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T-55AM w/KMT-8 & EMT Afghan war
Wolf239
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St. Petersburg, Russia
Joined: September 05, 2015
KitMaker: 136 posts
Armorama: 133 posts
Posted: Friday, July 28, 2017 - 04:27 PM UTC
Hello to all.

I have just finished my new model – T-55AM with KMT-8 mine plough and EMT active electromagnetic countermeasure device for the Afghan war.

Here are the prototypes. Note that some tanks are overall Russian green, and others are camoed with black and/or green stripes over light gray. The latter was an exclusive Soviet pattern used throughout the Afghan war.

http://photochronograph.ru/2015/12/11/afgan/
http://photochronograph.ru/2014/08/09/sovetskaya-vojna-v-afganistane/
http://nik191-1.ucoz.ru/publ/voennaja_ttekhnika/bronetekhnika/trudnyj_put_k_priznaniju/16-1-0-3374
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/the-politburo-approved-the-soviet-invasion-of-afghanistan-35-years-ago-today-2014-12

T-55


T-62M






T-62A & T-62M color profiles by Star Decal provide excellent reference for the vehicles appearance.
http://star-decals.net/35-883.html



Note the tracks welded onto the rear turret for protection, often used in Afghanistan. A minor issue is incorrect color tones.

I use this link as color reference http://photochronograph.ru/2015/12/11/afgan/

Countermine devices were widely used in Afghanistan. Soviet countermine devices video reference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC2EVlHIR6s
Wolf239
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Posted: Friday, July 28, 2017 - 07:21 PM UTC
Here is the box.


Kits and materials used:
Takom 2041 T-55AM
Meng TS-010 Russian “Terminator” fire support combat vehicle BMPT – KMT-8 & EMT
Miniarm B35057 T-55 & T-62 tracks late type RMSh
Miniarm 35095 Conversion Set for BTR-82A
Miniarm B35118 Ammo set 100mm gun for T-55 + decals
Eduard TP044 T-55 grill
Elf 5301 Headlights
Brass plate – side skirts
Brass wire 0.5mm – KMT-8 pneumatic lines
Guitar string 0.08” – antenna
Photo paper and polyethylene – plastic bag on the MG muzzle (I printed a pic of a real Soviet plastic bag)

Painted with Tamiya and GSI Creos. Weathered with AK Interactive, Ammo of Mig Jimenez, Mig, Tamiya, Nevskaya Palitra oils, GSI Creos super chrome, pencil graphite.
m4sherman
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Arizona, United States
Joined: January 18, 2006
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Posted: Saturday, July 29, 2017 - 05:56 AM UTC
A lot of good reference material. I am curious why you are doing the T-55. It looks like a lot of the reference is on the T-62. It looks like you have a nice project in mind. The Takom T-55's are good models.
Wolf239
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Posted: Saturday, July 29, 2017 - 05:00 PM UTC

Quoted Text

A lot of good reference material. I am curious why you are doing the T-55. It looks like a lot of the reference is on the T-62. It looks like you have a nice project in mind. The Takom T-55's are good models.

T-55 and T-62 were used in Afghanistan equally, both with M/AM factory upgrade packages, which were introduced in 1982 especially to respond RPG and IED threats in Afghanistan. (They were actually composite up-armor. They were developed because the Soviets did not let the newest ERA technology be deployed in Afghanistan. Destroyed Soviet vehicles captured by the mujahedeen were later transited through Pakistan to NATO.)

It just happened so the best quality pics I found were mainly for the T-62. And yes, the Takom T-55 series are very nice, I’m thinking on getting one or two more of them (for Syria and YKW, probably).
Wolf239
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Posted: Saturday, July 29, 2017 - 06:13 PM UTC
Here is the complete model.



























m4sherman
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Posted: Saturday, July 29, 2017 - 06:29 PM UTC
That makes sense. I would suspect the photographers would concentrate on the top tank rather than the old T-55.

I read on a T-54/55 history that the T-54 was also upgraded to AM and AMV but did not see any clear pictures of upgraded T-54's. There is the one stripped down T-54 in the Kabul tank grave yard, but it looked more or less unmodified. Lots of T-54's in Iraq, maybe they got the second hand tanks?
spetsnazgru
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Lebanon
Joined: March 05, 2009
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Posted: Saturday, July 29, 2017 - 06:47 PM UTC
I have never seen a 55M/AM in the soviet afghan war, nice build but I am afraid it is historically inaccurate, you could have built a 62M, the 55s were used by the soviets during the first months of the war, afterward only 62s were used.
Wolf239
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Posted: Saturday, July 29, 2017 - 06:47 PM UTC

Quoted Text

That makes sense. I would suspect the photographers would concentrate on the top tank rather than the old T-55.

I read on a T-54/55 history that the T-54 was also upgraded to AM and AMV but did not see any clear pictures of upgraded T-54's. There is the one stripped down T-54 in the Kabul tank grave yard, but it looked more or less unmodified. Lots of T-54's in Iraq, maybe they got the second hand tanks?

The T-54 were not used in Afghanistan by the Soviets and were never upgraded to AM. The tank at the Kabul graveyard had most probably belonged to the Afghan army. The Soviets widely supplied second hand armor and aircraft to Afghanistan during the war.
Wolf239
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Posted: Saturday, July 29, 2017 - 07:02 PM UTC

Quoted Text

I have never seen a 55M/AM in the soviet afghan war, nice build but I am afraid it is historically inaccurate, you could have built a 62M, the 55s were used by the soviets during the first months of the war, afterward only 62s were used.

This link http://otvaga2004.ru/tanki/v-boyah/boevoe-primenenie-t-5455/ says both T-55 and upgraded T-55M were used by the Soviet 40th Army. There are also pics of the Afghan Army T-54A and T-54B.
spetsnazgru
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Lebanon
Joined: March 05, 2009
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Posted: Saturday, July 29, 2017 - 10:17 PM UTC
I am talking only about the soviet army in Afghanistan, yes the afghan army used T-54 A and B, I have over 50,000 pics of the soviet-afghan war but none of them shows a T-55M, I would be happy if you can find, until I see one I would say that the M never saw action in Afghanistan
Wolf239
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Posted: Saturday, July 29, 2017 - 10:29 PM UTC

Quoted Text

I am talking only about the soviet army in Afghanistan, yes the afghan army used T-54 A and B, I have over 50,000 pics of the soviet-afghan war but none of them shows a T-55M, I would be happy if you can find, until I see one I would say that the M never saw action in Afghanistan

It seems you're right and the link goes wrong, I can't find real T-55M pics. I actually made the model based on this link.
Wolf239
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Posted: Saturday, July 29, 2017 - 10:40 PM UTC
Jamal, thanks for the information. I would summarize that text description is not a 100% issue with modeling. Now I will make something if I see it on a pic.
dutik
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Germany
Joined: October 03, 2010
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Posted: Saturday, July 29, 2017 - 11:02 PM UTC
Even if the M was not used in AFG it is a very nice model! Congrats!

Two questions:
What for did you use the BTR-82 ungrade set? Electronics?

How did the Russians mount the tracks to the turret rear? Steel wires? Welded on supports?

Regards
- dutik
Wolf239
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Posted: Saturday, July 29, 2017 - 11:18 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Even if the M was not used in AFG it is a very nice model! Congrats!

Two questions:
What for did you use the BTR-82 ungrade set? Electronics?

How did the Russians mount the tracks to the turret rear? Steel wires? Welded on supports?

Regards
- dutik

Thanks!

1. From BTR-82, I took the smoke dischargers. It seemed the only part of the Takom kit (along the PE) which needs replacement.

2. I have only a couple of bad res pics of tracks welded on to a T-62M turret, which show it from the outer side. Considering the tracks were used as up armor, I can assume the Soviets welded them onto a welded construction support made of steel angles or similar. (I would have done that as an engineer.)I glued them on a good amount of cyanoacrylate (any support would not be visible on the model anyway).
m4sherman
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Posted: Sunday, July 30, 2017 - 12:07 AM UTC
Your pictures went up while I was posting. I didn't have a chance to look, a friend showed up for a trip out to breakfast with her and her baby.

Very nice build. I have the Takom kit that I was going to build as a Syrian tank, but according to the Syria Onyx blog, Syria did not get tanks with the added armor, just the other parts. Seems strange to me, but it seems to have been a cost issue.

I did a search for the T-54 AM and did come up with one set of pictures, but the tank could be a T-55, unless the turret vent was removed as part of the upgrade. I was planning on using a MiniArt T-54 with Takom AM parts, if I could find proof of this version, or a T-54 AMV.
Wolf239
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Posted: Sunday, July 30, 2017 - 01:04 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Your pictures went up while I was posting. I didn't have a chance to look, a friend showed up for a trip out to breakfast with her and her baby.

Very nice build. I have the Takom kit that I was going to build as a Syrian tank, but according to the Syria Onyx blog, Syria did not get tanks with the added armor, just the other parts. Seems strange to me, but it seems to have been a cost issue.

I did a search for the T-54 AM and did come up with one set of pictures, but the tank could be a T-55, unless the turret vent was removed as part of the upgrade. I was planning on using a MiniArt T-54 with Takom AM parts, if I could find proof of this version, or a T-54 AMV.

Thanks!

I never saw a Syrian T-55AM. They got plenty of the AMV with ERA, though. Takom offers 4 painting schemes for AM. I consider the Cuban one interesting.
m4sherman
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Posted: Sunday, July 30, 2017 - 04:31 AM UTC
According to the Onyx blog this is one of the Syrian AM's. The SAA did not have many of them. At least one was used by a rebel group. They lack the add on armor, and look more like an improved T-55 than an AM version. The AMV's are much easier to identify. The blog could be wrong.

JSSVIII
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Posted: Sunday, July 30, 2017 - 06:39 AM UTC
Michael, that is a very nice build! Did you scratchbuild the mine plough, I did not see it mentioned on your list, did I miss that somewhere? I hope you don't mind, I have asked this next question before, but it seems that you gentlemen might have more info. Was the mine plough ever used on the t-62 in Afghanistan? and if it was, Do you have any photos of one?
Wolf239
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St. Petersburg, Russia
Joined: September 05, 2015
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Posted: Sunday, July 30, 2017 - 10:35 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Michael, that is a very nice build! Did you scratchbuild the mine plough, I did not see it mentioned on your list, did I miss that somewhere? I hope you don't mind, I have asked this next question before, but it seems that you gentlemen might have more info. Was the mine plough ever used on the t-62 in Afghanistan? and if it was, Do you have any photos of one?

Thanks!

I used the KMT-8 mine plough from Meng Terminator kit. T-62M were often fitted with KMT-5 roller, as on one of the pics I have posted here above. But from my information, the Soviets preferred rollers over ploughs in Afghanistan due to rocky terrain. (As we see now, even legitimate specialty military sites cannot be 100% trusted on text descriptions.)
JSSVIII
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Posted: Sunday, July 30, 2017 - 03:13 PM UTC
Thank you Michael, when I saw your build I was hoping you had found a reference photo showing the plough in use in Afghanistan, I would really like to have one on a build, but it looks like it is not to be.
spetsnazgru
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Lebanon
Joined: March 05, 2009
KitMaker: 661 posts
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Posted: Sunday, July 30, 2017 - 05:25 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Michael, that is a very nice build! Did you scratchbuild the mine plough, I did not see it mentioned on your list, did I miss that somewhere? I hope you don't mind, I have asked this next question before, but it seems that you gentlemen might have more info. Was the mine plough ever used on the t-62 in Afghanistan? and if it was, Do you have any photos of one?

here you go:




Wolf239
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Posted: Sunday, July 30, 2017 - 08:36 PM UTC
Thanks Jamal! Great pics!
JSSVIII
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Posted: Monday, July 31, 2017 - 03:24 AM UTC
Thank you so much Jamal! they may not have been as widely used as the rollers, but those photos prove that they WERE at least used in Afghanistan.

May I ask for one more bit of help please, I am not very familiar with the details of the KMT mine ploughs, but would those be the earlier KMT-6 versions in those photos?
seanmcandrews
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Posted: Monday, July 31, 2017 - 06:51 PM UTC
Yep, looks like the KMT-6
http://www.primeportal.net/ce/carrey/kmt_mine_plough/index.php?Page=2

Sean
seanmcandrews
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Posted: Monday, July 31, 2017 - 08:45 PM UTC
More on the KMT plows and rollers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC2EVlHIR6s

Sean
 _GOTOTOP