Many thanks for the presentation, nice video. I recently got this kit myself. It is indeed a very good kit. Some more info regarding the vehicle: Abu Zaabal T-122 Also known as the T-34/122 this was Egypt’s first attempt at mechanizing the D-30. The D-30 was placed in a turret atop the chassis of a T-34 tank. The T-122 was sort of a kludge, though a reasonably effective one, and was not exported. The T-122 was used in the 1956 and 1973 Middle East Wars and continued in service, in ever-declining numbers, until the 1980s. Most have been relegated to ignoble ends like firing range targets. Some 30 such modifications were made. While the chassis has the armor levels of the T-34 tank, the turret is constructed from relatively thin armor plates bolted together. The turret has the lower part, and on steel posts, an armored roof; in between those two are several droppable armor panels (from just behind the gun on the left side around to just behind the gun on the right side), allowing the crew to get some fresh air and relatively cool air, as well as allowing fumes from the firing of the howitzer to escape. The D-30 howitzer used is more or less stock, taken off the ground-mounting carriage of a towed version of the D-30 and lightly modified to mount it inside the turret. The caliber length is the same (L/37), but a larger slotted muzzle brake is fitted. (This huge muzzle brake was in fact absolutely necessary – the modified turret and chassis could barely handle the much greater recoil of the D-30.) In the rear of the turret, there is a rack for 24 rounds and fuzes (most of the T-122’s onboard supply). The gun may be depressed to below zero degrees, and it may engage ground targets; in fact, the T-122 was often used as an ad hoc tank destroyer in the 1956 and 1973 Wars.The T-122 has two drums for extra fuel on either side of the vehicle, most T-122s carried these at the front of the deck instead of the rear, with metal hoses leading back to the engine. Some have been seen with the drums at the front of the hull deck, however. The details of the chassis have received little modification – in fact, little more than what was needed to mount the new turret and gun. The engine was the standard T-34 engine, the V-2-34 diesel engine developing 500 horsepower, coupled to a manual transmission. The vehicle is substantially heavier than the T-34 tank, eroding the performance of the T-34 chassis. The driver is in the front of the vehicle, near the top of the glacis; he has a large hatch for entry and exit or to prop open in non-tactical situations. The driver can lower and lock this hatch, using two vision blocks in the hatch instead. Normally, the turret is manned with the commander, gunner, and one loader, with the other two loaders inside the lower turret or hull. There are two surviving vehicles, on ein the US and one in Sweden. The US one has T-55 style wheels, while the one in Sweden has a strange configuration, since it has 5 solid disk wheels on the right side and 3 solid disk and 2 spider web on the other side. PERHAPS there was one spider wheel on each side and this changed over restoration work. You need to use the longer muzzle brake piece supplied in the kit. Both surviving examples do not have the armored (Chech built) exhaust covers. Also they do not have the infantry call button supplied in the kit, these parts are most propably for the Syrian T-122 SPG that was just announced at Nurnberg. One surviving vehicle definately had the smoke launcher barel mounts on the rear of the hull, but they have been removed. There are no photos of the vehicles in service that show registration numbers, unit markings etc, but they most definately had some type of licence plates on. The vehicles could either be painted in three tone camo or Egyptian desert sand.

Thanks for the information. It will help when I start working on this kit. I'm looking forward to the other T-34 variant that RFM announced at Nuremberg.

Wow, thanks for all the extra info on the tank. I had trouble finding much about it. The kit looks good though.

Your welcome. I'll be posting the full build video in the near future on my YouTube channel and here as well.