K-2 (T-54) Ironclad Company (VPABX01)

K-2 (T-54) Ironclad Company (VPABX01) includes five K-2 (T-54) Tanks, one Tank Commander sprue, ten Rare earth magnets & one PAVN Tank Decal sheet. The People’s Army committed their armour into battle in battalions, Tiểu Đoàn Thiết Giáp (pronounced thee-ow doh‑ahn tee-et harp), and grouped these into entire regiments. Check out the K-2 (T-54) Ironclad Company in the online store here...

Tour Of Duty The Vietnam War defined a generation, whether it was through service in Vietnam or opposition to the war. The war in Vietnam remains one the bloodiest wars since the Second World War. Learn more about Tour Of Duty here...

What's In The Box: K-2 (T-54) Ironclad Company Presented by Beasts Of War Time for more heavy metal goodies as Warren and Gareth take a look at the K-2 (T-54) Ironclad Company. Will these be making their way in to your PAVN forces or will you be waiting to find out a bit more about the sneaky ambush rules for the Northern forces? Visit Beasts Of War 'Nam Week here...

As aid from China and the Soviet Union increased, their armoured strength grew rapidly from a single battalion in 1965 to three armoured regiments in 1971. This gave them a significant advantage over the puppet forces as each battalion had more tanks than an entire ARVN armoured brigade. The Vietnamese term xe thiết giáp (ironclad vehicle) is used to refer to tanks. However, the influence of the English word ‘tank’ has also led to the use of xe tăng (pronounced ser tung), or simply tăng as well. Confusingly, tăng itself means increase or up. Designed by Evan Allen Painted by Blake Coster
The K-2 (T-54) in Flames Of War Vietnam
Armour     Name Mobility Front Side Top Equipment and Notes Weapon Range ROF Anti-tank Firepower   K-2 (T-54) Standard Tank 12 8 2 Co-ax MG, .50 cal AA MG. D-10T 100mm gun 32"/80cm 1 16 2+

Produced in significant numbers the T-54 tank provided the PAVN with their first modern battle tank, mounting a powerful D-10T 100mm gun it was easily capable of penetrating the armour of ARVN M41A3 Walker Bulldogs. Later shipments also included an upgraded version with stabilisers and infra-red night-fighting equipment.

Stabilisers A stabiliser is a device fitted to the tank’s gun that keeps it level so the gunner can stay on target while moving. A moving tank fitted with a Stabiliser can fire a main gun with ROF 2 or more at its full ROF, but adds a penalty of +1 to the score to hit. If the main gun has ROF 1, it ignores the normal +1 penalty to hit when moving instead (but still retains the +1 to hit for the Hen and Chicks special rule). Before shooting, a tank can choose not to use its Stabiliser and fire at the normal rate.

Infrared Searchlights Late-model Soviet tanks have infrared searchlights to locate targets at night. A platoon with Infrared Searchlights rolls two dice and takes the best result when rolling on the Night Visibility Table (see page 272 of the rulebook). Vehicles with Infrared Searchlights do not need to re-roll Bogging Checks when crossing Rough Terrain at Night. Tanks using Infrared Searchlights do not count as Concealed by either night or terrain when shot at by other tanks equipped with Infrared Searchlights, even if the other tanks do not use their searchlights. Unlike Free World tanks, Soviet tanks did not incorporate a white-light option in their searchlights, and cannot illuminate targets for other teams.

Hen and Chicks Tank crews are trained and equipped with Soviet tanks. Their doctrine requires the entire company to operate as a single entity under tight control of the company commander. Combined with a preference for going into battle with all hatches closed, this results in Nationalist tanks following their company commander, as the Germans described it in the Second World War, ‘like chicks following a mother hen’. If a Nationalist Warrior or Platoon Command team moves in the Movement Step, all of the Tank teams in its platoon (Nationalist company) must move as well. If the Platoon Command team does not move, only Tank teams that started the Movement Step Out of Command may move. Any Tank team that moves adds +1 to the score required to hit when shooting with its main gun. This gives a cumulative penalty of +2 for ROF 1 weapons unless they have Stabilisers. Machine-guns do not suffer this penalty.

The K-2 (T-54) Ironclad Company Push Forward

The Contents of the K-2 (T-54) Ironclad Company Box Set

Contact the customer service team at [email protected] if you have any issues with any of the components.

Description of Components

a. 10x Rare earth magnets. b. 1x Tank commander sprue. c. 5x Mudguard & hatch sprues. d. 5x Main guns.

e. 5x Right-hand side tracks. f. 5x Left-hand side tracks. g. 5x Resin K-2 (T-54) turrets & hulls.

Decal Sheet Also included in the K-2 (T-54) Ironclad Company box set is one PAVN tank decal sheet.

Assembling The K-2 (T-54)
Step 1. Begin assembly with the tracks. Tip: Each track is stamped with the letter 'R' or 'L' to indicate correct orientation.	Step 2. Attach the tracks to the resin hull. Tip: When referring to left or right-hand side in regards to a Flames Of War miniature, the orientation is determined as if looking at the vehicle from the rear.

Step 3. Next, attach the front mudguards to the front of the hull. Both the front and rear mudguards are stamped with the letter 'R' or 'L' to indicate orientation.	Below: The left-hand side front mudguard attached to the hull.

Below: Another view of the left-hand side mudguard.	Below: The right-hand side mudguard attached to the hull.		Below: Both front mudguards now attached.

Step 4. Repeat this process with the rear mudguards.			Below: Both rear mudguards now attached.

Step 5. Next, attach the main gun to the front of the turret.	Below: The main gun attached to the front of the turret.

Step 6. Next, attach the commander's hatch.		Step 7. Followed by the loader's hatch.

Step 8. Finally, attach the AA machine-gun.		Below: With the AA machine-gun in place, the K-2 (T-54) is ready for painting.

Adding A Tank Commander
Step 1. Attach the commander's hatch to the turret in the open position.		Step 2. Add the tank commander figure of your choice.	Below: With the tank commander in place, the K-2 (T-54) is ready for painting.

Adding Rare Earth Magnets
Evan has created a recess for a rare earth magnet in the hull of the tanks included in the box set. Read Chris' guide to Rare Earth Magnets here for more tips and tricks... Below: The magnet recess complete with magnet.		Below: Simply glue a rare earth magnet to the bottom of the turret and you have a safe and secure way of attaching the turret to the hull.
PAVN Tank Painting Guide