1:72 T-55 with KMT-5

The T-55 with the KMT-5 mine clearing set in 1:72 scale from Trumpeter

This injection-molded plastic kit captures the Soviet T-55 medium tank with the KMT-5 set, which opens a path for the tank through a minefield. In the small 1:72 scale it is a rewarding subject: the massive rollers carried on a frame ahead of the tracks change the silhouette of the vehicle so much that the model looks quite unlike an ordinary T-55. The kit is made by Trumpeter.

The real subject

The T-55 followed on from the T-54 type and became the most widespread tank of the postwar era. It carries a 100 mm rifled gun in a cylindrical cast turret, a hull with sloped frontal armor and a diesel engine at the rear. The KMT-5 set joins sections of heavy roller clearers, which set a mine off by pressure, with knife plows that run below the surface. It was part of the equipment of tank units meant to cross a mined approach, and if need be it could be released from the vehicle so that the tank regained its full mobility.

Building and painting tips

Finish and spray the running gear before you close the hull and fit the frame of the clearer - afterwards you will reach the wheels and the tracks only with difficulty. Use thin cement for polystyrene on the plastic and sand the hull joints down. Lay the base green shade on with an airbrush, then lighten the surfaces with a dark wash that runs into the recesses. The rollers of the clearer and the lower hull deserve the most dust and mud pigments, because they are exactly what gets dirty first in the field.

Who the model is for

• modelers of postwar and Cold War equipment
• collectors of Soviet tanks in a small scale
• builders of dioramas with engineering and breaching equipment
• anyone interested in an unusual variant of a well known tank

The model is supplied unassembled and unpainted. Glue, paints and accessories are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.