Review: Khurasan T55

by Scott Simoneau

Let's take a loot at the T55 from Khurasan Miniatures' new Yom Kippur range.

The tank arrived in a nice small box, with two bags - one of the resin pieces and one of the pewter pieces.

What originally attracted me to the Khurasan kit was the fact that it has resin tracks, in addition to the turret and hull. Much like Battlefront's T35, having the resin tracks has several key advantages.

• Lightweight - especially if you're fielding these tanks by the dozen (and you will in FoaN)
• Less work to clean up
• Less prone to paint chipping

There is some flash inside the wheel wells you'll probably want to clean up

It's important to note that the resin is different than Battlefront's - it's a much lighter and softer resin, more akin to DZC or Forgeworld style resin.

The tracks clean up quickly with a knife

All of the little details are sculpted in a white metal - gun barrel, hatches, stowage, etc.

One thing to note is the kit does not come with magnets or a tank commander figure. A double whammy to no magnets is that if you want to magnetize them, you'll need to drill holes in the hull and turret, as there's not enough room to place the magnet without them. The plus side is, the resin is soft enough that you don't need a drill to do so - I used the drill bit with my bare hands (because my Dremel died).

Magnets drilled into the vehicle

Completed tank before paint

At first, I painted it with Vallejo Iraqi sand, but the color ended up being too light to my taste. Wanting more of the darker tone, I repainted it with Vallejo Tan Yellow.

So, how does it compare with Battlefront's T55 offering?

• The price is about the same. Khurasan does have some bulk pricing with 3 and 10 tank packages though. Battlefront clocks in at $15 a tank, whereas Khurasan comes to slightly under $12, but you'll need to purchase magnets, tank commanders, and decals separately. So in the long run, Khurasan might be a bit more expensive, especially if you purchase FoW through online discount retailers.
• Lightweight. This is the biggest deal for me. Lesson learned with T34s - carrying around 40 sets of metal tracks is no fun. 
• Detail. The Khurasan detail is crisper than other companies' casts, but there is less of it.

 

All in all, I ended up splurging for 21 of the Khurasan tanks for my Syrian force. The weight factor is such a big deal for me, and I am very pleased with them. Expect to see some batreps with them soon!