Hi all

This will be my very first in Russian armor, a pair of T55's I just started. I got lucky and won two ESCI T55's on ebay, both for $15 bucks. I know they are not as good as the Tamiya kit, but for my first modern russian tank they will do.
One tank will be build as a wreck and the other will be museum tank or maybe a wreck, I haven't decided yet.
I'm slowly researching and trying to familiarize myself between the T55 and T54. I won't try to make them totally accurate due to my limited knowledge of Russian tanks but I will add some detail and correct any parts that don't look right or lack in detail.
Here is what I did today.






On the wreck tank I removed the fenders and plan on replacing them with new ones made from either thin plastic sheet or Aluminum. The upper section was wider than the lower hull so I had to glue plastic sheet to the sides to make it one flat side.
I added Mr.Surfacer to both turrets and will work on them some more today if I have time. I used Squadron white putty to fill any sink marks and also make weld seems with the same putty.
The engine deck does not seem right to me. I have downloaded lots of pics and walk arounds fron the internet and can't seem to find a tank with the type of hatches depicted in the ESCI kits. The Tamiya kit has the normal hatches as in most photos I've seen. The engine hatches I'm referring to are the ones directly behind the turret. The ESCI hatches are squared and hinge to the rear. If anyone can help me out here, it would be most helpful.
Please let me know if I'm doing some thing wrong here, this is my first and have to get used to these Russian tanks.

Rob

off to a good start. Rock on.

Oh nice work mate. Good start

Rob intereastng choice mate. Good start I look foward to watching this.

We all start somewhere. Looks like a fine start, have fun and enjoy.

Cheers,
Jan

Thanks for the support guys. I did some more work to the turrets last night. It's going a bit slow due to my lack of knowledge when it comes to this tank. I basically have to have the PC near me so I can check the pic ref's as I build.
Well here is how they look so far.





I'll be working on the turrets some more today, starting with the spot lights. I'm sure that after I build a few of these I'll get to know the T55 pretty good.
Hope I haven't made any mistakes so far, If you see anything please let me know.

Rob

Hi Rob,

It's great to see another build log of yours. I'm sure they'll finish up as two piece of art. Than we'll ask the question why spending 40$ on a kit from XXXXXX if we can have two for 15$ The details you added to the turretslook really good.
All I can say about this tank is that's is Russian and I guess it should be green Not sure if it really helps

cheers

spit

Thanks Spit and I'm glad to hear your watching this build.
Just a small up date on the turrets.


The kit supplied spot light mount is very basic, consisting of only 4 parts counting the light. I decided to scratchbuild new ones for both models.




Here is on mount with the kit light attached.



The Iraqi T55 wreck has the same mount minus the spot light.

This adds a bit of detail to the very basic kit parts and once painted and weathered will look better. That's it for now, I'll post up dates as the models progress. Of course any and all feedback is most welcome.

Rob

Hi Rob,
You’re doing a great job on these old kits. Just one thing if memory severs me right, Esci forgot to include the loaders periscope when they made the kit,
You will have to scratch built one or use one from DML’s Russian kits,

Thanks for that tip, i'll check into it and maybe scratchbuild one. There are still a few items on the turrets that I have to add, when they are done I'll post the pics. Hopefully I get it all right and don't forget something important.

Rob

Great Work Rob
I like the soldering line, Is this milliput, or rod styrene dissolve with solvent ??

What about the M1AIM wreck ??
Cheers
Seb

Model on Rob! Rescue these dogs from the pound and build the snots out of them!
That's some seriously beautiful scratchbuilding you're doing.
Show everyone that it doesn't have to say "Tamiya" on the box to build a convincing model.
One question - how did you get that convincing, perfect grey texturing on the turrets? What did you use and how did you texture it? It looks perfect.

Hi Seb, nice to see you checked this build out. The welds are squadron white putty, I normally would use milliput but it dried out on me. For small weld seams I use the strechted sprue method.

Matt.. thanks for popping in on this build too. Thanks, I like doing up the old timers myself. I try to do as much scratchbuild that I can, the reason for the name "scratchmod" I will however get to a Tamiya kit after these are done, of course as a wreck with some scratch interior, right now it's all research then watch out. The gray texturing is Mr Surfacer 1000 applied with a stiff brush. This is my first time using the stuff, I'm sure I could find other uses for .

Seb the M1 is on the shelf, resting a bit. I worked on the tracks for two days, now there dry so maybe tomorrow I'll start painting them. I also have to find a base for it.

The painting will be the fun part of this build

Rob

Thanks Rob, I've used Mr. Surfacer 500 and 1000 a lot, mainly for texturing rusty mufflers. How did you apply it? Did you stipple it on? Brush it on and then stipple it? Let it dry a bit and go back over it?

Matt I brushed then stippled it on. I've read that it can be sprayed on too!!! Good idea using it on mufflers, I'l have to try theat, thanks. I think it would also be good as a base for corroded metal.

Rob

Just a quick up date. I managed to add a few more parts to the turrets such as the loaders periscope and some casting numbers. A few more things and I may start painting the turrets.







more to folow so stay tuned kiddies.

Rob

realy nice work mate.

Some very nice work with the details Rob...but I have to ask...which one is the possible candidate for the "museum" tank? Either one would work out of course...I bet the temptation to wreck them both though is pretty strong for you!

Hi Bill

Yep it's very tempting to do both as wrecks but...only one will be a wreck. The 55 with the spot light and kit fenders will be the "museum" tank. I guess you could call a museum tank, basically it a tank that's sitting in the elements, unrestored. Here are a couple of pics of what I have in mind, kind of a mix of both tanks, heavy chipping and worn off paint.







The wreck is of course the one that I still have to scratchbuild the fenders for, and no spot light. Either way build them, the fun will be in the painting.

Rob

Nice progress Rob. Those last two pictures should calm down the anti chipping lobby

spit

Rob Its great to see your work !. The idea of an unrestored version, you planning to put it into a diorama. You could always do a T 55 ex VC forces

I look foward to seeing some progress!

@ Pawel..the heavy chipping caught my eye and I thought it would be perfect for the one T55.
@ Jaymes..No dio planned for either one, just a simple base, I'm not very good with dio's.

I managed to add a few things to the turrets to liven em up a bit more. They are just a bout done ,then I'll start the painting this weekend, turrets only.













As you can see, this build is coming along slower then my usual wrecks, but it's getting there.

Rob

Rob-
these are looking excellent! I especially like the details you added on the mantlet covers- sorely needed on the kits. Now they are up to snuff.
The Mr. Surfacer is well done but is that white styrene work and the brass wire that I like best.
When those are painted we'll see who can tell they are the ESCI kits.

Steve

Steve ..funny you should say that, I played around with one turret and spent an hour painting it, I couldn't resist.
I started out with my usual base coat with some bloches of rust color paint, followed by a wash and some rust colored pigments. I then applied hair spray and salt. The pics show the removal of the salt and some hair spray.











The barrel still needs to be worked on then it'll get some filters and rust. The pics aren't the greatest, when it's done I'll use better lighting.

Rob

IMPRESSIVE