Hi guys. I'm about to start building the Alanger T 28 kit. I have it for some time now and i think it is time to build it. My knowledge on the subject is limited, so any suggestions or advices are very welcome. I will probably build a captured one by Finland. If anyone has any good profiles please do post them.
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While surfing the internet for more info, i found a good video from a captured one for those that may be interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2jRpoc7NA2M

Hi everyone. I need some help.
After reading a lot about the details of this tank, (at least what i could find), i see that the kit has only one shortcoming? I am talking about the four pairs of steel wheels on each side, that i see everywhere, on photos and sketches, but the kit provides only the ''ruber'' type. Is there a chance that they were used without steel wheels or i have to modify 16 of them to look the part?

And here you can see the difference between them.

I'm following, but I am completely ignorant when it comes to this tank.

There's a picture of one with all rubber wheels in the Concord book Soviet Tanks In Combat 1941-45 { Zolga , Kinnear , etc } A couple of other pictures in the book show a mix of steel and rubber , no real pattern unlike say the factory installed 4 steel front wheels on the German Brumbar . Just a guess, I would say they came out with all rubber tires and were replaced with steel when they wore out

If you want to build a historically accurate vehicle in Finnish service you will have to be ready for a major kit bashing. The number of metal road wheels will not be your last concern. Depending on the time of manufacturing (and the version of a tank) there will be differences in hull construction, crew hatches, instrument stowage, exhaust muffler, engine deck design, etc.

As to answer your question, very early T-28 did not have metal road wheels. Starting in 1935 they had two pair on each side, and later - four.

Hi everyone, sorry for the late reply, but it is a crazy week at work.

Matt thanks for following with this one. It doesn't really matter if you dont have any advanced knowledge on this tank, even a second pair of eyes to spot flaws and errors during the construction is very useful!

Jim thanks a lot for going through the trouble to check your reference to help me out! From what i have seen so far, the 4 all steel wheel pairs, were used always on the same place which means, that it probably was the heaviest part of the tank and due to its length it stressed those wheels the most. I also found pictures with all rubber wheels but they were all early type machines, at least before 1938.

Alex thanks for the input! That made me dig a little more. I found that the Finns owned at least one 1938 model that is still on display at a museum. That particular tank had an armor upgrade later on as the Soviet ones, but that didn't happen immidiately after its capture. I made a comparison between the real one still at display and the kit's parts and i did not find any problems, the kit looks to be very good. I know the tank had received some upgrades from the Soviets prior to its capture, but i think that the Eduard set provides what is needed for that. Like the ''fences'' at the rear. I am not an expert just digging through the internet for what i need, so feel free to correct me at what i just wrote or provide any kind of info that you can.

Hi everyone, some progress was made with the T 28. The interior of the lower hull is finished, ready to be primered and painted. Fit is excellent, honestly i never expected that and the only thing that actually required something more than glue was to place something heavy to get the forward section of the hull to glue without keeping them in place as you can see in the pic below. Having seen both the ICM and AER kit of this tank, i am amazed of how well this one is engineered!

Hi,

You might want to ask around here: www.pienoismallit.net I'm sure somebody can help out. There might even be a build or two up on the site already. Most of them speak English. And I guess you've been here?

http://www.andreaslarka.net/ps241004/ps241004.html
http://www.andreaslarka.net/ps241000/ps241000.html

Kimmo

The kit may fit nice, but not much for a historical accuracy. As far as AER kit, it is not even in scale. Probably the worst of them all. Alanger and ICM are pretty good, but as I have mentioned before, they do require some "handy work".

Kimmo thanks a lot, although i practically searched everything available on the net i missed this one! Already found some nice builds there. As soon as i manage to set up an account i'll ask there for some help too!

Alex nice photo, i saw this one a couple days before in Armor Journal in FB. As i do not intend on leaving open hatches at the engine deck i'm not interested in scratch building a full interior at the engine bay. The one provided in the kit looks good enough for the hatces that are going to be left open, like the turret and the driver's. Would it be possible for you to tell me what "handy work" will be required at the exterior of the kit to replicate a Finnish m1938?

Yes, that was quite a coincidence. Shortly after I posted in on the Armor Journal page you gave me a reason to repost it here
I did not build T-28 yet, so I don't have a list of exact changes and additions you have to do on your model. But I can help you with info I have. You just need to get patient and not hurry, if you want to start "counting rivets" on your model. As you build check every step and every detail against the actual photographs and original sources. Eventually the things to do will start piling up. Super detailing is very addictive.
The best way to start is to download all photos from Parola's T-28 available on the net. And build by them, occasionally checking missing on questionable details against the old photos or other references.

Alex i'm not a rivet counter or i will ever be one. If i can correct something on a model that stands out sure yes, but for sure not counting rivets. It's simply something i do not really like. Modelling is a hobby and everyone does it the way it suits him and is more enjoyable.

cool build,will follow