Drozd

[iking.]

Hi fellows

this was one of my old long overdue builds.
I planned to do this during one of our local clubs groupbuild but shelved the project for some reasons.
Im reviving this up this year and hopefully finish this in 2-3 months time.
This is a T-55 upgrade that is called the Drozd active protection system.
No aftermarket is available for this upgrade so I have to build it on my own (which is good as I need to practice scratching parts also haha!)
SKif kit is not that good as its details are quite crude and not worth to import it from UK









Materials that I have used are the following:
Tamiya T-55 base kit
PLA plates from Tamiya
plastic strips and rods from Evergreen
Copper wire and twist-ties
and of course the ever reliable rotary tool

I just hope that Tamiya wont release this variant not after I am done to avoid frustration hahahaha!

anyway, cheers and happy modeling! ;D

Iking

[eastrock]

I hope trumpeter makes one lol

[iking.]

hahaahahaha lol ches! i started this yesterday and i got hooked.

[Mence]

Interesting, gives it a bit of a futuristic appearance.

[iking.]

thanks prof!

cheers!

iking

[iking.]

Here are some updates on the T-55 AM.
The launchers are all installed and the guidance system are mounted already in which additional details will be mated.
The loaders hatch is modified from the Polish hatch of the Tamiya kit. This was upgraded through the use of Tamiya white putty.
Commander's hatch will also be modified as well by means of a putty.
The DsHK machine gun mount is a modifed hatch from a T-62 kit.











Thanks for looking!
Cheers!

iking

[Deleted]

interesting vehicle and nice scratchbuilding too!

[iking.]

thanks snipersmudge and Dicky!
yup its fun to sbuild this tank upgrade.
I can see that the T-55 and T-62 hulls is open to a wide possibility of options
I just hope i can finish this soon so i can put it on the shelf anc cross it out on my inventory of wips hahaha!
The kit is basically a T-55 made by Tamiya.
I used the bare turret and hull and just added the Drozd system made from styrene, vinyl and metal parts.
The biggest challenge for me is the lack of pics that show all the sides of this tank :S
Primeportal and Dishmodels.ru doesnt offer enough and I only got a few from armorama
Nevertheless ill push this through whatever it takes

cheers fellows!

Iking

[bullardino]

Very nice job, Iking

[iking.]

Thanks a lot Luigi:D I cant wait, I will resume work on this treader maybe on weekend as Ill be out of town this upcoming 3 days

Cheers!

iking

[eastrock]

after you got out town the kit will be in the shelves lol

Great Scratch work

[bbd468]

Hey iking,

Thats some fine scratch work right there buddy....looks great!

Gary

[iking.]

Thanks ER and Gary!

cheers!

iking

[iking.]

Here are some updates.
I have already finished installing the upgrades and im just waiting for the wire mesh that will be used for the engine deck vents.







The KTD laser range finder was already built and installed.
I need to drill the mantlet as this is recessed inside the mantlet.


Spare track brackets were also added to augment the details as shown on real T-55s
You can also see here the front fuel pipings that connects the front fuel bladder to the rear ones.


The rear fuel pipings were made from steel wires drilled on the bladders.
These were added with vinyl tubes to enhance the details.


Electrical wirings were also drilled using steel wire to replicate the headlight wirings.


The commanders hatch was upgraded with periscope details and hatch details made from plastic sprues , plates, rods, and wires.


The power generator of the Drozd system aft right and aft left sides:




A little polishing is needed to smoothen the edges and a quick burst of primer to check for cracks, bumps and cavities and then I'm off with painting.

Enjoy!

Cheers!

iking

[multicam]

Really cool build! Great additional details! Nice scratch work:)

[eastrock]

Great work, Comrade!!! cool scratch build on the t-55

[bbd468]

Iking....just awesome works from you buddy. Keep it rollin'!

Gary

[wbill76]

Some very nice detail work you've got going on here!

[Deleted]

I like all of the scratch detail !

[Deleted]

Interesting conversion Iking, not seen this set up before. Great scratch work BTW 

[Mence]

Cor, like to see this in kit form, looks superb.

[Deleted]

very nice indeed your additions are ace!

[Leon]

nice scratch work and detail.

[iking.]

thank you guys for the appreciation and motivation! this is really a challenge for me and it got me kickstarted again on modifying kits I was also waiting for a kit of this design or an AM upgrade but to no avail so I decided to just get on with it and start chopping plates, rods and strips!
im again thinking of buying another t-55 to convert into something hahaha!

cheers!

Iking

[iking.]

Thanks Dicky! I am already on the painting process but forgot to take pictures haha! I am making this as a Naval Infantry vehicle so I can do something apart from the regular Ground Forces. yup you are right there are a lot, Im also considering the fire-suppression vehicles/snow blowers based on T-55 chassis:D we can never go wrong with the '55s!

Thanks man and cheers!

Iking

[wbill76]

Of course you know the iron rule of scratch-builds and modifications, right? The moment you spend 2 years or so assembling and then actually completing the project, one of the majors will announce an upcoming release of the same subject.

[iking.]

haha yup WBill, with the trends in Trumpeter its already a possibility

meanwhile, here are some updates on my conversions.
I already painted the base color of the tank which is a mixture of Tamiya acrylics: Flat Green, Flat White and Flat Yellow. I added a tinge of flat yellow to give the mixture a 'lively' appearance compared to just flat white and flat green which i find dead and more of like a sea green.

The paint was then washed with oils and enamels to highlight the rivets, crevices and panels.

I also added the white Bort numbers, Naval ensign decal that were scavenged from old Dragon decals.

Here she is:





Cheers and happy modeling everyone!

Iking

[eastrock]

Awesome Komrade!!! color modulation spot on

[wbill76]

Now that's some nice color variation with the green, looking good Iking!

[iking.]

Thanks a lot ER and WBill! ill be doing the dot filter for this maybe this weekend then probably do my first time use of the AK products. I hope it works for me hahaha!

cheers!

Iking