Tamiya 12687 - 1:35 M551 Sheridan Photo-Etched Parts & Barrel

Turned 152 mm barrel and photo-etched parts for the M551 Sheridan model (Tamiya 35365) in 1:35 scale

Tamiya 12687 is a detail-up set combining two technologies, designed for the Tamiya 1:35 model of the American M551 Sheridan light tank in its Vietnam War configuration (35365). Its centrepiece is a 152 mm gun/launcher turned from aluminium, with reproduced rifling at the muzzle.

The second part of the set consists of two photo-etched frets. They carry the front anti-HEAT screen, the engine deck grilles on top of the hull and the light guards. The front screen is made of a soft material, so it can be bent to the shape of the model. The base model is sold separately - this box contains the accessory parts only.

What's in the box:

• Turned aluminium 152 mm gun/launcher with reproduced muzzle rifling
• Two photo-etched frets
• Front anti-HEAT screen (soft material that can be bent to the shape of the model)
• Engine deck grilles on top of the hull
• Light guards

Specifications:

• Scale: 1:35
• Product number: 12687
• Manufacturer: Tamiya
• Dedicated model: Tamiya M551 Sheridan, Vietnam War (35365)
• Type: metal gun barrel and photo-etched parts
• Material: turned aluminium, photo-etched parts (2 frets)

Turned metal barrels - a quick upgrade

A lathe-turned barrel has a perfectly round cross-section and no mould parting line - the line that on a plastic moulding has to be filed and sanded away along its whole length, all too often damaging the fine detail around it. The muzzle is hollowed from the factory and the rifling comes out crisper than injection moulding allows. On the Sheridan's short, thick gun, which the eye goes to immediately, that matters all the more.

Metal needs different preparation than plastic: before painting we suggest degreasing the surface and using a primer intended for metal. Cyanoacrylate glue works well for joining the barrel to the plastic parts of the model.

Photo-etched parts - fine, delicate detailing components

Photo-etched parts are chemically etched from thin metal sheet. Screens and grilles are where they pay off most: a moulded engine grille is always solid and merely imitates an open mesh, while an etched fret is genuinely open and lets light through.

The parts are cut from the fret with a sharp knife or fine cutters and the remaining tabs smoothed with a file. Cyanoacrylate glue works well for bonding metal to plastic, and before painting we suggest degreasing the parts and using a primer for metal. The front anti-HEAT screen is made of a soft material, so it can be shaped to the model's front plate with your fingers or over a rounded handle.

About the vehicle - M551 Sheridan:

The M551 Sheridan was an American airborne light tank of the 1960s, designed to be air-dropped by parachute or rapidly deployed by air. To keep the weight down, its hull was made of aluminium.

It carried an unusual 152 mm gun/launcher capable of firing both conventional ammunition and the MGM-51 Shillelagh anti-tank guided missile. The Sheridan saw service in Vietnam, where vehicles received additional protection, and later took part in Operation Desert Storm.

Original vehicle specifications (M551 Sheridan):

• Type: airborne light tank
• Period of origin: 1960s
• Hull: aluminium
• Armament: 152 mm gun/launcher (conventional ammunition and MGM-51 Shillelagh anti-tank guided missiles)
• Conflicts: Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm

About the manufacturer - Tamiya:

Tamiya is a Japanese company based in Shizuoka, active in the modelling industry since 1946. Alongside its plastic kits it offers detail-up accessories for its own models: turned metal barrels, photo-etched frets, detail sets and display stands. These accessories are designed for specific Tamiya kit numbers, so they fit without modification. The range is completed by Tamiya paints, glues and modelling tools.