Cold War Workhorse Part II The PSC T-55

   I have had this kit for some time and just now realized that I had not done a review of it. So Here I go...... Plastic Soldier Company has done a great job of bringing affordable, highly-detailed models of the most common tanks to the wargaming community. In this subject they have produced an excellent model of the most common tank in the world; the Russian T-55 (and a good many of its variants). With some estimates running as high as 100,000 models made the T-55 will figure large in any wargaming of the post WW2 era.

 

front box art

     Molded in a medium gray plastic that shows detail well and cast without flash or noticeable mold-lines this kit provides parts to build six variants of this long serving tank.

 

rear box art, not much to say about painting ideas.....you get to choose green

service in the Third World provides more options (green AND brown)

 

contents of the box, instructions and five sprues

each sprue provides all the parts for all of the variants

 

color-coded parts identification for the six versions

(but no part numbers)

 

step by step instructions clearly indicate which variant you are building

 

sprue, side A

 

sprue, side B

 

unnecessary, but much-appreciated details 

I can't say why I find this so endearing, but I do

 

close-up of turret details

 

front glacis and rear detail

 

well-done one piece track assemblies 

 

crisply executed details on the hull top 

BUILDING THE T-55

 

front glacis and turret base ready to go, 

these fit so tightly that glue was probably unnecessary,

 but I glued them anyways

 

the seams were nearly invisible

 

the lower hull is next, again (as with the M-60 kit...and all other PSC kits) 

some locating pins would be nice

 

squeeze tightly as the glue dries to be sure there are no gaps

the rear of the hull ready to be installed

 

the fit was perfect, 

PSC went a long way to create the parts so that there is a minimal number of seams visible

 

track assemblies ready to go, 

these CAN be installed wrong way around but you have to really work at it;

don't work at it, the drive sprocket is at the back

 

another perfect fit

 

the turret and gun

 

the commander's cupola and AA MG installed with the loaders cupola ready to go

 

a perfect fit, as always

I was saddened to find no tank commander

 

turret stowage, no trace of guide line or locating pins and the instructions

 (uncharacteristically) were vague, so I spent some time Googling T-55 pictures

 

once I was confident of where they belonged I glued them on

 

I think that they captured the look quite well

     Next is a coat of paint and I will try to round up some other T-55 kits in this scale (size?) for a side-by-side comparison of the models.