Kalashnikov On Tracks

Historical Background

The T-55's genesis goes back to the T-44 of 1943-1944. The T-44 has the same performance with the T-34/85 but with greater protection thanks to space-saving torsion bar suspension, transverse engine mount and the deletion of the hull machine gun. However the turret was incapable of mounting guns larger than the 85mm gun although a 100mm gun was desired. The T-44 was redesigned into the prototype T-54 in 1945 by the OKB-520 design bureau, based at Factory No. 183 (Uralvagonzavod) at Nizhny Tagil. Originally having the same turret shape as the T-44, it was later redesigned with a dome-shaped turret. Armament was a 100mm D-10T tank gun and two 7.62mm machine guns.  Armour was initially 180mm thick for turret front and 120mm for hull front (the armour was thickened for subsequent variants). In tests conducted with nuclear weapons, it was shown that a T-54 can survive the blast of a tactical nuclear weapon of between 2 to 15 kilotons at a range of more than 300 meters from the epicentre, although the crew could only survive at a range of no less than 700 meters. Therefore, in order to improve protection, the KB-60 design bureau at Kharkov studied a new NBC system called PAZ (ProtivoAtomnaya Zashchita). KB-60 completed its tests in 1956 and a new set of blueprints and the range of modifications needed were sent to Uralvagonzavod.

The T-54M (Ob'yekt 139) was used to test the changes. It was also powered by a new V55 12-cylinder 38.88 litre water-cooled diesel engine generating 581 hp. Main armament was basically unchanged but ammunition capacity was increased from 34 to 45. new ammunition was also developed, such as the BK5M HEAT round which could penetrate 390mm of armour. The commander's TPKU vision device was replaced with either the TPKUB or the TPKU-2B while the gunner received a TNP-165 sight. The loader's hatch-mounted DShK 12.7mm AA MG was removed as it was deemed worthless against fast-flying jets. The turret has a thicker front (200mm) although the rear plate had to be thinned to save weight. The gun was fitted with a two-axis stabilisation as well as night-vision equipment. All these improvement resulted in Ob'yekt 155 and entered production on 1 January 1955 as the T-55. The T-55 was superior to the IS-series heavy tank despite being smaller and lighter-armoured. It has a better rate of fire, anti-tank capability and mobility. The heavy tank concept soon fell out of favour and the new concept of main battle tank began to emerge. In 1961, another round of improvements in NBC protection began in order to protect the crews against fast neutrons and gamma radiation. The system was characterised by a the addition of a POZ plasticised lead lining applied to the entire interior of the tank, requiring the enlargement of the driver's hatch and the coamings over the turret hatches. As an additional benefit, the liner also protects the crew against spalling. The PAZ/FPU chemical filtration system was also fitted and the co-axial SGMT machine gun was replaced with the PKT. T-55s with these enhancements were known as the T-55A. 

The T-54/55 family is mechanically simple yet robust. Compared to Western tanks, they are simple to operate and don't require a high level of education and training for their crews. The T-54/55 family has relatively low weight, allowing easier transport by rail and allows crossing of lighter bridges. They are also relatively small for a MBT, presenting a smaller target profile. While not a match for modern MBTs, armour and ammo updates may improve the old tank's performance that it cannot be dismissed on the battlefield. Nevertheless, the family has serious drawbacks. The small size is actually a double-edged sword - it restricts interior space and  crew comfort, constraining crew movement and slowing down the usage of equipment. The low silhouette also restricts the gun depression angle to just -5˚ (Western tanks usually can depress down to  -10˚) limiting their ability to fire from a hull-down position in a reverse slope. In the Red Army, the limited crew mobility inside the tank was partially solved by restricting the height of the crew members, a practice still continuing as the Russian Army is still operating the low-silhouette T-72/T-80/T-90. The armour, while thick enough to be impervious against most tank guns of the 1950s and the hand-held anti-tank weapons of the era (such as the bazooka, PIAT and RPG-2), became obsolete within 20 years of introduction. The side armour, thinner than the front, was vulnerable to LAW rockets, TOW missiles and even 76mm AP rounds, as proven during the Vietnam War.

In the early 1970s, drawing from combat experience of the T-55 users worldwide, the loader's cupola was refitted with either the DshK/KM 12.7mm AA MG or the 14.5mm KPVT AA MG to deal with attack helicopters. In 1974, the KTD-1 or KTD-2 laser rangefinder in an armoured box was fitted over the gun mantlet. The T-55/55A continue to get upgrades throughout their lives, such as better fire-control system, ATGM capability, ERA armour, suspension, tracks, RPG screen and various other additional capabilities. The T-54/55 was used in various conflicts, starting with the Invasion of Hungary in 1956. In Europe it was also used during the enforcement of martial law in Poland in 1981-1983, the Invasion of Czechoslovakia 1968 and the Balkan Wars of the 1990s. In the Middle East, they were used in the Six-Day War 1967, Jordanian Civil War 1970, Yom Kippur War 1973, Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988, Operation Desert Storm 1991 and Operation Iraqi Freedom 2003. In Africa, they were used during the Angolan Civil War 1975-2002, Tanzania-Uganda War of 1978-79 and the Libyan Civil War 2011. In Asia it was used during the Vietnam War from 1971, the Cambodian Civil War, Indo-Pakistani Wars 1965 and 1971, Sri Lankan Civil War and the Afghanistan conflict. In most cases, especially against the Israeli Defence Force, the T-55 were worse off against their Western-built counterparts although it was actually more have to do with their deployment and usage, as demonstrated during the Battle of Dezful between 5-9 January 1981 during the Iran-Iraq War, where the Iraqis managed to disable or destroy 200 Iranian Chieftain and M60A1 tanks, while losing 50 of their own T-55s.

The T-54/55 family can lay claim to be the most produced tank in history. For the T-55 series, 27,500 units were built between 1955 and 1981. Another 7,000 were built in Poland between 1964 and 1979 and Czechoslovakia produced 8,300 from 1964 until 1979. The Red Army have around 20,000 available should the Cold War turn hot and they still have around 3,000 by the time the Iron Curtain crumbled in 1990. Today perhaps around 500 are still in storage. The T-54/55 were also widely exported and used around the world, from Abkhazia to Zambia. Many of these countries have their own upgrade and modernisation programmes such as the Czech T-55AM, Egyptian Ramses II, 'Enigma' conversion of the Iraqi army, Pakistani Al-Zarrar, Israeli Ti-67 and Tiran series and also the Type 59 series, essentially the Chinese copy of the T-54, which also ran into the thousands. There are also variants such as the BTS-3 armoured recovery vehicles, MT/MTU-55 armoured bridgelayer, BMR-2 minelaying vehicle, OT-55 flamethrowing tank and BTR-T APC. The huge numbers plus age (in the later years) makes the family cheap and easy to purchase. It's simplicity also allows quasi-military forces with no formal training to operate them.

The Kit

With such a large number of vehicles in service with various nations, it is naturally assumed that the T-54/55 family (from here onwards, I would just refer them as the T-55) is a hugely popular subject. I guess that that's the truth but modelling companies were rather indifferent, especially in the popular 1/35 scale. Old hands such as Cookie Sewell mentioned Tamiya themselves produced a kit of the T-55 in 1967, but as with many of their kits of the same vintage, was awful. Then in 1989, at the time when the T-55 had been relegated to 'B' and 'C' Type formations of the Red Army, Lindberg came up with a T-55 which can also be made into a Israeli Ti-67. Having seen built-up examples in modeling magazines, they are also pretty awful, looking nothing like the real item. In 1992, ESCI produced their version the T-55. Like its predecessors, it also suffered from shape and accuracy issues. It however did not stop Italeri from re-issuing it in 2004. In 1999, Trumpeter and Lee showcased theirs. They generally look OK but still suffer shape issues, which, among others, was caused by the need for motorisation, like the Tamiya kits of the 1970s. Furthermore, Trumpeter's early kits were made from ABS type plastic which was very difficult to cement together. In 2001, SKIF from Ukraine brought the hope that an accurate T-55 finally emerged; being Ukraine-based they should have access to the real thing to make their measurements. Instead they were so disappointing that Cookie Sewell likened them as more as an insult than disappointment. Dragon, that co-leader in 1/35 tank/AFV model industry, advertised for years that they would come up with a T-55 (and I followed the 'New Kit News' section of the Perth Military Modeling Society website month after month) but eventually dropped the plan and continue with their empire of WW2 German AFVs.

Finally in 2002, rather like a bolt of of the blue, Tamiya announced a new tool T-55A. It caused quite a stir (what an understatement!) in the modeling community as (1) it is a Tamiya kit and (2) since it is a Tamiya, everybody's pinning their hopes that this The One after a decade of disappointment (following SKIF's T-55). When it finally hit the market, Tamiya kit 35257 did prove that it IS The One. The kit is moulded in olive green plastic and consists of 275 parts, a small sheet of mesh, a length of twine to make the tow cables, the usual Tamiya poly caps, a small decal sheet and the instruction booklet of course. The moulding is up to Tamiya's usual high standard. The lower hull is in one piece and has all the details, despite being mainly out of sight on the completed model. And, according to online reviews, the dimensions and details of the kit is almost spot-on with optional parts for depicting Polish- or Czech-built machines. The turret have subtle cast texture while having very nice weld beads around the turret top. The barrel is of the usual two-piece assembly which needed careful assembly but nothing unusual there. The mantlet dust cover has very good fabric effect although the trade-off is that the gun would be in a fixed position. Tamiya provided multiple commander's and loader's hatches, depending on which version the modeler makes. There is however no plumbing for the track guard-mounted fuel tanks; the modeler either have to fashion one by himself/herself or get an aftermarket one (or just leave them as they were). The one-piece tracks, while having good detail, is not really suitable to mimic the droopy T-55 tracks. The decal sheet contains markings for two Soviet tanks (T-55A mod. 1962 and T-55 mod. 1970), two Polish tanks (T-55 mod. 1970 and T-55A mod. 1970) and a solo Czech T-55A mod. 1970. Again, they are of the usual Tamiya standard.

Construction

The first step was concerned with the assembly of the wheels. They are of the usual Tamiya style of two halves with a polycap inserted in-between the halves. The idlers are of the 'scalloped' type while the T-55's distinctive 'starfish' pattern roadwheels have superb details. The suspension, together with the rear hull plate and the forward plate, together with the dozer mounting points were then cemented onto the hull. The suspension arms were then checked to ensure that the all the wheels would touch the ground. The already complete wheels were then mounted onto their mountings to double-check the 'sit' of the suspension arms and were then removed for painting. Next, the fuel drum racks were slid into their places and secured with Tamiya Extra Thin Cement. While the flanges do add strength to the mounting, I have to exercise care when handling the model for the rest of the build stage, to avoid breaking the fuel drum mounts. The lower hull was more or less completed at this time and I moved on to the upper hull.

Tamiya provided the upper hull in one piece, with the track guards moulded together. There aren't many parts to add at this stage, just a small number of track guard supports, the upper half of the exhaust....and Parts D27 and D31 (I can't remember what they are called!). The upper hull was cemented onto the lower half....and I found that there are gaps at the corners of the hull. Again, I believe that it has nothing to do with Tamiya's engineering. Anyway, I just fill it with putty - problem solved! Now the rest of the upper hull parts can now be cemented. Here, Tamiya provided optional parts for the T-55 and T-55A, which is the driver's hatch; either D42 for T-55 or D42 and D40 for T-55A, and also for Soviet or Warsaw Pact-built vehicle (the headlights and their brush guards). At this juncture, I decided to build a T-55A, so the bulged driver's hatch was used.  The track guard-mounted storage boxes were then assembled and then cemented onto their places on the left track guard. The external fuel cells were mounted onto the right track guard. Here, Tamiya omitted the plumbing which connects the tanks to the engine. They are not difficult to fabricate using brass or lead (soldering) wire, aluminium foil and scrap plastic plus there are plenty of the plumbing arrangement photos on the internet. Using photos and diagrams available on the internet, I used 0.3mm brass wire to create them - the piping bears the hallmarks of my general clumsiness i.e the straight sections are not straight! Furthermore I couldn't find anything suitable to replicate the fasteners (or whatever they're called) so my external fuel piping simply consist of the plain 'pipes' only. Also, I think 0.3mm gauge wire is too thin; perhaps 0.5mm is better-looking plus I need a better material such as soldering or steel wire. Finally, for the engine deck, I cut the provided mesh using the template included in the instructions and glued them to the frame using white glue. Needless to say, a PE grille is a better substitute. The rear fuel tanks were then cemented into position. Their fit is OK with just a hairline seam to be cleaned up.

I then turned my attention to the turret. Before working on it, a number of holes need to be drilled according to the version you choose. After originally decided to build a T-55A by using the bulged driver's hatch, I then decided to make a Soviet T-55A with AA MG. It is not in the options but I think it can be done with the parts provided in the kit.  The turret shell was mated with the bottom and then I went straight to adding the commander's and loader's hatches. I made a mistake though, one which I only realised when writing this piece. While the anti-radiation cladding was placed between the hatches, I then however, rather absentmindedly referred to Option B in the kit's instructions (a Soviet T-55 with AA MG). To build a DShK-equipped T-55A, I should have referred to Option 'C'. Yes, that option is for a Polish-build tank, but with the benefit of hindsight, I believe that the distinctive feature of a Polish-built T-55/T-55A is just the storage box on the left of the turret. So I end up having a T-55 with the T-55A's turret cladding and driver's hatch! Murphy's Law was in full swing here, and as Forrest Gump said, s**t happens!!!

Tie-down hooks were then cemented to the rear of the turret using the faint placement lines as guide. Again, they are best replaced with copper wire. Moving back to the front of the turret, the gun barrel halves were cemented together. There is a hairline seam but nothing serious here. The muzzle end is separate and fit nicely to the barrel. The barrel assembly was then mated to the moulded dust cover. The provision of the dust cover means that the gun is fixed at 0˚ angle. I have no issues with that especially when the dust cover have very nice fabric effect. The searchlight was assembled and cemented onto its place, together with the mechanism to move it in unison with the gun. The DShK AA MG and the snorkel tube were assembled but were left off until after painting. I have however lost the gun's hand grip and substituted it with a 0.5mm rod. A piece of copper wire from a speaker cable was used as additional detailing, that is, as a control cable from the hand grip to the trigger. The turret handrails were also left off at this stage.

Painting and Decaling

Like their World War 2 predecessors, there are a number of colour combinations which can be used to replicate the colour of post-war Soviet tanks. For this build, I decided to forego my colour mix for the Russian Green and decided to use Tamiya XF-65 Field Grey, as used by many modellers I have seen on the internet. The model was painted in this colour, which was lightened with 20% Flat White for scale effect. Once the paint has cured, I mixed some Tamiya XF-5 Flat Green with some 90% thinner to make a filter layer for the Base colour. The tyres were painted Tamiya XF-63 German Grey and the machinegun XF-69 NATO Black. When dry, I rubbed some powdered graphite to the MG for that metallic sheen. As photos of the real tank shows it to have a slight sheen, Tamiya TS-79 Semi-Gloss Clear was sprayed onto the model. The tracks were painted XF-64 Red Brown and were then washed with AK Interactive's Track Wash.

As mentioned before, I had originally intended to build a Soviet T-55A with AA MG (or a Soviet T-55A Model 1970) and therefore I did not intend to use any of the kit decals. Even though I have built a T-55 Model 1970 (more or less) which is Option B of the  marking scheme, I decided to finish my model as something else. With thousands of tanks in Soviet service and with practically no distinctive individual markings, I can practice artistic licence with plenty of freedom here. Browsing the internet, I came across a number of photos of T-55s of the Soviet Naval Infantry during the Cold War. The tanks have the three-digit identification numbers common to Soviet AFVs plus the Soviet naval ensign on the glacis plate and the side rear of the turret. IIRC, the three-digit ID number is not arbitrary and may change during deployments or exercises. Just to be different, I used the spare turret number decals from my old Tamiya T-62A kit. Despite their age, they are still good and apply easily. I used the large numbers and tactical markings for the turret and smaller numbers for the searchlight and the glacis plate. For the Soviet Naval Ensign, I used the one available from Dragon's Scud launcher kit. The one in the Dragon kit has the 'flagpole' in the design but photos show that both designs - with or without the 'flagpole' were used. Unfortunately, like older Hasegawa decals, the white portion of the decal was more ivory than white. No Naval Ensign decals were placed at the rear quadrants of the turret as Dragon provide only one decal suitable for placement there. It wasn't a problem anyway as there are photos showing Morskaya Pekhota tanks without them. All decals were then subjected to Mr Mark Softer treatment.

Finishing

The remaining parts such as the handrails, snorkel tube and the AA machinegun assembly are fixed to the model. The unditching log was painted a base colour of Tamiya XF-55 Deck Tan and washed with XF-59 Desert Yellow. Afterwards I drybrushed XF-64 onto it. The spare Ammo boxes on the turret side were also painted XF-65 Field Grey with the straps painted Mr Color Khaki. The model was then subjected to the usual wash process. The wheels and tracks were then permanently fixed to the model. To create the draped effect of the 'dead' tracks, I superglued the upper run to the tops of the roadwheels. It looked passable enough, although as stated before, workable track links were the best.  For weathering, I decided to add mud to the lower hull and tracks. This time I mixed Mr. Surfacer 500, Mig Productions' European Dust' pigment and lacquer thinner and apply them all over the underside of the model using an old brush that's on its last legs (or bristles to be exact). I only apply a thin mix/layer this time and to add some texture, I stipple the wet mixture with another old, stiff brush. The model was then set aside to dry. Then I washed the 'mud' with Mig Productions' Earth Effects wash mix. Afterwards, I mixed a thin slurry of water and the same pigment powder and apply them on the tracks and the underside of the track guards. Then I mixed a semi-dry mixture of pigments and enamel thinner and apply them sparingly on the tracks, to mimic mud stuck in the tracks' groove. Finally I apply Tamiya Weathering Master Soot on the exhaust port.

Conclusion

Without doubt, one the best (some consider it to be THE best) Tamiya kit so far, even though many modellers have to wait for 30-something years for it. All the parts were finely moulded and of course they feature excellent fit, allowing an easy build. While there are many permutations of the basic tank, Tamiya has covered the main variants, mainly with the alternate turret hatch options. Soon after the kit hit the market, aftermarket manufacturers also follow suit with various PE, track and also conversion sets. As stated before, the kit just need a good separate track links, preferably in metal to more accurately depict the sag of the dead tracks. The external fuel plumbing also need to be added, either being scratch-build or using aftermarket set, to more accurately depict the tank. Tamiya have also included metal separate track links (read : Friulmodel) and also with PE and metal barrel in special boxings of the basic kit. They have also since released two more T-55 based kits : the Iraqi Enigma T-55 and the Israeli Tiran 5.  Too bad I have run out of space in my display cabinet!