HISTORY OF THE IDF TIRAN 5
By the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the T-54A and T-55's gun was starting to lose its competitive effectiveness relative to the 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 gun mounted in Israeli Centurion MK V and M60A1 tanks. Israel captured many T-55s from Syria and mostly Egypt in 1967, and kept some of them in service. They were upgraded with a 105 mm NATO-standard L7 or M68, a US version of the L7, replacing the old Soviet 100 mm D-10, and a General Motors diesel replacing the original Soviet diesel engine. The Israelis designated these Tiran-5 medium tanks, and they were used by reserve units until the early 1990s. Most of these were then sold to assorted Third World countries, some of them in Latin America, and the rest were heavily modified, converted into the "Achzarit" heavy armored personnel carrier
THE MODEL
Tamiya has enhanced their venerable T-55A Main Battle Tank kit yet again with all the parts needed to convert it into an Israeli Tiran 5, which is not surprising when you consider the mileage they got out of the same kit last year when they released the T-55 Iraqi “Enigma”. One thing is for sure – the kit these new versions are based on is one of the finest armor models ever produced by Tamiya. I never get tired of building these tanks, so keep them coming!The Tiran 5 was used by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) from the late 1960s until the mid-1980s. Constantly modified throughout its service life, many were fitted with the 105mm M68 gun. Even after it was retired from IDF service, the Tiran 5 continued to see action in various guises in a number of countries around the world.
Opening the Box
This is a Tamiya armor kit – which means it can be described in five words: not many parts, perfect fit. As always, there is something for every kind of modeler in here. For those new to modeling, Tamiya kits are a snap to assemble and come with excellent instructions and sprues that are laid out and numbered logically. For those who enjoy the painting and weathering part of building a model, Tamiya kits quickly and painlessly become excellent canvases on which to ply one’s artistic talent. For modelers who go for accuracy, Tamiya has the industry clout that insures a variety of after-market products to enhance what they provide in the box, products that this type of modeler would most likely want to purchase anyway, no matter how accurate or inaccurate the original kit is. One thing everyone gets, however, is an enjoyable build and a perfect-fitting model.It wouldn’t be a modern Tamiya armor kit without some oddities, however, such as nylon string tow cables, black nylon mesh in lieu of photo etch, figures (!), and rubber-band track. Each of these has its benefits and downsides, but they come together just fine to produce a stunning AFV.
The contents of the box include:
- Lower and upper hulls packaged separately
- 6 sprues in soft, tan plastic, packaged separately
- 2 lengths of (old-style) rubber band track
- 2-ft long piece of string for use as tow cables
- 4-inch square of fine nylon mesh for exhaust covers
- 2 bags of polycaps
- 1 small sheet of Tamiya decals, good registration
- 1 16-page, black and white instruction booklet with 27 steps
The Model
COMMISSIONS
Yes, I will build commissioned scale models for select clients. I can be reached by email: seahors1@gate.net
