What is this kit like. Was it used in Iraq

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Paul,
Way back when I bought this kit somewhere for around £8.00, painted it a sandy yellow colour and called it an Iraqi T-55!
(It looked 'right' enough for me) and was a good test bed for trying the salt weathering technique. (If you use the salt technique paint the model sandy colour First. then put the salt on. Then spray the "original" (probably) Russian Green then get rid of the (now green) salt. That way the sandy 'top coat' will stay in the more sheltered areas and not be worn off.
I believe I've since read somewhere that Iraq used mostly Chinese type 69 and 59 tanks.
I know they've used T-55's but I have no idea how many or when.
As for the kit... Pretty much your normal Italeri offering. (couldn't tell you how accurate it is dimensionally, but it does look like a T-55). I do remember the tracks didn't want to bend and some TLC won't go amiss (nor will some scratched piping for the fuel tankage). But for eight odd quid who's complaining.
Tom

The Italeri kit is a rebox of the old AMT/ERTL/Esci kit. It was teh best out there until the Tamiya kit came along.

It is a good kit to practice things on...like conversions, scratchbuilding, or painting techniques. It is not the best T-55 though.

Yep, the Italeri kit is the reboxed AMT/Esci/Ertl kit. Good for practice of all kinds (including the dreaded "brick" practice). Ok, it's not horrible. But it's not great, either. You can read peter Brown's review of the Italeri kit on PMMS here.

I spent some time modifying one of these kits into a Tiran4/5. While the project is still in pieces on my workbench, the initial workup can be found https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/106684&page=1" TARGET="_blank">here. Not everything done on the Tiran is applicable to the standard T-55, but it should give you an idea of what details the kit is lacking, especially on the turret.

Remember, Google is your friend. You can find literally hundreds of T-55 reference pics online with just a little typing and some boolean magic.

HTH.

-YL

High-brow word of the day award goes to YL!

Remember, the Italeri kit is good for the RIGHT price. If you pay more than $10-15 for it, you paid too much. If you can get the Esci/Ertl/AMT version for $5, that is better. But to mkae it even up to Tamiya's OOB level, there is work to do.

I think the PMMS review gives you the best overall look at what the kit offers.

I remember buying a whole bunch of the Ertl/Esci boxed versions of the Ti-67 (IDF misnamed T-55) at an Odd Lots (or was it Big Lots?) close out store in Huntsville, AL for a whopping $4.99 a piece. There was one standard T-55 in the mix for $3.99. I think I bought 5-6 total tank kits. I built that thing about 4 times and a few still survive as airbrush targets.

He's right, before the Tamiya T-55, it was the best T-55 around. And before the current treand of Soviet armor, it was the best modern Soviet tank on the shelf, better than the DML T-72s and T-80s, Esci T-72/74, Lindberg T-55 and T-80 and the Tamiya T-62.

Thanks, Jacques.

I agree wholeheartedly with the price comments. The Italeri kit is worth it if you can get it for $10 or $15, because then you have lots of extra dosh to spend on upgrades. I haven't seen the Tammy T-55 selling for less than $45, so that's an extra 30-odd bucks you have in your pocket for tracks (although the kit's link-n-length track isn't so bad), a metal barrel, ignoring some inaccuracies, etc.

-YL