T-55 AM/AM2

1/35 scale Takom #2041

I'm back in modern armor, with another vehicle that I wanted to build for a long time, a T-55 AM/AM2 !

I'm not a T-55 expert, so I try to replicate a real vehicle with this kit, but my inspiration is an AM2 and Takom provide an AM .. There are maybe some inconsistencies, but I can live with that ! (The main difference is on the motor bay, some grill and hatches are different)

Let's talk first about the kit, it is a very decent kit, with some photoetch, individual track links, two pieces barrel (yeah, in 2016 !), metal cable ... But some details are a bit heavy compare to reference picture, some welds beads are missing ...
What I dislike is the running gear, it was not easy to get a perfect wheel alignment, and like my last Takom kit the tracks ended too short...

So I decided to improve as much as I can by adding a lot of details. Like some welds beads, improving the cast texture (hope mine is good, we have to wait for the first coat of primer !), remaking the wire duct/tube with brass rod ... I also remade the skirts because kit parts are too stiff, despite they are pre-bent, I was not realistic enough for me !
However, even with the side skirts glued in place, it is always possible to slide in the whole tracks assembly in place, which is really convenient for assembly and painting later.
I went a step further by remaking some parts to change their position, like the spare fuel drum holder ! And lastly, I change the entire turret "accessories" layout (like the spare ammo boxes, handles ...).

Let's talk a bit about my inspiration ! I choose a specific vehicle because I can find a lot of images of it, from every angle, and it is a very worn out vehicle, like I like my Russian armor !
It is a Czechoslovakian T-55AM2, who was on sale a couple years back so I was able to find a lot of images/videos ! I took some liberties with the real one by omitting or simplifying some stuff.
I will post some images when I'll start painting ;)