Hi all.
I've got some questions about the T-55, served in the NVA.
After reading Uwe Telkamp's book 'Der Turm' I def. want to build a T-55.
Young Christian(one of the main characters) is serving the NVA as a tankcommander during the last years in the DDR.
There is one episode where he is going to cross the Elbe.
They prepare the T-55 for a 30 sec. under water.
What's it look like.
Can anybody show me some pictures, maybe from a model.
What type/conversion/year T-55 do I need to build such a tank.
He served from 1984 up to the end of 1989.
Been watching many builds of Russian armor lately and I've decided to build one.

Regards,

Robert Jan

Hi,

I am not an expert either, but I would direct you to some pictures of traditional unit websites (without any guarantee and responsibility for the content!!!) with nice pictures of T-55:

http://www.panzerregiment11.de/
http://www.jsch-online.de/pr8/html/unterwasserfahrt/unterwasserfahrt.html
http://www.jsch-online.de/pr8/html/pr8_mix/pr8_mix.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5T1yjarSWs

Here you will find additional good pictures of T-55 crossing water obstacles etc.

Remember, the video is propaganda material...

Regards
Andreas

Thanks Andreas.
I'm no expert too, so anyone with help/advice is expert.
I'd been looking on several site's, but no results to my questions. Hope these do.

Regards,

Robert Jan

Very nice links. Now it's time to search for a good kit.
Anyone a tip???

Regards,

Robert Jan

Speaking about a kit.
I found a Trump. T-55 model 1958, new release from 2010 and a T-55A, which is the Tamiya kit. Price is not a real issue.
But in this case my question is: What is the difference between the mentioned models?
Planning to build a NVA T-55, so decals is another problem, can't find them.
Please give me some advice.

Thanks in advance.

this link may help on decals

http://www.tl-modellbau.de/en/Decals-von-1-160-bis-1-16/TL-Decals-1-35/Int-Streitkraefte/NVA-Decalbogen-1-35.html

Thanks, this helps.

Peddinghaus has an NVA decal set as well but the national insignias are way overscale, the two different number styles are nice though.


Erik

Hi Robert

I used a German company called LT Modellbau, they have 2 NVA/DDR decal transfer sets both are pretty generic, National Insgina, Licence plates, and some large numbers, etc but i have used them sucessfully. They were set numbers 2580 and 2581.

Hope this helps

RedProl

The link posted earlier this evening got me to LT. Eric, I'll have to check what can be useful for my build Anyway...thanks for the positve 'reviews'. I'm convinced now, that's for sure.

Regards,

RJ

Thanks again for the links. Great stuff.
Got some nice pictures from the NVA. They seem to be very proud of their T-55. Lots of the info I needed is shown in NVA film material.
I'm going for the Trumpeter kit I think. Anyone with tips about conversions, PE and other bling bling?
I'd like to have some conversion for the T-55 ready to go swimming.

Regards,

RJ

I would strongly suggest passing on the Trumpeter kit and using Tamiya's instead, even if it means making more "corrections" to get what you want. In the end, it would be worth your while due to the poor overall quality of Trumpeter's T-55 kits in general. Tamiya's kit is very well engineered and assembles well. There are also lots of aftermarket goodies available for it.
Possible the most noticeable and cost-effective addition would be a set of individual link tracks, such as Friul, Spade Ace or ModelKasten, your choice.
Above all, have fun!

Hi Robert-

I too have been planning an NVA T-55. The NVA der DDR T-34/85 I did last year needs a companion! :-)

I'll echo what has been said before about the TL Modelbau and Peddinghaus decals. They seem to be the only ones available. I first used them on a DDR Grenztruppen UAZ-469, then the T-34/85. They aren't bad decals, but do seem a bit on the thick side and they didn't really respond to the Mirco Sol I normally use. I had to use several heavy applications of Solvaset for them comform to the texture on the T-34 turret.

I would also highly recommend the Tamiya T-55 over the Trumpeter. The Trumpeter model is one of their early efforts and really isn't up the quality of the Tamiya. I used the Tamiya kit and backdated it to a Checkpoint Charlie T-54 and plan on getting another one for my NVA T-55. It's a very, very nice kit. One other good option for tracks to replace the Tamiya rubber band tracks is to get a set of the Trumpeter T-55/T-62 individual links. They require some clean up, but look great and fit the Tamiya kit perfectly. They are also very inexpensive compared to other options.

While researching my NVA T-34, I stumbled upon the website of a German modeler who does a lot of NVA stuff. He has a couple of great T-55s that might give you some ideas:

A T-55A:
http://www.ch-hoeltge.de/t_55a_167/t_55a_167.html
And a T-55AM2:
http://www.ch-hoeltge.de/t_55am2_2400/t_55am2_2400.html

The site is built in frames (is this 1998?) so you need to go to http://www.ch-hoeltge.de/ to get the menu to see his other NVA vehicles. Lots of great ideas here.

One other thing I've realized is that NVA armor seems to have been equipped with sets of wheel blocks. I've seen these in many photos of different tanks and APCs. I didn't bother with them on the T-34, but will want them for the T-55. MR MODELBAU in Germany apparently makes resin ones in 1/35:
http://www.mrmodellbau.com/_shop/product_info.php?products_id=135


As for your question about the T-55 wading through water or getting submerged, is this maybe what you are thinking about? That second tank looks more like a submarine to me!



Hope this helps somehow. Cheers!
-Bill

Hi Bill.
Thanks for the information. I ordered a Trump kit this afternoon. After a very long time I'm going to build a tank again, so I'd thought to keep some money in my pocket for further add. sets. Just see how it goes.
Also did some research over the last couple of days. Some great stuff on the internet. NVA army television presentations and lots of propaganda (I love it).
After reading the book I mentioned before I just had to build one.
Picture is just what I had in mind. Looks pretty brave to go that deep. Personel were not so happy I can tell you. Just a 30 seconds waterproof at a full dive, so nothing must go wrong. In the book the tank gets out of line and the recovery tank comes to help, driver is killed while trying to escape in panic.
The river(s) you see in most of the pictures is the Elbe.
Famous crossing is near Thorgau, where Russians and Americans did meet at the end of WWII.
I'm going to see the links you gave me.

Regards,

RJ

Hi.

I figured out that T-55's serving the NVA were updated to match with the T-72. Involving the tracks and road wheels, I already found them. Also PE from Aber that goes with the Trump kit. Found some other nice and cheap set on MP(dutch Ebay).
@ Bill: What colours did you use for NVA camo?
Link to C. Hoeltge is a real cool thing. I'm going to contact him I think.
Can't wait to start.

Regards,

RJ

Hi Robert-

Glad to hear you've got some parts coming to start your build...looking forward to seeing it!

To answer your question about the colors I used for NVA camo, the simple answer is: I didn't do camo. :-)

It's my understanding that the NVA didn't start using camo until the late '80s and it was not in wide use before "die Wende." There were supposedly plans to introduce it as a standard, but well...that whole little thing with the Wall coming down changed all that.

There was an Armorama thread about this very subject that might help. There are some great photos that should give you an idea of the colors:
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/179935&page=1

My DDR T-34 was built to represent a vehicle from the mid-60s so I just went with overall green. I posted it here after I finished in case you want to see it:
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/209727

It was only the second tank I'd built since the late 1980s, so there are many things I would do differently. That means I need to build another!

best regards,
-Bill