;

You could do either A T-54 or A early T-55, Find A Good reference Photo and use it on your Build. When you copy A Photo its best to take Notes on the Details and you should be able to source the parts needed in the Tamiya kit. If you are going to depict one of the Vehicles in Prague, then your vehicle should show A lot of Damage !

GOOD LUCK; MIKE.
DerGeist
Visit this Community
Ohio, United States
Joined: January 21, 2008
KitMaker: 735 posts
Armorama: 707 posts
Posted: Wednesday, April 15, 2015 - 06:02 AM UTC
Did you have a particular picture in mind? If you could post one we could give better options for you.
GeraldOwens
Visit this Community
Florida, United States
Joined: March 30, 2006
KitMaker: 3,736 posts
Armorama: 3,697 posts
Posted: Wednesday, April 15, 2015 - 08:19 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi;

You could do either A T-54 or A early T-55, Find A Good reference Photo and use it on your Build. When you copy A Photo its best to take Notes on the Details and you should be able to source the parts needed in the Tamiya kit. If you are going to depict one of the Vehicles in Prague, then your vehicle should show A lot of Damage !

GOOD LUCK; MIKE.

You may be thinking of Budapest, 1956, which was open warfare between the Hungarians and the Soviets. The Soviet incursion into Czechoslovakia in 1968 to overthrow the Dubcek government was unopposed.
M4A1Sherman
Visit this Community
New York, United States
Joined: May 02, 2013
KitMaker: 4,403 posts
Armorama: 4,078 posts
Posted: Wednesday, April 15, 2015 - 09:28 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

Hi;

You could do either A T-54 or A early T-55, Find A Good reference Photo and use it on your Build. When you copy A Photo its best to take Notes on the Details and you should be able to source the parts needed in the Tamiya kit. If you are going to depict one of the Vehicles in Prague, then your vehicle should show A lot of Damage !

GOOD LUCK; MIKE.

You may be thinking of Budapest, 1956, which was open warfare between the Hungarians and the Soviets. The Soviet incursion into Czechoslovakia in 1968 to overthrow the Dubcek government was unopposed.


Gerald is RIGHT! My Dad was Ukrainian, so we as a family followed what was going on in Czechoslovakia on the nightly news at 6:00 on TV with a GREAT DEAL of trepidation. We worried that the Soviet Union may be taking action against other Warsaw Pact Nations, of which the Ukraine and Poland were also members. My Dad's Mom was Polish, so we had relatives in the Ukraine AND Poland. My Mom was German, with relatives in both East and West Germany, so we also had a great deal of concern over what, if any, other courses the Soviet Union would take...

I can distinctly remember seeing the Russian T-54s and T-55s in Praha on TV, with a few BTRs (I couldn't tell which models), and let me tell you, we didn't know if a firefight was going to develop in front of the eyes of the entire Free World. We had the same tensions over Hungary in 1956, which of course, turned out to be a lot more violent. My parents are both gone now, but the current conflict in Krym and the Ukraine has living members of my family on edge all over again.

The T-54sand T-55s in Praha seemed to be the standard Soviet Green color with white markings and numbers- It was tough to really discern exactly, with just black-and-white TV...
madcow
Visit this Community
Lisboa, Portugal
Joined: December 01, 2001
KitMaker: 33 posts
Armorama: 32 posts
Posted: Thursday, April 16, 2015 - 12:40 AM UTC
Hi guys,

thanks for the replies. It looks like it won't be that easy, after all. The Tamiya kit doesn't include some of the parts necessary for a T-55 from that era such as the loader's hatch, or so I've read.

Blast Models has an update set that includes many parts, including the ones I need, so I'll order them, even though I already broke my modeling budget for this month (actually, up to November 2019).

Also, as far as I know, most of the tanks in Prague were T-54s and it's hard for me to look at a photo and know if that's a T-54 or T-55, because they are very similar and I'm not that familiar with this tank series.
Kuno-Von-Dodenburg
Visit this Community
England - North, United Kingdom
Joined: February 20, 2007
KitMaker: 1,453 posts
Armorama: 1,319 posts
Posted: Thursday, April 16, 2015 - 12:14 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Gerald is RIGHT! My Dad was Ukrainian, so we as a family followed what was going on in Czechoslovakia on the nightly news at 6:00 on TV with a GREAT DEAL of trepidation. We worried that the Soviet Union may be taking action against other Warsaw Pact Nations, of which the Ukraine and Poland were also members.


But Ukraine was a part of the Soviet Union at the time, was it not?
GeraldOwens
Visit this Community
Florida, United States
Joined: March 30, 2006
KitMaker: 3,736 posts
Armorama: 3,697 posts
Posted: Friday, April 17, 2015 - 06:16 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi guys,

Also, as far as I know, most of the tanks in Prague were T-54s and it's hard for me to look at a photo and know if that's a T-54 or T-55, because they are very similar and I'm not that familiar with this tank series.


The Soviet practice of regularly upgrading existing tanks can make identification difficult, but the easiest way to distinguish a T-54 from a T-55 is to look at the turret roof. The T-54 has a large, dome-shaped ventilator ahead of the loader's hatch, while the T-55 does not (Chinese knock-offs, the T-59/T-69 series, were based on the T-54, and also have this ventilator).
DerGeist
Visit this Community
Ohio, United States
Joined: January 21, 2008
KitMaker: 735 posts
Armorama: 707 posts
Posted: Friday, April 17, 2015 - 08:11 AM UTC
Here are various Soviet T-55 from the invasion, including one with a DShK(which is the only one I have).






madcow
Visit this Community
Lisboa, Portugal
Joined: December 01, 2001
KitMaker: 33 posts
Armorama: 32 posts
Posted: Friday, April 17, 2015 - 05:21 PM UTC
Thank you for the photos. They will be very useful. The tank with the DShK is very interesting. I thought this was added later, so I might use it on mine.

I already ordered the Blast Models update set and will order the Bison decals some time next week, so all is set.

Hopefully, the Blast Models will get me enough spare parts to build an East German T-55 as well (with my luck, it will also need the loader's hatch I'll use on this one).
M4A1Sherman
Visit this Community
New York, United States
Joined: May 02, 2013
KitMaker: 4,403 posts
Armorama: 4,078 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 18, 2015 - 06:58 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

Gerald is RIGHT! My Dad was Ukrainian, so we as a family followed what was going on in Czechoslovakia on the nightly news at 6:00 on TV with a GREAT DEAL of trepidation. We worried that the Soviet Union may be taking action against other Warsaw Pact Nations, of which the Ukraine and Poland were also members.


But Ukraine was a part of the Soviet Union at the time, was it not?


No, Ukraine was not a part of the Soviet Union. The Ukraine was a Warsaw Pact Nation- The Ukraine had her own flag, governmental offices, etc. The flag was Maroon, with a narrow Light Blue band at the bottom, and the Gold Tryzub (Trident) was superimposed over both colors, centered at mid-point in the flag.

Ukrainians DO NOT consider themselves to be Russians, and vice-versa. I have NOTHING against the Russian people- they share with us all the same love and devotion to their families as well as their country, so please understand that I DO NOT WISH for this to become a political debate. I am merely stating that the Ukraine and Russia are separate Nations...

The Ukraine is, and always will be a separate Nation, with her own language, customs, and her own National Pride...
KPHeinrich
Visit this Community
Frederiksborg, Denmark
Joined: September 08, 2007
KitMaker: 98 posts
Armorama: 90 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 18, 2015 - 08:22 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text


Quoted Text

Gerald is RIGHT! My Dad was Ukrainian, so we as a family followed what was going on in Czechoslovakia on the nightly news at 6:00 on TV with a GREAT DEAL of trepidation. We worried that the Soviet Union may be taking action against other Warsaw Pact Nations, of which the Ukraine and Poland were also members.


But Ukraine was a part of the Soviet Union at the time, was it not?




No, Ukraine was not a part of the Soviet Union. The Ukraine was a Warsaw Pact Nation- The Ukraine had her own flag, governmental offices, etc. The flag was Maroon, with a narrow Light Blue band at the bottom, and the Gold Tryzub (Trident) was superimposed over both colors, centered at mid-point in the flag.

Ukrainians DO NOT consider themselves to be Russians, and vice-versa. I have NOTHING against the Russian people- they share with us all the same love and devotion to their families as well as their country, so please understand that I DO NOT WISH for this to become a political debate. I am merely stating that the Ukraine and Russia are separate Nations...

The Ukraine is, and always will be a separate Nation, with her own language, customs, and her own National Pride...


The Ukraine was a part of the USSR until its collapse. Whats the point in claiming otherwise?

Sorry to the OP for going
RotorHead67
Visit this Community
Virginia, United States
Joined: May 07, 2003
KitMaker: 1,174 posts
Armorama: 772 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 18, 2015 - 10:26 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi guys,

Quick question. To build a Soviet Army T-55A used in the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 using the Tamiya kit, what option should I use?

I'm thinking it's the B without the machine gun, but I'm not 100% sure.

Thanks in advance,


Ricardo;
There were mostly T-62's in the invasion of Prague?????

Ricardo
put bold text here put italicized text here
madcow
Visit this Community
Lisboa, Portugal
Joined: December 01, 2001
KitMaker: 33 posts
Armorama: 32 posts
Posted: Sunday, April 19, 2015 - 05:24 PM UTC
I'm also not getting the thing with the Ukraine being a Warsaw Pact country and not part of the USSR.

The Ukraine was part of the USSR until 1991, and then it became an independent country.

Todd, I read that most of the tanks in the invasion of Prague were T-54s, but that information could be wrong. I know there were T-62s there as well.
DerGeist
Visit this Community
Ohio, United States
Joined: January 21, 2008
KitMaker: 735 posts
Armorama: 707 posts
Posted: Sunday, April 19, 2015 - 08:30 PM UTC
There was a good mix of T-54, T-55 and T-62 taking part in the invasion and even some T-10. Let's not forget that the whole country was invaded, not just Prague.
madcow
Visit this Community
Lisboa, Portugal
Joined: December 01, 2001
KitMaker: 33 posts
Armorama: 32 posts
Posted: Sunday, April 19, 2015 - 09:44 PM UTC
I just realised from another post that Trumpeter's T-62 mod 1962 has markings for a tank photographed in, I think, Bratislava, except for the invasion white cross. With Meng about to release the T-10, it'll be an interesting collection.
madcow
Visit this Community
Lisboa, Portugal
Joined: December 01, 2001
KitMaker: 33 posts
Armorama: 32 posts
Posted: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 - 03:15 AM UTC
Hi guys,

I have just received Blast Models T-55 Update set. However, I'm not sure about these options they give me.



At first, I was going with the "East German/Soviet/Polish option" (D+F), but, the loader's hatch in some of the photos I've seen looks more like the A option "Czech and Polish version T55 Mod 1958", so it could be also the A+F option.

Any ideas? Maybe combine some of the options.
madcow
Visit this Community
Lisboa, Portugal
Joined: December 01, 2001
KitMaker: 33 posts
Armorama: 32 posts
Posted: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 - 03:29 AM UTC
Continuing with my previous post, checking the Bison decals instructions (I also got this sheet), it looks like not all the T-55 had the same turret hatches and rings.

Bison decals - Page 1

Bison decals - Page 2
chefchris
Visit this Community
North Carolina, United States
Joined: February 06, 2006
KitMaker: 1,544 posts
Armorama: 1,464 posts
Posted: Saturday, May 30, 2015 - 05:03 AM UTC
The Blast stuff is superb.... Go with the Polish/Czech model 58 set up but you need to reverse the loaders hatch to open towards the front of the vehicle. However the early T-55 had a different Commanders cupola with the extra cladding that is in the Tamiya kit. It should be lower and with a ring around the upper portion. There are 3 different cupola set ups for t54-55s.

Chris
koalorka
Visit this Community
Canada
Joined: June 16, 2010
KitMaker: 48 posts
Armorama: 46 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 02, 2015 - 09:05 PM UTC
Just discovered that DEF Model out of South Korea makes a special "Prague" update kit to Tamiya's T-55: it depicts several T-54 vehicles with decals for two historic vehicles:

http://defmodel.com/catalog/htm/dm35039.html

This is re-invigorated my interests in building a 54. Anyone have experience with this line of resin?
Frenchy
Visit this Community
Rhone, France
Joined: December 02, 2002
KitMaker: 12,719 posts
Armorama: 12,507 posts
Posted: Thursday, June 04, 2015 - 12:20 AM UTC
Just a few more pics (previously posted wrongly by me in a T-62 thread )



Full size







Full size

H.P.
RotorHead67
Visit this Community
Virginia, United States
Joined: May 07, 2003
KitMaker: 1,174 posts
Armorama: 772 posts
Posted: Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - 11:16 AM UTC
[/url]

T-62 1968 Invasion of Prague
Frenchy
Visit this Community
Rhone, France
Joined: December 02, 2002
KitMaker: 12,719 posts
Armorama: 12,507 posts
Posted: Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - 01:30 PM UTC

Quoted Text

T-62 1968 Invasion of Prague


Full size

H.P.
RotorHead67
Visit this Community
Virginia, United States
Joined: May 07, 2003
KitMaker: 1,174 posts
Armorama: 772 posts
Posted: Monday, August 03, 2015 - 12:19 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

T-62 1968 Invasion of Prague


Full size

H.P.

Thanx Henry awesome much better
Todd
M4A1Sherman
Visit this Community
New York, United States
Joined: May 02, 2013
KitMaker: 4,403 posts
Armorama: 4,078 posts
Posted: Monday, August 03, 2015 - 01:33 PM UTC
[quote]
Quoted Text


Quoted Text


Quoted Text

Gerald is RIGHT! My Dad was Ukrainian, so we as a family followed what was going on in Czechoslovakia on the nightly news at 6:00 on TV with a GREAT DEAL of trepidation. We worried that the Soviet Union may be taking action against other Warsaw Pact Nations, of which the Ukraine and Poland were also members.


But Ukraine was a part of the Soviet Union at the time, was it not? [/quot

No, the Ukraine was labeled as the UKRAINIAN SSR by Moscow, which despite strict Soviet Russian control, was a sovereign nation. The Ukraine IS STILL a separate, sovereign nation, and MOST of her people wish her to remain so, no matter WHAT the Russian Federation, Pro- Russian Separatists, or Putin may say or want...

The Ukraine has her own Capital, KEIV, not KIEV as the Russians and much of the rest of the world mistakenly call this beautiful city...



No, Ukraine was not a part of the Soviet Union. The Ukraine was a Warsaw Pact Nation- The Ukraine had her own flag, governmental offices, etc. The flag was Maroon, with a narrow Light Blue band at the bottom, and the Gold Tryzub (Trident) was superimposed over both colors, centered at mid-point in the flag.

Ukrainians DO NOT consider themselves to be Russians, and vice-versa. I have NOTHING against the Russian people- they share with us all the same love and devotion to their families as well as their country, so please understand that I DO NOT WISH for this to become a political debate. I am merely stating that the Ukraine and Russia are separate Nations...

The Ukraine is, and always will be a separate Nation, with her own language, customs, and her own National Pride...


The Ukraine was a part of the USSR until its collapse. Whats the point in claiming otherwise?

Sorry to the OP for going
 _GOTOTOP