1:35 T-54B Early production Interior Kit

The real subject

The T-54 was a Soviet medium tank of the postwar generation and it became the basis from which a whole range of further machines grew. The T-54B version moved the equipment to where development was heading in the 1960s: the 100 mm gun received stabilization in two planes, so it could be aimed on the move, and the tank was fitted with night vision devices. The early production designation refers to the first series of this form, which differ in details from the later examples. Tanks of this family served for decades in armies all over the world, and the modeler can choose from a very wide range of settings.

The form of the kit

It is a polystyrene kit in 1:35 scale with an interior. Besides the external shape it therefore also contains a worked-out inside, which means a markedly higher number of parts and a longer build than an ordinary tank model. It is supplied unassembled and unpainted; the parts are separated from the sprues and glued with modeling cement for plastic.

Building and painting tips

The interior is painted in subassemblies, before the hull and the turret are closed, otherwise neither a brush nor an airbrush will reach the inside. It pays to go through the order of the work in the instructions in advance and to set the painted subassemblies aside. If the work on the inside is to be visible on the finished model, you have to plan for open hatches or a lifted turret while building. A closed model hides the interior completely, even when it is finished under the armor.

Paints, glue and tools are not in the package, unless stated otherwise.