Mini Art 1/35 T54-2 Soviet medium tank

[Tat2bhoy]

So far this year I’ve built a u-boat and a plane, so now it’s time for some armour.

It’s the MiniArt T54-2


Even though it’s not the interior kit, the box has a fare amount of plastic jammed into it


Everything seems to be packed into two bags


There’s a total of 49 sprues, one photo etch and a set of decals
















The instruction book is printed in colour and black and white


There’s five different paint options, but all are green with different insignia.

[Tat2bhoy]

After having a look through the instructions, I decided to skip a few steps and start at step 43, the tracks.
I decided to do them first because if I started to build from step one, by the time I got to the tracks, they might have deflated me and the whole thing would be put away till I got in the mood to restart it again, but this way, when I get to step 43, they’ll be ready to go


It looks to be the most tedious part, there’s 190 track links to be removed from their sprues, each having four connecting points




So with a pair of snips, a knife, a file, some bottles of IPA and the ISM Friday night show on in the background, I made a start.
4 down, 186 to go


Even though they are a nice fit, they still need glued together, which I’ll do once the wheels are on.


After just over 2 hours, 95 are done


By the end of the show and 3 bottles and sore fingers
All 190 and none lost are complete.


It took a lot of perseverance and determination, but I wasn’t gonna let them beat me.
A good job done and one I’m glad I got finished in one sitting.

Now back to step one

[Gary30]

I've got the T54-1 Miniart in my stash, and it looks to be a near identical kit, so I'm watching with interest pal, I read the instructions for mine, saw the track links....thought to myself 'errr that can probably go back on the shelf for a few months..... '

I'm obviously not as brave as you, but will be taking notes along the way

[KalebB]

Never built anything Mini Art brand before. It looks very quality tho. May have to pick a few up.

Can't wait to see what you do with her!

[Kevthemodeller]

I'm going to enjoy following along, good luck with the build mate

[Tat2bhoy]

I've got the T54-1 Miniart in my stash, and it looks to be a near identical kit, so I'm watching with interest pal, I read the instructions for mine, saw the track links....thought to myself 'errr that can probably go back on the shelf for a few months..... '

I'm obviously not as brave as you, but will be taking notes along the way

That’s why I did the tracks first lol, and if the build keeps going the way it’s going so far, if I hadn’t done the tracks first, I might have shelved it as well lol

[Tat2bhoy]

Never built anything Mini Art brand before. It looks very quality tho. May have to pick a few up.

Can't wait to see what you do with her!

It’s my first miniart as well, I can’t believe how many parts there are

[Tat2bhoy]

I'm going to enjoy following along, good luck with the build mate

It’s gonna be fun anyway

[Tat2bhoy]

Next up was the torsion bars and suspension.
There’s a lot of cleaning up on each one, but as they won’t be seen, just a quick scrap with a blade should do the trick




There’s some nice weld detail


There’s quite a few parts to making up the suspension, but the suspension works so it’s a nice wee bonus

Now this is where it goes aaaaaaarghhhhhhh
When fitting parts Kc2 and Ho2, I put glue on the cross hatched areas and fitted the parts to them all and left them to dry.
Then went back to it and tested the suspension only to find out that the glue had managed to get into the dashed areas and glued all the suspension so it doesn’t work anymore
Too much glue, school boy error


Oh well, onward and upward

[Gary30]

This is one of my (many) weaknesses too, I just over glue EVERYTHING

I'd be thinking to myself: 'it's a tank....it should be STRONG....LOTS OF GLUE.....(check suspension operation)......D'OH!!!! '

I know I'd make the exact same mistake, so thanks for taking one for the team on this one

[digger303]

Another tank and it's Soviet....love it.
It seems a bit silly to give you workable suspension and then have to glue the track together in a solid lump. I guess it gives the option of using metal tracks.

[Donkeywalloper]

Your doing a fine old job That2, really fine job.
Miniart always have superb Boxart, then when you open box you find the Boxart is the best bit .
This though, looks a really nice kit.
I'm afraid, I'm also a bit for too much glue and the capillary action of TET pulls it into all the places your not supposed to put it.
I agree with Digger though, some of these kits with workable suspension, are a bit OTT
Your though doing such a fine job chap.
DW

[KalebB]

On the bright side at least you know the suspension components won't call off!

I've definitely used too much glue on multiple occasions myself

As you said onwards and upwards!

[Tat2bhoy]

This is one of my (many) weaknesses too, I just over glue EVERYTHING

I'd be thinking to myself: 'it's a tank....it should be STRONG....LOTS OF GLUE.....(check suspension operation)......D'OH!!!! '

I know I'd make the exact same mistake, so thanks for taking one for the team on this one

I don’t mind taken one for the team if it helps someone else

[Tat2bhoy]

Another tank and it's Soviet....love it.
It seems a bit silly to give you workable suspension and then have to glue the track together in a solid lump. I guess it gives the option of using metal tracks.

I was hoping to find a way of glueing the track links so they had some flexibility to them, maybe a PVA type of glue or something so the suspension would work

[Tat2bhoy]

Your doing a fine old job That2, really fine job.
Miniart always have superb Boxart, then when you open box you find the Boxart is the best bit .
This though, looks a really nice kit.
I'm afraid, I'm also a bit for too much glue and the capillary action of TET pulls it into all the places your not supposed to put it.
I agree with Digger though, some of these kits with workable suspension, are a bit OTT
Your though doing such a fine job chap.
DW

Thanks m8, every day is a school day, sometimes I need to stop before I do a step and think what might go wrong

[Tat2bhoy]

On the bright side at least you know the suspension components won't call off!

I've definitely used too much glue on multiple occasions myself

As you said onwards and upwards!

They ain’t coming off or moving that’s for sure

[Tat2bhoy]

There’s a bit of modification needed on the sides of the hull. A bit of chamfering is required, the sizes given are a bit exact, whether my sizes are exact is debatable
Useing a flat file and an estimated 45 degree angle, it was filed away



When fitting parts Jd23 and Jd24, be careful, as when they are on the sprue, it looks like there is only one part 23 and three parts 24


Step 23 requires some drilling of holes, it requires you to make a two rectangular holes 3.5mm from the edge to fit parts Ca25 and Ca26 but in the same step it also tells you to remove the rectangular part from parts Ca25 and Ca26
So I marked where they were to go on the rear part, removed the rectangular part from parts 25 and 26 and glued into place



You’re having a laugh Miniart,
This isn’t going to end well


And no it didn’t


So with some .8mm brass rod, a new one was made, slightly thicker than the original, but I only had .45 and .8 rod and the size of the original part was .65




And then another problem
What position does part Kd2 go
It’s got a cylindrical part that fits into a cylindrical hole onto a completely flat face
Hopefully someone can help me out here as I don’t want to make a mistake in this area again
The top diagram makes it look like it goes at about 7 o’clock and the bottom part makes it look like it goes at the 6 o’clockish position, but I’m not sure


So until I’m 100% sure, I’ll leave it off

[KalebB]

That kit sure looks like it has some nice detail molded in!

But seems to be also a major pain in the rear

Can't wait to see her done!!

[Gary30]

I think mine may have an extended residency on my shelf

[Quax]

I've built their Su85, they make lovely kits but the instructions are more than a little Dragon-like!
Be like Percy and veer, you always make these things look great and you're already on the way!
Cheers Paul

[TheNordus]

What you've got there is the idler mount, it's supposed to rotate almost 360 degrees to allow you to tension the track, so technically there's no right spot to put it. You would have to build the tracks to see which position to mount it in.

[Tat2bhoy]

That kit sure looks like it has some nice detail molded in!

But seems to be also a major pain in the rear

Can't wait to see her done!!

There’s some great detail, but you’re right, it is a bit testing at times especially at the connecting points from the sprues

[Tat2bhoy]

I think mine may have an extended residency on my shelf

Hahaha, get it down you coward

[Tat2bhoy]

I've built their Su85, they make lovely kits but the instructions are more than a little Dragon-like!
Be like Percy and veer, you always make these things look great and you're already on the way!
Cheers Paul

Surprisingly it is an enjoyable build but it does have its moments

[Tat2bhoy]

What you've got there is the idler mount, it's supposed to rotate almost 360 degrees to allow you to tension the track, so technically there's no right spot to put it. You would have to build the tracks to see which position to mount it in.

Yep, that’s what I thought I would have to do, thanks

[Tat2bhoy]

The joins of the upper and lower half’s aren’t the best, on the real rank, the welding is heavier than on the model. Using milliput two part putty, I set about filling the gaps with milliput welding.









I rolled out the milliput into thin rolls then using a cocktail stick, placed it on then tried to make it look like weld seams













Once again Miniart, you outdo yourselves again



This time I didn’t even attempt to remove the parts from the sprue, 0.45 brass rod and two new parts are manufactured. To make it easier to bend the rod into shape, is to hold it over a flame for a few seconds, makes it much easier to bend.

[digger303]

Excellent

[KalebB]

I always love when people make their own parts from rod or styrene. Makes it more personal imo

Awesome build mate!!

[Tat2bhoy]

Excellent

Cheers

[Tat2bhoy]

I always love when people make their own parts from rod or styrene. Makes it more personal imo

Awesome build mate!!

Cheers m8, I definitely get some satisfaction building some of my own parts

[Tomcat64]

Great work knocking this one into shape mate

This is obviously one of those kits designed by someone who never had to build one!

The additional rods & weld detail you've put in look really good - nicely done!

[Tat2bhoy]

Great work knocking this one into shape mate

This is obviously one of those kits designed by someone who never had to build one!

The additional rods & weld detail you've put in look really good - nicely done!

Cheers Neil, it’s definitely testing my mojo now lol

[digger303]

I'll have to up my game and try to do some of this scratch building....it does look much better

[Tat2bhoy]

Onto the tracks, this can either go swimmingly well or sink like a brick
Hopefully somewhere in between

The wheels won’t be secured to the hull until everything is painted.
To connect the wheels to the suspension, miniart give the most ridiculous connection points, don’t know why they’ve done them like that, they are also meant to rotate, I’ll be giving each one a little bit extra glue it think.




With two road wheels temporarily put in place, I measure the length between the two to make up a length of track



I then make up another couple of smaller sets and when the glue hasn’t fully hardened, I shape them around the drive sprocket and the idler wheel.
Then connect the lower section and allow to dry before removing them.





I made up three sections and placed them in position before they completely dried as before.
Then removed them and marked them up and put aside to completely dry before painting.





It wasn’t a five minute job but wasn’t a nightmare either, so not too bad

[digger303]

Onto the tracks, this can either go swimmingly well or sink like a brick
Hopefully somewhere in between

The wheels won’t be secured to the hull until everything is painted.
To connect the wheels to the suspension, miniart give the most ridiculous connection points, don’t know why they’ve done them like that, they are also meant to rotate, I’ll be giving each one a little bit extra glue it think.




With two road wheels temporarily put in place, I measure the length between the two to make up a length of track



I then make up another couple of smaller sets and when the glue hasn’t fully hardened, I shape them around the drive sprocket and the idler wheel.
Then connect the lower section and allow to dry before removing them.





I made up three sections and placed them in position before they completely dried as before.
Then removed them and marked them up and put aside to completely dry before painting.





It wasn’t a five minute job but wasn’t a nightmare either, so not too bad

First time I have actually seen someone explain how they do non workable tracks in such a way to make it easily understandable to anyone...

[Tat2bhoy]

Had a bit of a problem, one of the rear fuel tank supports broke off and completely disappeared of the face of the earth
Time for a bit of scratch building with some micro strip and glue.
A bit of weathering should hide any imperfections

[Tomcat64]

Great work on those track links - and as digger said, thanks for the clear explanation too!

And yet another nice save with the rear support as well.

[gaz45]

Very nice work there mate loving the detail

[Kevthemodeller]

Those tracks look a bit of a challenge as said get save of the fuel tank support, great looking PE work too

Not seen a Mini Art kit before, they look nicely detailed on par with Takom & Meng

[Tat2bhoy]

Great work on those track links - and as digger said, thanks for the clear explanation too!

And yet another nice save with the rear support as well.

Very nice work there mate loving the detail

Those tracks look a bit of a challenge as said get save of the fuel tank support, great looking PE work too

Not seen a Mini Art kit before, they look nicely detailed on par with Takom & Meng

Thanks guys.
It is a nicely detailed kit, but I can’t understand why they have so many sprue conting parts to the pipe parts
Definitely a challenging build

[Tat2bhoy]

Some more brass rod required, this is much easier than trying to clean up the kit parts.





And once again, more brass required



Apart from the tracks and wheels, that’s the hull built awaiting painting

[Hawkmoon]

All looking good and nice work with the metal replacements

[Tat2bhoy]

The turret is built up in a few parts.
When the top and bottom halves are joined together, a seam line is left. To get rid of it, I mixed Mr Hobby putty and Tamiya extra thin cement together to get a thinner mixture. Using a brush, I stippled a rough effect over the area of the join.
When dry, using a sanding pad, I smother it till I got the desired effect I was happy with.

[KalebB]

The turret is built up in a few parts.
When the top and bottom halves are joined together, a seam line is left. To get rid of it, I mixed Mr Hobby putty and Tamiya extra thin cement together to get a thinner mixture. Using a brush, I stippled a rough effect over the area of the join.
When dry, using a sanding pad, I smother it till I got the desired effect I was happy with.

Great job!!
Looks just like the part had come just all as one piece

[digger303]

The turret is built up in a few parts.
When the top and bottom halves are joined together, a seam line is left. To get rid of it, I mixed Mr Hobby putty and Tamiya extra thin cement together to get a thinner mixture. Using a brush, I stippled a rough effect over the area of the join.
When dry, using a sanding pad, I smother it till I got the desired effect I was happy with.

Great job!!
Looks just like the part had come just all as one piece

It does indeed, great bit of joinery.

[Kevthemodeller]

Great looking brass work on the fuel lines

[Tat2bhoy]

Great job!!
Looks just like the part had come just all as one piece

It does indeed, great bit of joinery.

Great looking brass work on the fuel lines

Thanks guys, it’s one of the easiest joins I've had to fill, it’s a pity planes aren’t cast
Making the pipe work out of brass is much easier than trying to remove the kit ones from the sprues

[alextheblue]

Great progress and I gotta agree - beautiful job filling that seam!

[Tat2bhoy]

Great progress and I gotta agree - beautiful job filling that seam!

Cheers m8