Thanks. Already started drilling the holes for the tanks. This will definitely help with the project.

Hi Dave,
you know your middle sets of swing arms are mounted backwards, right ?

Sean

WELL SON OF A BIIIIIIII......!

Ok, I am NOT a rooky armour builder so there is no excuse. I f#@ked up. My only excuse is: Don't build models past midnight with 3 double rum and cokes in you. SO, now how to solve the problem?

Looks like the little razor saw comes out...

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news ! One option may be drill thru the pivot points before sawing off the arms. Then add new pivot pins with plastic rod and reinstall the arms in the proper orientation.

Sean

Dan, what quadrant of the turret Is that cutout in? I checked some other ref pics and couldn't find it on those turrets.

I managed to remove the swing arms with little difficulty, then used Gorilla Glue to put them back on. Relatively painless.

I added the fuel tanks and began work on the turret. Pics to follow when I get off work.

Last nights work. Fuel tanks on. Holes drilled for fuel lines:


Discovered spare track links can't be attached together properly due to some plastic that needs to be thinned down. The piece at the end of the needle needs to be sanded down:





Parts now fit together:


Holes drilled for track pins (that aren't installed):


The spare track links on the real tanks are held in by clamps that are offset by stubby connections on the fenders. These wires will be trimmed down for the stubby connector, and then spare PE will be used to form the clamps:


Started on the turret with a few things still to add on. I drilled a hole by accident between the two hatches. I am building "Version B, Soviet Army T-55A w/ AA MG" This hole should not have been drilled:



I love the stage when you can test fit the turret. Makes it finally look like a tank:


A previous post from Dan shows a small vent/opening on the bottom of the turret. Does anyone now what this is for, and exactly where it is located? Do all turrets have this small opening?

In your barrel comparison photo, the Tamiya and Model Point barrel’s are closer in length than they appear. Forget the artificial point at which the kit barrels are truncated at the breech end and line up the visible changes in taper. That makes the Tamiya barrel ‘move’ to the right and thus match the metal example more closely. Of course it doesn’t tell you anything about how true either is to the prototype but didn’t PMMS have such a comparison?

The vent at the bottom edge of the turret is the scavenge exhaust for the turret ventilation blower. Location is as shown in the previous photo, just about right above where the race ring bulges start to flare out from the sides of the hull.

Sean

I’m out of town and do not have access to my computer now. Sorry.
Dan

Hey all,

Sorry for the delayed postings. Had to finish sale of my home, buy a new one, and settle into the new job.

So, here's an update (sorry again for pic quality):

Finished the very basics on the T-55 build. I did lots of scratch building on minute details. It's amazing how many little fittings and brackets are missing once you start pouring over vehicle walk-around photo's. For instance: all the storage boxes on the left side of vehicle are held onto the fenders by bolts, L brackets and short stand-off fittings. I did my best to replicate these. They turned out ok if viewed from normal distance.

I also replicated the fuel piping. Not 100% satisfied, but it's ok:













I am still not done with some brackets and small wiring jobs. I still have to do a final scan of walk around photos to get any further details I missed and can scratch build.

In the meantime, I visited a shop in Toronto and found some goodies in their stash:

Barrel for the Tiran


Major update sets for the Enigma:


Now that I have the PE sets for the Enigma, I will be starting on it next. I will then do one of my little building habits. I will use the instructions for that kit to see what they replaced on the tank and then scratch build that for the remainder of the vehicles.

Hopefully will post quicker next time.

So after starting the T-55 PE I may actually scrap half the pieces. I'll post pics soon, but some of the pieces are way too small too be of any use. There is a ton of detail, but unless you use a magnifying glass to look at everything once it's done, it simply looks like a blob of PE and plastic.

The commanders hatch alone has almost 40 pieces of PE attached, with some as small as 1mm x 2mm.

Anywho, I am plodding on with it and will post pics.

Sorry to hear about scrapping some parts. Just keep trudging along. Looking forward to seeing your updates.

Thanks Joseph.

SO, here's a couple pics just to show what I am up against:

Close up of one sheet of PE. I forgot to add a ruler for scal, but some pieces are FREAKIN SMALL:


Same sheet, just zoomed out:


The CC's hatch.




Sometimes I hate / love close up photo's. They show detail, but also imperfections and how bad I can put stuff together LOL. Good thing that I did notice is that a small loop of wire had fallen off a hatch component. In the instructions the 0.2mm wire is supposed to fit into part 16c.


Only problem is the 2 small holes in part 16c are about 0.1mm. There is no way to fit the wire in.

So, that being said, I am going to plod on with the build.
After getting frustrated, I started building a Trumpeter T-72M4CZ, and Trumpeter BMP-2D that I picked up to relax my mind. No pics of those as this is a T-55 thread

Wow, they are tiny parts indeed. I didn't include any details for my T-55 hatches because I plan to glue them in place.

If you don't mind my suggesting, one place to get tiny wires are from photoetch sets for ship railings. In this photo, you can see that I used them as grab handles for the inside of my 1/72 BTR-152. The one marked "G".


Hang in there and don't lose your mojo!