Armour Repair Plant 206, abandoned T-54 model 1949

[Greg Beckman]

About a year or so ago there were a number of photos from a long abandoned Russian Armor Repair plant floating around the internet. There were scores of photos of T-64s, T-55s, BMP-1s, T-80s and T-72s. Some of them stacked like cord wood. All were in various stages of decay and rust. Mixed into this treasure trove of photos were a few odd balls so to say. There was a BRDM-1, long out of service. Also a T-54, model 1949 with the early scalloped turret. All of us Russian armor fans spent many hours poring over these photos. For some reason the T-54 really grabbed a hold of me. Probably because it’s my favorite of the T-44/T-62 family. I have for the last few years been building up a T-54 project pile. Anytime I saw any Model point T-54 parts, I snapped them up and then this past summer my kids got me the Legends T-54 conversion kit. Back to the abandoned T-54 photos, one thing I noticed was that the engine deck was missing and that most of the fenders were bare of any fuel tanks or stowage containers….so pretty much a stripped down T-54. While digging through my T-54 project pile, I found it a shame to only use half of the Legends kit to make this abandon tank and besides, I wanted to make a whole T-54 too. With the parts I had, I was only lacking an empty T-54 engine bay and the actual turret shell to make this abandoned T-54. I knew that Celticwerks had one of each, so I purchased the turret shell and engine bay from Steve. I think this project will be a big challenge for me as there will be all kids or different parts coming together and some scratch work to boot. I think the biggest challenge will be the rusting and weathering as seen in the photos attached.

[Greg Beckman]

Some of the parts I will be using. Celticwerks engine bay and turret shell in the forefront.



Start of construction. I'm going to start on the turret and get that done first before I move on to the chassis which is where the bulk of the conversion/construction work is. One side note: I'm really looking forward to that empty engine bay as the resin parts are simply beautiful.....

[Rob Matthews]

That's an impressive assemblage there Greg

Looks a great project. What plastic base kit are you using?

This should be a long project - week, 10 days

Good to here about the Celticwerks pieces. Where is Steve?

Steve - "WHERE ARE YOU?"

Rob

[Vincent Power]

That is a great project Greg. Love the idea of an abandoned stripped down tank with an empty engine bay.............
Where did I see one of those around here?

Seriously though I'm looking forward to watching you build this one.

Cheers,
Vincent

[Greg Beckman]

Rob, I forgot to mention that. The Tamiya T-55. That's the turret base in the last picture before it was cut down to fit the T-54 turret shell. This one will take sometime and special care.

[Olivier Carneau]

Really interesting project Greg. I'll follow this one for sure.
I'll be interested in the way you tackle the rust effect and the overall weathering of such a wreck.

Olivier

[Steve Reid]

Steve - "WHERE ARE YOU?"
Rob

Hey Rob-
Never far away I assure you!

There are so many great things about this subject! The over grown factory backdrop, the tank itself, the paint... and the photos just have this dark overcast "mood".

This one from the same factory intrigues me!


Show us the way Greg!
Steve

[Greg Beckman]

Dark and Moody, good way to put it Steve. If anybody wants the link to this abandoned factory, let me know, there are tons of ideas for modeling projects. There are some partially disassembled and super worn BMP-1s that look super sweet.

Now back to this project. Not much to report. I have grafted the Tamiya T-55 turret base to the Celticwerk turret shell and smoothed the area with Tamiya grey putty. You have to trim up the back of the Tamiya base as there is an obvious difference in the rear of the turrets.

I originally showed a Modelpoint bare manlet to use on this project, but opted for the bare one in the Legends kit as the side details on the manlet are closer to the original than the Modelpoint one. The original photos show the gun elevated in the photo, so you will see side manlet details, so choosing the Legends manlet was a requirement. I also showed the resin barrel from the Legends kit in the photo of what I was going to use. Again, I opted for a spare D-10T barrel from JR as the resin Legends one did not fit the Legends manlet....go figure on that one. I also added the turret vent housing before finishing up for the night. I have this feeling that there will be alot of parts moving around with this project....more fun...lol.

[Gary Boxall]

If anybody wants the link to this abandoned factory, let me know, there are tons of ideas for modeling projects.

http://www.plasticarmour.com/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=16

Nice start Greg on an interesting and unusual project

Gary

[Greg Beckman]

The turret taking shape. The turret is close to being done now that I have added the Tamiya parts to the resin shell. I think all I am lacking is the infantry handles on the turret, a small piece on the turret rear and a locking mechanism on the loaders hatch, which I should get done tonight. As you have noticed, there is no Luna search light as the photos do not show a light. Once these three things are done, its on to the hull and the bulk of the work.

One of the challenges with this project that I was fearing is that the T-54's have a very unique idler wheel. I was planning on modifing the Tamiya provided part to make it mimic the specific T-54 idler. Well, the Gods were shining down on me yesterday as I found on my FB newsfeed a new Shapeways, 3D printed, T-54 specific idler wheel upgrade created by Scott Dominic. For 17 bucks US, I will have the printed parts in my hands by about mid-month, super stoked!!!!!