1/56 T-54/55s?

[Wyrmalla]

I’m looking to make a T-44 for my Alternative History World War II stuff.

The T-44 was designed as a replacement for the T-34 during the war. 600 were built., but went unused (instead the turrets were retrofitted onto the T-34 to make the T-34/ 85). After the war the T-44’s hull was improved upon and with a new turret became the T-54.

I’m looking for a T-54/55 in 1/56th to use along with a Rubicon 1/56th scale T-34/85 turret to make a T-44. Whilst there are 1/48th scale ones available, I’m not aware of any 1/56th scale tanks on the market.

Force of Arms used to do some, as was there the Jungle Rot range. Blitzkrieg Miniatures *said* they were making one, but there’s been no news for months. There’s some expensive 3D CADs available, but the quality’s not what I’d be looking for.

There’s 1/43rd die-casts common on Ebay – the James Bond Car Collection one comes to find, but they’re just too big for what I need right now (though have done for my 1/48th scale moderns at least).

Any ideas?

[Steve F]

Have you checked http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=55752.msg661557#msg661557 ?

[Wyrmalla]

Naturally.

That thread's summary is- "here's all the people who used to make them, but went out of business".

[Wyrmalla]

As an update, Blitzkrieg Miniatures got back to me. They say they have their's planned for some time in the new year.

Which I suppose isn't so bad. I do tend to think of something one week and want it finished by the next, but the T-44 is hardly a priority. ...I play Germans, not Soviets.

[carlos marighela]

You didn't really read the thread did you?

If you head to ebay and type in T-55 + diecast + 1/43 or even just T-55 + diecast, you will come across a number of listings of models in China. They aren't 1/43 they are more like 1/55 and they are beautifully detailed and cheap as chips, usually around the $15 mark+ postage. No makers name on the ones I have save for "Made in China"

Here you go: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DSstyles-1-43-Alloy-Diecast-Tank-Model-Toy-Model-Kit-Military-Tank-T55-Shipping-/182005743125?hash=item2a60633e15:g:CwIAAOSwnLdWqiqq

Seems they have gone up in price but I note it's now inclusive of postage.

[Wyrmalla]

Yes, I'm aware of that particular one, but being that its listed at 1/43 scale I took that as face value. Under the measurements however, if those are accurate, that confers that its far too big. "18 x 7 x 6 centimetres" I may be reading that wrong, but my T-34 comes out as 11 cm long and 5.5 cm wide?

I never bought those for my moderns as they seemed far too big (18 centimetres long must be wrong). That and I missed the cheapo days. Due to the size of the T-34/85 turret even the James Bond one would be too big for it to not look undersized.



Force of Arms, James Bond, Kitech IIRC

[Steve F]

Curiously, this seller of the same model on ebay UK gives different dimensions: 13.5cm long, 6.3 wide and 5 high.  (Which, if Wikipedia gives the right dimensions for a full-size T-55, makes it 1/48 on the basis of length and height, but 1/53 on the basis of width!)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DSstyles-1-43-Alloy-Diecast-Tank-Model-Toy-Model-Kit-Military-Tank-T55-/162240457269?hash=item25c648ea35:g:720AAOSwzaJYAk7c

Sadly, no longer cheap as chips.  For £27.51, I'd expect a couple of scallops as well, at least.

[Queeg]

Try contacting Tim,  he seems to be able to crank out custom stuff pretty regularly and at good prices.

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=94910.0

[carlos marighela]

Curiously, this seller of the same model on ebay UK gives different dimensions: 13.5cm long, 6.3 wide and 5 high.  (Which, if Wikipedia gives the right dimensions for a full-size T-55, makes it 1/48 on the basis of length and height, but 1/53 on the basis of width!)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DSstyles-1-43-Alloy-Diecast-Tank-Model-Toy-Model-Kit-Military-Tank-T55-/162240457269?hash=item25c648ea35:g:720AAOSwzaJYAk7c

Sadly, no longer cheap as chips.  For £27.51, I'd expect a couple of scallops as well, at least.

Depends on  who is doing the measuring and where. The person that measured it didn't really measure the dimensions of the tank itself but measured what box size it would fit in.

I have just measured one. The hull, measured fender to fender, is 12.3 cm, not 13.5. the only way you would get to 13.5 is measuring the auxiliary fuel drums, which is clearly what the seller has done.

Width is about 6.2cm. Depending on what point you measure it, hull top or hatch top, it's between 4.4 and 4.6 cm tall.

All in all it's pretty much spot on at 1/54.

I'd suggest buying one the separate  1/56 scale T-34/85 turrets from JTFM/Die Waffenkammer and trying that. They aren't expensive and Jeff, who is another LAFer is a good bloke to deal with.

http://www.diewaffenkammer.com/_russia_page_no2.html

[Wyrmalla]

Unfortunately at nearly £30 that particular one's outside of what I'd usually pay for a side project (and I don't have the heart to spend that on that particular diecast given the massive leap in price). I suppose awaiting Blitzkrieg's one is what I'm looking at; which isn't a massive issue as its just for the sake of having a T-44, rather than ever wanting to use it in a game.

Thanks all.

[CompanyB]

There are loads of free to use CAD files of tanks you can get online.  Then you just need to print the thing.

I've used license free CAD models for some 1/100 tanks that I could not find easily retail. The deal is you just cannot sell them, or make any beyond what you want to use for your own games.
 
Using app like nettfabb, you just load the model, input the size you want, save.. and you have it in 1:56.  The quality will be ok, but the detail may not be the best, since it depends on the origin scale of the model.

I quickly pulled in CAD files from my 1:100 ref library and stuck a turret into a T-54.  This is what you get:


Hey, easy if your doing 1:100!  I think you could export and and print this in 1:56 or any scale...but I'm not sure what the price would be to print.  If you found a service using a makerbot, it would be pretty cheap.