T-55 Tank with BTU-55

Trumpeter's T-55 is a kit with molds from 2001, so I wasn't expecting perfection, but I was still disappointed in several areas. First, let's look at the positives: Low cost, simple build without an excess of small parts, clear parts for optics, extra parts to build different versions of the T-55. The instruction and painting guide were adequate, and the few decals went down fine and responded well to setting solution. My boxing had decals for a Finnish and a Syrian tank, both in three color camo. The completed model looks pretty good but there were several problem areas. The first and biggest are the rubber band style tank treads. They are about 2 inches short of what they need to be. I was not able to even connect them, let alone have them sag as in the artwork. I ended up having to splice a 2 inch section of track from another junk kit I had sitting around, otherwise I would have been out of options. I'm sure there are third party T-55 tracks that you can buy, but I didn't think it worth the effort and cost for this older kit. Almost all parts needed extensive clean up to fix ejector pin marks, flash, and mold misalignment. The kit also provides a battery powered motor with parts to, supposedly, make the kit run. I seriously doubt this would be possible - the whole motorized setup seemed very gimmicky to me. Anyway, that was never my intention, so I just filled in the motorized holes in the hull and moved on. I also could not get the turret to attach to the hull since the tab/slot fixtures were not given enough clearance. I removed the tabs and called it good. Overall, I don't think I would recommend this kit since there are newer and presumably better kits of the T-55 out there. If you are looking for a low cost practice build or you can pick this up on the cheap from a swap meet, sure, go for it. Also, I'm guessing this is one of Trumpeter's earliest kits, because I've built several of their newer kits that are absolutely amazing.