T55.pdf

Back to Basics

Adam Wilder builds the new Tamiya kit from the box

Many modelers, including myself, write

articles about incorporating methods such

as the use of photo-etched brass, soldering,

extensive scratch-building and varying

painting techniques that allow us to produce

the work covered in this magazine. That is

great for the veteran modelers but some of

us are better bankers, plumbers, business

executives, athletes and waiters. Some of

the subscribers to this and similar

publications may feel that their own talents

are in different areas, and they might not

ever be able to produce armor models like

the ones they read about every month.

During this article, I am going to try and

bring to your awareness some of the basic

modeling techniques used by the masters

that are often overlooked because they are

wrongly assumed to be common

knowledge. Without these basic techniques,

the experts would be unable to supply this

publication with the nice work you view every

two months. Everyone wanting to get into

the hobby of modeling must know these

techniques. I also hope to demonstrate that

if you choose your subjects properly, you

can make a beautiful model with minimal

after-market parts and the years of

experience needed to properly apply them.

model is superbly detailed and molded,

assembles with minimal effort, and gives

you one of the most numerously deployed

aesthetically-pleasing armored fighting

vehicles ever manufactured.

Getting started

The kit provides you with the opportunity to

make a number of different T-55 variants for

some of the many countries in which it was

deployed and manufactured. I chose the

option to build one of the T-55s used by the

Russian army with the mounted anti-aircraft

machine gun.

Choosing the Subject

With careful research, you will find there are

a number of models on the market that you

can build out of the box with minimal effort

to get a beautiful scale armor model. If you

are looking to get into this hobby I would

recommend the new Tamiya T-55. As I will

show you with the aid of photos, this armor

Photos 1 & 2

Upon choosing the specific T-55 you would

like to construct, I would recommend going

through the instructions and highlighting

each of the directions that apply to your

model to eliminate possible confusion.

at once because similar ones can be easily

confused.

Photo two provides a view of the model’s

major components.

Photos 8 & 9

Make sure you align and glue part D12

before adding parts A4. I like to use the very

dense Testor’s liquid glue to assemble the

larger parts. It sets slowly allowing you to

properly position the parts.

Assembling the Hull

Photos 3 to 5

When starting the construction of a model, I

first cut and prepare all of the major parts

for assembly. Xuron cutters such as the

ones shown in photo four allow you to make

a flush cut in those difficult to reach areas

between the sprues. Xuron snips and the

other tools shown throughout this article can

be purchased at most stores Leave a bit of

the sprue on the part when you cut it to

minimize any possible damage to the part,

and remove this carefully with the aid of a

sharp hobby knife. If you damage the part

while cleaning it you can fill in the unwanted

hole or divot with fast drying putty.

Photo 10

Parts D27 and D31 appear to be part of the

top plate. These parts need to be filled with

putty and sanded smooth on the front ends

where the seam will not be hidden by the

turret.

Photos 11 to 12

Many of the toolboxes and the rear

cylindrical fuel tanks need to be assembled.

When assembling the toolboxes, first glue

one of the sides with the top. If you center

the side properly with the top, the other

sides should assemble properly in place.

Photos 6 & 7

The seams on the parts caused by the

molding process need to be removed. You

can remove these seams with the back of

your hobby knife. Always keep plenty of new

blades for your hobby knife on hand. A dull

blade will only damage delicate parts such

as the ones I am cleaning in photo 6. Be

careful not to cut off too many parts to clean

Photos 13 & 14

Testor’s liquid glue seen in photo 14 is a

little denser and not as clean as the Tenax -

7R seen throughout the other photos.

However, it's great for thinning Tamiya brand

putty, which allows you to brush on the

minimal amounts needed to fill the small but

unwanted seams on parts C33 and C35

D12

D31

D27

C33

C35

that make up part of the light assembly. Let

the putty set for a few hours before sanding.

Photo 14 shows the completed light

assembly next to another small part I am

attaching with the aid of tweezers.

it’s weight do the cutting. Again, glue the

screening in place on the inside of the parts

where the bond will be out of sight on the

completed model.

parts are in place, they can be used to

properly align the rest of the torsion bars

with a straightedge.

Photo 21

Often the larger parts of a model can be

slightly warped, requiring you to hold them

together for long periods of time while the

glue sets. When assembling large parts

such as the upper and lower hull, first use

small amounts of super glue in required

areas to quickly attach the parts together.

After the quicker drying super glue sets you

Photos 17 to 20

When cleaning parts such as the torsion

bars, only remove the seams that you think

will be visible on the finished model. After

cleaning, glue the torsion bars in place from

the inside using a dense, slow drying glue to

achieve a better bond. First glue a torsion

bar in each of the four corners. After these

Photos 15 & 16

The nylon screening provided with the kit

needs to be cut to size. Use a straight edge,

a rigid surface and a sharp hobby knife to

cut the soft material. Do not press the knife

or you might tear the screening. Instead,

make numerous passes with the knife letting

can reinforce the bond with regular liquid

plastic cement.

Photos 22 & 23

The only problem I encountered with this kit

were large grooves on the rear of the

fenders and turret for the placement of

parts. These grooves should be filled with

putty and sanded smooth. After filling the

grooves, the areas on parts D10 and D11

need to be filed smooth as shown in photo

23 before gluing them in place. Photo 24

shows the filled groove and reworked

support. The support on the rear toolbox

also needs to be shortened.

Photos 24 & 25

The seams on the running gear need to be

removed. Use coarse sandpaper to remove

the seams, then buff the sanded areas with

finer sandpaper. Photo 25 shows both the

parts needed to assemble the drive and idler

wheels. The hubs fit much more snugly into

the wheels eliminating the slope

encountered on the older Tamiya kits. The

tight fit of these hubs is much more suitable

for accommodating the heavier after-market

tracks that are available.

D11

The Turret

Photos 26 & 27

Before assembling the bottom and top parts

of the turret, holes need to be drilled to

accommodate specific parts for the T-55

variant you are building. Photo 26 shows the

turret and various parts included to build the

various cupolas for the different variants.

Photos 28 & 29

I glued the covering for the mantlet to the

turret before assembling parts B13 and B14.

These two parts do not fit snugly against the

covering like they should. Just superglue one

side of the part and hold it in place for a

second. After the first side is glued firmly,

add a little super glue to the other side then

push the part into place while the super glue

sets. After the super glue sets, add a little

liquid plastic glue to straighten the joint.

grab-handles after they are glued into place.

These flaws can be fixed by adding a little

thinned putty then blending it with the

texture of the turret.

Photos 34 to 36

By this time I am sure there are a number

good quality turned brass and aluminum gun

barrels on the market for this model-

however, the gun provided with the kit will do

fine. The muzzle must be properly aligned

and glued together first, I use a Flex-I-File to

clean the puttied seams on the gun and

other cylindrical parts while keeping their

proper contours. I accidentally ruined some

weld detail on the end of the gun barrel while

sanding the putty smooth. I recreated

these using stretched sprue.

Photos 32 & 33

The injection-molded tie-downs are close to

scale but are a bit tedious to assemble. Like

the fender supports on the rear of the hull

displayed in photo 23, a divot will be present

between part C52 and the turret after

assembly. This will need to be filled and the

putty blended with the texture of the turret.

Photos 30 & 31

Parts such as the grab-handles are very

delicate and can easily be broken as you

clean them. Sand off as much of the seams

as you can before removing them from the

sprues. Divots will still be visible around the

Photos 37 to 40

Part C39 was reworked to accommodate a

piano wire antenna. Photo 38 is a close-up

of the assembled DShK anti-aircraft

machine gun. Tamiya might want to

consider selling this little gem separately.

The only after-market item used on this

model was a set of Friulmodel track links.

Although the vinyl tracks provided with the

kit are very good, they still cannot compare

to the look of realism obtained when using

these workable metal links. Friulmodel tracks

are fairly easy to assemble and are definitely

worth the extra cost. These tracks were also

needed to accommodate the weathering

steps, as you will see.

construction photos. With the model

constructed and cleaned, I moved into the

painting steps.

Painting

Photos 1 to 3

I first painted the model with a base coat of

acrylics. Tamiya paints are very user-friendly

and adhere well to the plastic. Vallejo-Air

acrylics are more difficult to spray but give a

wonderful finish. I use both Vallejo dilutant

and tap water to thin the Vallejo-Air colors. I

airbrushed over the base-coat of Tamiya

Before painting the assembled model it was

washed thoroughly using an old toothbrush

with soap and hot water. Washing the

assembled model removes any oils and

dust leftover from handling and construction.

I took the photos of the assembled

unpainted model to show some more details

that might have been missed in the

B14

B13

C52

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