Found this for sale, haven’t found anyone else who offers this version.
Couldn’t find any build or even inbox reviews.
So is it worth the trouble, maybe with a set of Miniart wheels and AM tracks?
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Usually Skif kits are correct dimension wise but look a bit toyish. That’s all I can say from my experience with this manufacturer. I never saw in flesh this specific model, sorry.
Olivier
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I’d pass. Skif had their moments (not many, but a few), but the T-55 definitely wasn’t one of them.
Major errors included lack of undercuts in the hull bulges for the turret ring and weird squared-off profile to the roadwheel spokes. These features look okay on the box-top because I suspect what the box shows is not what’s inside. Caveat emptor.
So even if you swap out the wheels, you’ll still need to take a saw to the hull, or otherwise learn to live with it.
EDIT: Here’s what’s inside: T-55 BZ Skif 246
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Get a MiniArt T55 as well and stick the dozer blade onto that?
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Luciano, I’m quite a fan of Skif kits though that’s based on sentiment more than very much else!
I was unaware of this variant of the T-55; Skif’s tracks are normally not very good but there’s more than enough replacements out there. I imagine fuel lines will have to be added but thereafter, I’d say go for it. It’s certainly different.
I greatly enjoyed bringing their T-64B kits up to spec some years ago. Admittedly, the outlay was pretty high re replacements and accessories (and I was aware of the superior Trumpeter efforts) but I had them in my stash and was determined to build them.
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Hard pass on the Skif kit. Way too much surgery to get it right, and getting the parts to fit together is a monumental struggle.
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Thanks everyone for your opinions.
If I can find the kit cheap I’d get one for the dozer and possibly the turret aperture cover and use them on a Miniart T-55. The cover I could make myself it’s the dozer that is required and this is different than the one Miniart do.
Seeing no toolboxes down the left side I assume all the kit normally stored there is stored inside the tank?
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One option from Legend:
https://www.super-hobby.se/products/BTU-55-Dozer-set-for-T-55s-Variants.html
Looks more detailed than the one from Skif, IMHO or something …
Add one Miniart T-55 and some patterned styrene sheet …
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I build it recently and it´s great.
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The worst one is the shape of the turret, but the BZ has not this part.
Another problem of the Skif T-55 is the shape of the cans on the fenders, whose detail is raised instead of recessed.
To improve it, you could see the spare parts from the kit of Type 69 of Takom, that has many parts for T-55 as spares.
Starting from a T-55 of Miniart seems the easiest way. Are you sure that they haven’t this version already?
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Miniart has a similar dozer blade:
Top edge of blade is different.
The arm sticking out in front has a different attachment point and is attached further down on the blade.
The Miniart blade doesn’t have what looks like a height adjustment.
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Thanks Robin, I’ll look into this Legend option as it looks to be the best bet.
Edit: The Legend set has been ordered.
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Where did you buy it from?
I may need to submit a request for my commission for this sale …
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Robin, ended up ordering from China via eBay as the ones I found in Europe were all around 3x the price shipping compared to the one from China and slower shipping!
Also found CMK do a BTU-55 but not sure how it looks as from experience CMK can be really good or muh.
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Note: The MiniArt blade assembly is IDF-specific and has an added mounting plate that has all the blade attachments on it, nothing bolted to the glacis or hard mounts other than the cable anchors on the upper glacis. The original Russian kit probably takes longer to install on a tank… but back to the Skif kit: if it’s cheap enough, and since the Legends BTU-55 is pricey, it might be worth a second look for the 'dozer set only. I have experience with one Skif kit only, a T-55A with a very basic interior that I used to create something other than empty space inside a Tamiya T-55. It cost me $10 at a show. It’s all pretty basic, but when it was new it was probably comparable to the Esci kits, just a little chunkier.
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As said, SKIF kits are hit and miss. Even the good-ish ones (T-64 and T-80 kits) are still going to need a LOT of aftermarket that, honestly, don’t exist anymore (SP Designs conversions and updates, for example).
HOWEVER…anyone have any other pictures of the T-55BZ or whatever they call it? I can do a quick CAD file and make the conversion for a Miniart T-55 kit ( I doubt it was a country or plant specific creation. Probably started as a driver trainer and they threw the blade on to plow snow…) 
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Jacques the only ‘clear’ picture I’ve found is this one. I noticed that the turret blanking plate and extra parts in the Skif kit are actually resin.
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