1:72 Tiran 4

Tiran 4, an Israeli conversion in 1:72 scale

The set holds castings with which a plastic model of the Soviet medium tank is brought into the form of the Tiran 4. It concentrates on the features by which the Israeli-modified machines differed from the original version. The base model has to be at hand; the set does not replace it.

A captured tank in Israeli service

After the fighting of 1967 the Israeli army was left with a large number of captured Soviet T-54 tanks. Instead of the scrapyard a conversion awaited them: different equipment at the commander's station, Western machine guns, stowage baskets and boxes around the turret and a series of changes inside the fighting compartment. Machines modified in this way were given the name Tiran and took part in further conflicts. Some of them later served as the basis for heavy armored personnel carriers.

Working with the castings

Thin parts in resin sometimes come out slightly warped. A brief dip in hot water softens the material, the part can be straightened and the shape fixed in cold water. Level sharp burrs left by cutting with a fine-toothed file. Desert shades come out when a fine light pigment is applied to the dried coat, into the joints and on the horizontal surfaces.

Who the conversion is for

• Those interested in vehicles of the Middle East conflicts
• Modelers who compare original and converted machines
• More advanced builders used to cast parts
• Collections of Israeli armored vehicles in a small scale