Panzerwerk Design- T-54/55 OMSH Tracks Pattern A

Here we have another great sample from Przemek at Panzerwerk Design- this time a set for the T-54/55 series of tanks sporting the OMSH Pattern A tracks. As is the case with all their products, the links and pins are bagged and placed into flip-top plastic containers. A one sheet instruction sheet tells you all you need to know to get started- there are two different sets of track pins- both have double ridges near the wide end which help to friction fit the tracks together and lock the pins in place- and you will need one of each pin for each side of the track links to complete construction.

I spent a rainy Saturday morning fitting together a length of tracks to get the hang of assembly. No special tools or glue are needed- and there was no remnants of any flash or imperfections in the links I have used so far. I was able to get a length of 15 together in a matter of minutes. My main test beds for these are the Takom T-55 AM kit (#2041) and the Meng IDF Achzarit kit (SS-008).  The Meng kit comes with vinyl tracks- so I relied on Takom's instructions to know there are 92 links per side. This set includes 200 links and 400 pins so you have some extras in case of breakage.

For testing, I assembled the sprockets from the two named test kits and found the fit on both to be excellent. In doing some research, I see that the IDF often replaced the T-55 tracks on the Achzarit with Centurion tracks...but since the kit sprockets were T-55 ones, these tracks worked well.

Meng Achzarit sprocket fit

Takom T-55 AM sprocket fit

Conclusion

In the end, like the other sets we have reviewed so far, the 3D printed tracks from Panzerwerk Design are an excellent choice to step up your detail on your kit builds. They are incredibly easy to assemble, fully workable, and adapt to pretty much any kit of the T-55 you have in your stash. As I have said before, tracks were always a hassle for me, but no longer with these examples from Panzerwerk Design. When I plan a new build, my first step lately is to check out what Przemek has to offer. His website is: https://panzerwerkdesign.com.pl/

Highly Recommended for Beginner to Advanced builders.

Thanks goes out to Panzerwerk Design for this review sample.

Reviewed by Michael Reeves

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