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Armor/AFV
For discussions on tanks, artillery, jeeps, etc.
Dragon V.S. AFV Club T34 76 ?
TopSmith
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Washington, United States
Joined: August 09, 2002
KitMaker: 1,742 posts
Armorama: 1,658 posts
Posted: Friday, March 25, 2016 - 08:02 AM UTC
I am in a buying mood and have been thinking about a T34 76. I like the Large hatch version. Which makes a nicer finished kit the Dragon T34 76 factory 112 or the AFV Club of the same kit(The opaque one not the transparent one) but with an interior? I already have some Friule track.
TopSmith
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Washington, United States
Joined: August 09, 2002
KitMaker: 1,742 posts
Armorama: 1,658 posts
Posted: Friday, March 25, 2016 - 10:11 PM UTC
bump
MCR
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Arizona, United States
Joined: July 15, 2004
KitMaker: 464 posts
Armorama: 407 posts
Posted: Saturday, March 26, 2016 - 12:35 AM UTC
Hands down the Dragon Factory 112.
Though the AFVC kits get a lot of praise it is almost completely undeserved. Though you get a "full interior" it's not particularly accurate, especially the fighting compartment. It's missing a number of details and much of what it has is either just wrong or not appropriate for a wartime tank.
Much of the exterior is not well done and due to the clear hull and turret you're missing a lot of weld beads and similar details.
That said there are some features of the AFV Club kit that are fairly nice: The F-34 seems well done as are a number of the details in the turret. The V-2 engine and transmission are also pretty good but you have to be careful about the instructions telling you to use both the "Pomon" and "Tsyclon" air filters. It's one or the other but the later type would probably be more correct for the type of T-34 the kit represents. Apart from those the only other items I can think of are the suspension arms which are much better done than DML. (Well, I could add the turret crew hatch. DML's work on them is pretty half a**ed.)
I guess it ends up depending on what you want; a kit with a high parts count or one with better exterior details. 'Course, if you want to go nuts you could always kit bash the AFVC interior (and a fair amount of scratch building/part modifications) with DML's hull, turret, and sundry details. I've considered going that route myself.
TopSmith
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Washington, United States
Joined: August 09, 2002
KitMaker: 1,742 posts
Armorama: 1,658 posts
Posted: Saturday, March 26, 2016 - 03:56 AM UTC
My intent was to build a kit with the turret hatch open. That hatch is large enough that you would need to detail the turret and the floor under the turret. Maybe a kitbash is needed.
Unreality
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Georgia, United States
Joined: November 04, 2010
KitMaker: 172 posts
Armorama: 145 posts
Posted: Saturday, March 26, 2016 - 05:48 AM UTC
That would be cool to follow. I'd love to see a good comparison and see if the parts from the AFV fit the Dragon decently. You could even mix and match the wheels depending on which versions you got (which you often see in photos).

And you could sell any unwanted parts to a kit-basher (like me) and recoup some of the dosh you spend on both kits. Just an idea.
jimc101
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United Kingdom
Joined: October 31, 2011
KitMaker: 29 posts
Armorama: 27 posts
Posted: Saturday, March 26, 2016 - 12:06 PM UTC
How urgently do you need one? With their new SU-85/122, would suspect we will see an new T-34 series from either Miniart or Bronco, as they have been sharing tools within the next 12-18 months.
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