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From 'Backyard Toy' to Soviet T34-85

Painting and Finishing

I learned a lot from my time with Rob Hendon. Rob is one of the best military modellers in the UK without doubt and is a regular contributor to Military Modelling, a UK magazine. Rob is tremendously kind and offered me all of the help he could in painting the Panther. Prior to painting all of the metal parts received a coating of etching primer then the entire tank less the completed hull was given 2 coats of acrylic car primer.

The tank is finished in the standard Russian Green and over sprayed with a lighter colour to add depth. I prefer to use Tamiya Acrylic paints but they do not have the Russian Army Green. I found a most useful web site (courtesy of Armorama) that gave the formulas for colours not actually made by Tamiya. Russian Army Green is there and it is a very, very good match from the actual examples I have seen. 

A common addition to many Russian tanks was the application of a patriotic emblem or slogan usually on the sides of the turret. With a single colour tank like the T34-85 it is I believe so important to add interest using other colours if possible. I had some old 1:25 scale transfers (never could use the word Decals) from a 1:25 scale T34-85 tank. These I scanned into my PC and enlarged to the correct size for 1:8. After many futile attempts at cutting a stencil I contacted Model Flags through [email protected]. Not only did he/they produce a perfect scale set of ‘Vinyl Rub Downs’ but also the Soviet flag that the Commander holds in his cupola, both as new items at a very, very reasonable cost. Most highly recommended.

The tracks were sprayed dark rust and once dry a steel brush was used to remove the paint on the track horns and where the road wheels/drive wheels/idlers run. The outsides of the track received the same treatment on all raised surfaces. A very realistic effect.
Like the Panther, the tank is weathered to represent a tank moving up but not yet committed to battle so fully intact but dirty. As you may have realised I do not personally like my model tanks covered with mud with half the fittings missing! 

The tank of this size needs a figure. There are no suitable figures on the market at this scale and so through a friend I commissioned a professional sculptor, now a very good friend to make one for me. When it arrived I could not believe the quality. Outstanding. Even down to the buckles and air holes in the ‘crash hat’. Needing three figures and owning the copyright I made 6 silicon moulds. To date I have made 8 figures! (If I have any g/f resin over from something else I am doing I pour it into a mould). 

I still have very little experience of painting figures and at this scale it ‘has to be right’. My good friend Dave, the sculptor and an outstanding artist in his own right painted the figure for me. Another magnificent ‘job’. 

For further interest the tank has a purpose made unditching beam complete with reinforced metal ends and chains and there is also a tarpaulin complete with poles and all are held securely by the scale ‘tie downs’ using either rope or chain.