T-50 Russian Light Tank

The T-50 was a 13-ton vehicle with a crew of four, and was armed with a 45mm main gun and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun. Though it was too difficult to mass produce, and not numerically important, this sleek, streamlined design was a stepping stone to maybe the best tank of WWII, the T-34.

This is a kit from the Polish manufacturer Techmod, issued in 1997. As Eastern European kits go, it is not bad. The detail is a little soft, but very acceptable, and the parts fit is very good. No real issues here, assembly was straightforward. However, extra care must be taken to align the suspension parts, as there are no locating pins or keys. There is also an "up armored" version of the kit, which I understand comes with a small P/E sheet. A nice work up of that version appears in AFV Modeller #30.

Written information about this tank is about as scarce as pictures. What can be told is as follows. The T-50 was one of three tanks that contributed to the design of the legendary T-34. The other two were the A-20, which was an upgraded Christie suspension type, and the A-32, which was a pure, fully tracked vehicle based on the A-20, with heavier armor, and a much bigger 76mm gun. In the typical Russian fashion, the T-50 shared the same turret with the A-20. In testing, it became evident that a pure tracked vehicle was the way to go. This gave favor to the A-32, however the Red Army Armored Troop Command had issues with the design, as they favored a longer tank, which could carry more troops on the back. This in turn, led to the development of the T-50.

Design of the tank actually began in 1939 under the project name "SP", then 126, then T-126 SP. It was constructed in Leningrad by the Woroszylowa Company using the designation T-50, with delivery to the Russian army starting in 1941. Fifty units were produced that year, and then production moved to Omsk, where another 15 units were constructed in 1942. At that point, it was determined that the design was too complicated and expensive to mass produce, therefore production was halted after 65 units. As for combat history, it is known that many of the Leningrad produced units fought against Finland, with a number of those being captured and used by Finnish forces.

The worst thing about this kit is that no one makes a good set of tracks for it. As far as the kit tracks, there is really nothing wrong with them. They look good when assembled, and appear to be accurate, but with a separate hollow guide horn on every link, the word tedious is an understatement. To dress the kit up a bit I used the Eduard PE set, some MV lenses, and a turned barrel with resin mantlet from CMK. I have heard comments that the rivets on the CMK mantlet are undersized, however I thought the mantlet looked decent, and was a major improvement over the kit part. To top it off, it fit well on the kit turret with little fuss. Done deal!

I wanted to do something more with the kit, but as I said, references are scarce, therefore scratching an interior would be tough. I settled for constructing the transmission compartment. I found some text that indicated that the transmissions for the T-50, A-20, and A-32 were all similar to the T-34, so I used a T-34 transmission from the Maquette T-34 engine set and scratched the rest.

Besides the barrel, the biggest weakness of the kit is the on vehicle tools. The Eduard set helps here, providing the shovel blade, saw, and all mounting brackets and straps. The handles were fashioned from brass rod, and the sledgehammer was shaped from styrene. Lastly, some tools from various sources were placed in the open toolbox on the fender.

Finish: After the transmission compartment was painted, weathered and masked off, the exterior was primed & pre-shaded with burnt umber enamel, and then painted with Model Master dark green, and over sprayed with Humbrol #103 olive green. It was then gloss coated, and washed with thinned burnt umber acrylics. Next I dull coated the model with Humbrol flat coat lacquer, and dry brushed with enamels cut with white artist's oils. I weathered the vehicle very little, with the idea being that with no markings, it has hurriedly left the factory, on its way to the front. A slight dusting with pigments was applied on the running gear, lower hull, and fenders. Also, a graphite pencil was used to show wear on the metal road wheels and sprockets.

The base was constructed using plywood, trim molding, and plaster, and also made use of a couple of Armand Bayardi damaged brick wall sections, along with some Three Guys "Just Dirt", Woodland Scenics grass, and dried vegetation from a crafts store.

References:
Russian Tanks and Armored Vehicles 1917 - 1945, Wolfgang Fleischer, Schiffer Books, 1999