I just bought the Dragon T34 /1941 Cast Turret an after having a look at it I found that only the rear grille comes in PE.
The side and top grilles are plastic and not the best...
I wanted to buy the Aber Set but the grilles seem very different

The left one is similar to the kit. It has 5 vertical rails and 3 horizontal.
The one on the right is the Aber set. There are no horizontal rails and it has louvers instead of simple vertical rails. The same happens with the top grilles.
I read somewhere that the ABER set is the best because it's the only correct one.
Is there any chance (I strongly suspect that there is) that both are correct for different periods or versions?
I'm not a knowledgeable T34 modeler at all. I'm just starting to gather information on it and a few books on the subject are ordered but I wanted to get the PE set asap. Your help is very appreciated.

I have no solid answer, other than I've seen both pictures and line drawings of '41-'42 T-34/76s with both styles of rear deck grilles. I don't know what the difference is, and I cannot find anything else in my (limited) reference material. I suspect, as you already pointed out, that they are both correct and varied with either production periods and/or specific versions.

I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will have more info on this subject. As for me, I'll keep searching until I find something useful. It would be good to know, since I've got a few Dragon T-34s in the stash.

-YL

OK, I may be able to shed some light on this issue.

The ORIGINAL vents had the vertical grille arrangement (as per Dragon kit.) That includes, for example, all T34/76's with the L-11 gun (i.e. model 1940.) In mid-1941, however, factory No.112 switched to the easier-to-manufacture horizontal grilles (as per Aber set), followed by all other production plants, although the switch took place gradually and went on well into 1942. After that, the vertical louvers were no longer used.

Bottom line: if your tank was produced by factory No.112 after July/August 1941, it will definitely have the horizontal grilles. All other production plants: it depends, although after mid-1942 chances are that at least 2/3 or more of the tanks already had the new type fitted on.

Thanks
I suspected that because of the troubled factory relocations and changes in production. But when a manufacturer does a part in a certain way, I always think that they have way better researchers than I am and tend to trust them.
The louvered Aber set has to be incredibly tricky to do. Each one has two layers that fit one om top of the other (louvers and all). Not sure if I can cope with that kind of detail...

I know exactly what you're talking about, but unless you're building your tank with a full engine compartment, the inner side of the grille assembly won't even be visible (the Eduard PE set has a 1-piece, much more simplified grille that will look good enough from the outside.) If you use the kit's decals, leave the vents as they are: chances are --like you said-- that Dragon have done their research on the tanks they are providing markings for.

The louvered grille was the first type. At first tanks were built at Kharkov, and later Stalingrad. The slotted grille came into use probably at STZ, no later than September 1941. Some very late KhPZ (Kharkov) tanks may have had them too. The louvered grille seems to be unique to KhPZ and to tanks built at other factories from parts supplied by KhPZ.

Cheers
Scott Fraser