CDW

The track links are beautifully molded, the best I have seen in a model kit so far. All the individual links are separated in a bag and do not require the tedious cutting from a sprue and cleanup. However, the intended “working” feature is not a practical one as its almost impossible to snap the links together without breaking a hinge pin. Therefore I will be cementing my links together once I have conformed them around the sprockets and idler wheels which won’t be until after I have painted the lower hull and wheels.

Thanks for the comment's gentlemen. Much appreciated.

Finishing up the drive sprockets and idler wheels. Track link assemblies are next.

Drive gear housing and sprockets assemblies

From Tank-Encyclopedia dot com: The Israeli Sho’t The Israeli Army took the best the Centurion had to offer. The first purchase of Centurions Mk. 5, in the early sixties, arrived right in time to help improve an army which was until then equipped mostly with Sherman tanks and light French AMX-13s among other types. The Centurion was the IDF’s first and main battle tank for years, as it became legendary in 1967 and saw extensive modernization campaigns. The biggest change for the local Sho’t (Hebrew for “scourge” or “whip”), was the Continental AVDS-1790-2A diesel engine coupled with the Allison CD850-6 transmission (1970). The Sho’t Kal upgrade (1974) saw the introduction of Mk. 13 armor and pintle mount 0.50 cal (12.7 mm) HMG. The Kal Alef, Bet, Gimel and Dalet were upgrades for the turret rotating mechanism, gun stabilizer, fire-control system and ultimately a new ERA composite armor (Dalet). Now retired or sold, their chassis are still in use through conversions.

With suspension trucks completed and relevant parts prepared, it’s time to assemble the lower hull.

Construction begins with the suspension components. There are two of these and four of these

A look at the parts trees and instructions

Buy your Tamiya kits from scalehobbyist dot com. He sells the same P-51 kit for $132.99. Fast, friendly service. No sales tax.

Another armored subject, an Israel Defense Force tank purchased from the British and modified to IDF specifications. These tanks began life as a Centurian before conversion to Sho't Kal Gimel standards.

Turned out a beauty! Very nice work Chris.

I’m calling a close to this little project. Thanks to everyone for your comments, encouragement, and for following along. Will see you soon with another adventure-filled modeling experience.

You keep this up EG, and we will have to start calling you, The Plastic Surgeon General. Nice work, tedious too!

Nope. just got back from the hobby shop, too. Didn't see this in time or I would have bought it. Thanks for the heads-up.

Agreed. That satin was glossier than I thought it would be. More flat hides a lot of sins, too. Don’t notice the finish as much. Got started painting my commander figure today. Just the black primer so far and waiting for it to fully dry before laying down some flesh tones later on.

In the end, managed to totally screw up my paint job😵 I used Microscale Satin Clear for the first time and it cracked while drying, as if it had a reaction with the paint under it. Oh well, it was a cheap model anyway. If anyone notices it while on display at my house, I’ll just claim it was the cheap, crappy paint the Russians used on their tanks. 🤥 l’ll take one more set of photos when I get my commander figure painted and machine gun mounted, then call it finished.

May need to take some pointers from you on finishing these figures, OC. There is only one for the T-62, a commander.

Excellent!

I believe it still holds true that he who has air superiority has the upper hand. Having said that, the only way to occupy (and hold) a given area are boots on the ground. Tanks are a means of providing the fire support needed by ground pounders but airpower can pop tanks open like shooting fish in a barrel.

From my stash of models, I intend to build most of the Soviet and Russians tanks starting from the T-34 all the way through to today's modern T-14 Armata main battle tank, and the Terminator 2 fire support combat vehicle. After that, want to do the same with the USA tanks from the Sherman up and through the M1A2 tanks. It's interesting to see the evolution of these machines.

With the decals added and the bulk of the detail and weathering I wanted to add, am about ready to lay down a coat of Matt clear to seal and unify the finish. after that, I may add a few more weathering details and maybe add the commander as well.

Perhaps the chart I referenced pertains only to Soviet operated T-62's, but it clearly states their losses occurred first in the Afghan conflict. Since looking further, I found where Israel indeed captured hundreds of Syrian tanks in '73 as you said. Further, that Israel put unmodified T-62's into their own service renaming them the Tiran 6. I have not found a combat record for the M-51 vs: T-62. Soviet Union[edit] The T-62 entered service with the Soviet Army in July 1961. Because of the firepower of the new 115 mm gun, it was considered to be a formidable tank for the time, despite its drawbacks.[2][3] Along with the T-55, the T-62 was one of the most common tanks in the Soviet inventory. The two tanks together once comprised approximately 85% of the Soviet army's tanks. Later in the 1970s, the T-62 was rendered obsolete and was put into reserve service. The T-72 and T-80 later succeeded it. Sino-Soviet border conflict[edit] A T-62 tank captured by the PLA during the 1969 Sino-Soviet border conflict. The T-62 saw combat for the first time during the 1969 Sino–Soviet border conflict during which one was disabled and captured by the People's Liberation Army. The T-62 (No. 545) was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired from the Type-56 (Chinese copy of RPG-2) RPG launcher on the morning of 15 March 1969 during a PLA counterattack. The RPG penetrated the left side of the hull, killing the driver.[citation needed] This tank was later studied and the information gathered from those studies was used for the development of the Type 69 main battle tank.[24] Soviet–Afghan War[edit] A Soviet T-62M of the "Berlin" tank regiment which was a part of the 5th Guards Motor Rifle Division, leaving Afghanistan, 1 January 1987 During the Soviet–Afghan War, the T-62 was a primary tank used by the Soviet army. The Soviets used tanks in several ways, with the use of many in fire support bases, while other were employed for convoy protection or as infantry support. Towards the end of the war T-62Ms, using the BDD appliqué armour, appeared in large numbers. According to US sources, nearly 325 T-62s fell victim to Mujahideen attacks, especially from anti-tank land mines and RPGs.[25] Others fell into the hands of the Afghan Mujahideen after they were left behind by withdrawing Soviet forces.[26] The USSR officially confirmed the loss of 147 T-62 and T-55 tanks during the war. Losses of Soviet tanks by year[27] Year Number of tanks lost 1979 1 1980 18 1981 28 1982 17 1983 13 1984 7 1985 18 1986 14 1987 7 1988 22 1989 2 It's interesting to note that in the Iraq - Iran war, Iraqi T-62's destroyed Iranian Chieftans and M-60's at a rate of more than 4:1 I was unable to locate an internet source for the combat record of I-51's vs: T-62's. However, I am inclined to believe Israeli success is more a matter of a higher trained, better qualified fighting force (and tactics) vs: their counterparts; rather than superior equipment.

Negative. You're maybe thinking of T-54's and T-55 losses. The T-62 didn't suffer combat losses until the Soviet - Afghan war in the 80's