1/48 Tamiya T-55

 

Depicted as generic tank from a Middle Eastern Army.

A piece of “modern (ish) armour from Tamiya in 1/48 scale- count me in.  I wanted to do something other than an all green Warsaw Pact machine.  In the end I went for a generic vehicle using a lot of images found online of other peoples models and actual machines. 

I also used Martin Kovac's (Uncle Nightshift) build of the T-55 as inspiration.

The result is a bit of a cliché tank.  That said I do like the finished result.

The Kit 

• Tamiya  1/48 T-55 Russian Medium Tank  (Kit No 32598)

Aftermarket

• MP Originals 48017: 1/48 T-55 Fuel Tanks w Pipes

The Build

It a Tamiya kit so you know it will just fit.

I added some armour texture with Tamiya grey putty mixed with MEK and stippled on with an old brush.   

I had the Tetra models PE but I am just not good with it.  When I saw what was there I decided it wasn’t worth the effort.  

I replaced the plastic bars on the turret with brass wire.

I did add the MP Originals (set No 48017) 1/48 T-55 Fuel Tanks w Pipes.  These are a cheap in worthwhile improvement over the kit parts.

The tow cables were made from aircraft safety wire (4 pieces) twisted up with my lockwire pliers (I know there was a reason I kept those). 

 I beat up the rear fuel drums as I wanted them to look a bit distressed.

Painting and Weathering

I primed everything with Mr Surfacer Mahogany and then added some lighter rust tones… Not light enough.  Hairspray was then applied for the base coat of Base coat was Tamiya LP 62 Olive drab 2, this is more green than olive drab.

I started chipping this with water and, whilst it took a while it did s chip.  But before I finished I got called away to local brewery.  When I returned to it a day later the paint wasn’t chipping that well with water so I used Mr Color Thinner.  The plan was that when I chip the top coat I will get some green and rust ships.  I really should have made the rust coat a lot lighter so the chips can be seen.

A grey pastel pencil was used to lay out a camouflage pattern.  I used a couple of other models as inspiration but the pattern is just made up.

The sand colour is Tamiya XF59 mixed with Flat white.  No particular ratio, it was just missed until I liked what I saw.  I then freehanded the pattern on with my airbrush.

First washes. I used some of the Mr Weathering Color products for these mixing colours as required.

Underside dust and dirt. Mainly pigments with some oils, enamels and Mr Weathering Color.  Now I need to do some dust on the upper surfaces of the hull.

Upper surface dust was done using Mr Weathering Color Sundy (not Sandy) wash.  This was applied and worked into the surface with a damp brush.

Staining and washes were redone with neat oils. These are photos of the finished model before stating on the scenic base.  The figure was painted using thinned Vallejo acrylics.

Scenic Base

The base was made from insulation foam, air dried clay, and artists texture paste lined with balsa wood.  The groundwork included sand from the beach along with small rocks (crushed terracotta) from the backyard.  

The base was primed using black Mr surfacer then painted with a few Tamiya colours.  Rocks were painted various colours then some Mr Weathering Color was used for washes.  The same Pigments used on the model were used to tie it to the base.

The Photos