Stokesy's IDF Tiran 4 T54/55 Repo

[Stokesy44]

I'm still happily in a 'Lets Build Another Tank' mode so next up at the bench is Takom's Tiran 4.

Here's a teaser for now - hint - there's A LOT of plastic in the box!



The Tiran 4 is a modded up Russian T54/55 captured from the Egyptians / Syrians during the 1967 six day war. Here's some blurb....

The T-54/T-55 tank series is the most widely used tank in the world and has seen service in over 50 countries. It has also served as the platform for a wide variety of specialty armoured vehicles.

The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet medium tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945. From the late 1950s, the T-54 eventually became the main tank for armoured units of the Soviet Army, armies of the Warsaw Pact countries, and many others. T-54s and T-55s have been involved in many of the world's armed conflicts since their introduction in the second half of the 20th century.

The T-54/55 series is the most-produced tank in history. Estimated production numbers for the series range from 96,500 to 100,000. They were replaced by the T-62, T-64, T-72, T-80 and T-90 tanks in the Soviet and Russian armies, but remain in use by up to 50 other armies worldwide, some having received sophisticated retrofitting. The Chinese version of the T-54A is the Type 59.

During the Cold War, Soviet tanks never directly faced their NATO adversaries in European combat. However, the T-54/55's first appearance in the West around the period of the 1950s (then the beginning of the Cold War) spurred the United Kingdom to develop a new tank gun, the Royal Ordnance L7, and the United States to create the M60 tank.

The Israeli army captured a large number of intact vehicles during the Six-Day War, repaired, modernized and put into service around 200 T-54s, T-55s and PT-76s. T-54s and T-55s were modernized to Tiran 4 or 5 standard prior to the Yom Kippur War. During that conflict, Israel captured additional T-54s and T-55s. Tirans were withdrawn from active service at the end of the 1980s. Some were sold and some were converted into Achzarit APCs. However, some Tirans are still in possession of the Israeli Army, possibly in reserve or in storage.

I bought this kit at Clifton's Curios a few years back. Its the only real model shop within reasonable distance of where I live. Its a real oasis for modelers, carrying a good selection if kits, paints and tools. If you're in the Midlands, he's well worth looking up.

The kit looks awesome. Classic Takom, beautiful crisp parts, good instructions and all packed nicely in the box. I plan to break the seal on the beast this afternoon so watch this space and hopefully come along for the ride my friends.

[digger303]

[RangerNeil]

This should be a good build!! Will be watching with interest.

[Stokesy44]

The kit starts off with the lower hull and running gear.

The parts are beautifully detailed and the plastic in general is excellent. This looks like another superb Takom kit.







Running gear attached, there's very little play in the suspension so it sits nicely level.









And now we see that Oh So Very Russian wheel set up. There's no hiding that bloodline!



There was just enough 'play' in the suspension and glue attachment points that I was able to ensure the wheels were all level with the ground and also lined up properly front to rear (so the tracks will be straight).













Dry fit of the 3 piece deck and front glacis - fits like a glove!





Next up is greeblies for the upper surfaces and the amazingly detailed side sponsons. I will also need to consider the indy link tracks as they will be a real PITA to attach if they're not done before the sponsons are attached

[Kevthemodeller]

Looking forward to this come together mate

[digger303]

[aur0ra145]

Cool build! I think this is the first time I've seen road wheels have a tread.

[digger303]

Cool build! I think this is the first time I've seen road wheels have a tread.

Yeah particularly in that sort of pattern, perhaps it has something to do with the manufacturing process.

I would have thought Takom could have made a better effort to make the swing arms and wheels a tighter fit. Even if they tapered the axle a little that would naturally remove any movement.

[Stokesy44]

Cool build! I think this is the first time I've seen road wheels have a tread.

Yeah particularly in that sort of pattern, perhaps it has something to do with the manufacturing process.

I would have thought Takom could have made a better effort to make the swing arms and wheels a tighter fit. Even if they tapered the axle a little that would naturally remove any movement.

The fit of the wheels onto the their connection points is actually quite tight. Its the play in the swing arms that cause them to easily go out of alignment.

As for the tread on the rims I am going to research the T54 and sand them off if necessary. They'll be easier to stand as a double unit so no problem.

[Stokesy44]

Cool build! I think this is the first time I've seen road wheels have a tread.

Yeah particularly in that sort of pattern, perhaps it has something to do with the manufacturing process.

I would have thought Takom could have made a better effort to make the swing arms and wheels a tighter fit. Even if they tapered the axle a little that would naturally remove any movement.

The fit of the wheels onto the their connection points is actually quite tight. Its the play in the swing arms that cause them to easily go out of alignment.

As for the tread on the rims I am going to research the T54 and sand them off if necessary. They'll be easier to stand as a double unit so no problem.

It looks like the tread is authentic although it clearly wears off with use. One thing I have spotted though is the instructions have the rims on the wrong way round. You should be able to see the wheel rim butting against the rubber but that can only be seen on the inside of the wheel, not the outer. I checked the instructions to see if I had screwed up but the error is there on the page.

I guess that's the price you pay when working on a subject you dont have any experience of. The irony is I considered the issue at the time but went with the instructions.

[Stokesy44]

On closer inspection I spotted there IS a rim on the rubber so at least that's something.

I have sanded the wheels to give them a worn look. I'll see how they look once primed and surrounded by the tracks. I think they'll be ok now.





3 piece deck fitted. Nice clean fit and just a bit of tape needed for the front glacis.





Then it was on to the greeblies.





I've started work on the tracks. 92 links per side. One side is done and I found out the requirement is about 91.5 links for them to fit properly! I had to cut the of the links down a bit to get the fit right which was a bit disappointing. Pics to follow.

[digger303]

Looking good and I like the way you left some of the molding on the rubber road wheels.
Your comment about the track length has made me think I should try a different approach to negate track being too loose or tight. I have a idea that may work on some kits.

[Stokesy44]

Looking good and I like the way you left some of the molding on the rubber road wheels.
Your comment about the track length has made me think I should try a different approach to negate track being too loose or tight. I have a idea that may work on some kits.

Repositioning the idler wheel should do it. The problem with indy link tracks that are glued together is I didnt know if the tracks would fit together until I tried to join the track coming from the rear to the track coming from the front. By that point the position of the idler was set because the track had set. I did the other side today and strangely it was near perfect!

[Stokesy44]

I got on with the track for the other side today and thankfully this went together much better. I dont know if its because the rearmost wheel is positioned differently (its much closer to the sprockett) but the track went together almost seamlessly.

[digger303]

[Stokesy44]

With the tracks done it was time to work on the sponsons. There is tons of detail on both sides, be it fuel tanks, tools or equipment boxes.

Worked on the left side first. The PE bits were a pain because they were flat to flat connections - the glue points were the width of the PE

Final result is nice and busy







Test fit of the other side, its nice and tight, its level too



Starting to look like a Rusky

[digger303]

Very neat and smart.

[RangerNeil]

Looking good!!!

[Stokesy44]

Very neat and smart.

Looking good!!!

Thank you Gentlemen,

After a brief hiatus where work and tiredness intervened, I got back to work on the second sponson yesterday. Still a few bits of PE and pipework to add but the sponson is attached to the hull now.







Beauty shots





So a few more bits to be added, including the metal tow cables (I hate metal cables) then its on to the VERY busy turret.

[digger303]

Love it or hate there's no denying PE screens always look fantastic.
Smooooth paint

[Stokesy44]

Love it or hate there's no denying PE screens always look fantastic.
Smooooth paint

The paint looks super smooth because I haven't painted it yet....

[Stokesy44]

Next up was the turret. To say it has lots of detail on it is an understatement!

This is the work of 2 substantial bench sessions. There are still a few bits left as well as the .30 and .50 caliber machine guns!







Everything fitted nicely except the gun sleeve. It will need a bit of filler where it meets the panel at the top of the sleeve.







Beauty shots - that classic outline

[digger303]

You can see how much kit manufacturing has improved with the sharpness of detail and a great builder really shows it off to perfection.

[Stokesy44]

You can see how much kit manufacturing has improved with the sharpness of detail and a great builder really shows it off to perfection.

I'm blushing here

[Stokesy44]

I think the build is finished.

Unbelievably, I actually managed to make a decent job of the metal cables. Normally I hate the damn things because the lengths are always wrong and they dont conform to how they're supposed to sit due to the lack of scaled weight.

I had given the attachment of the cables careful thought as the build went together. I decided the best approach was to attach the end pieces than test fit the cable to get the perfect length. For once, the holes in the end connectors were large enough to take the cable without the individual strands all butting against the edges and splitting out. The front and rear connects were moveable so i superglued the cables into them then fed them into the connectors on the sponsons and added a little glue here and there to make sure the cables 'sat' properly.





The turret was finished off with the final few greeblies and the MGs. The 0.30 caliber mount is so precarious I have left the gun off for now as I would surely have broken it off during the painting phase.

Managed to drill out the muzzles of both MGs.





So that's another one ready for primer

[digger303]

Marvelous.




Ps.... The thing I hate most about cables is the ends are always too small for the cable.

[Kevthemodeller]

Oh yes, great looking cables mate they can be a right pain at times, very nice detail touches with the MG barrels. Bring on the paint