I call it progress because the shovel is still drying and not on the kit yet.

Got this in a gift exchange with some friends of mine. Being an a/c guy this is my first tracked, 35th scale vehicle.



Nice kit, funky instructions. The color pics are neat but I found them hard to follow from time to time. The instuctions don't flow very well and I found myself dancing all over in the same step. Don't get me started on the fifteen different sprue number callouts.



Once I learned to interpret the instuctions things went ok. I danced along, leaving out things that break off easy until later, painting when needed to make things easier. Something I've found about armor. Some of the equipment I have no idea what it is.



Like the thingy on the right side that looks like two bells stuck together. I'm not sure what it is so I left off weather because I didn't know how it was used. Speaking of weather I left it to a minimum. General dirt and grime, a little rust. No fancy amounts of mud or dirt. No chips either, something I may change later. I'm no weathering expert though so I'd have to expose myself to LOTS of refs before I went to far.



I left out one headlight, used a couple of small wire hanging out of the bezel and added some internal structure. Just an attempt at adding interest. Most of the pics I found of the tank on the net showed the unit without the antenna but a few I found had it so I installed one made from stainless wire. One of the pics showed the antenna rotated to the rear, I figure to make room for the turrent to move. I thought it looked neat and moved this one.



Paint is MM enamels. Weather is W&N oils with a Polyscale flat coat. I have some MIG I was going to toss on for dust after the flat coat dries but havent done it yet. Maybe. The number is just a random one I picked after seeing one on the net. The kit instructions don't give any advice on decal placement or anything so I winged it.

Something I have GOT to do is get rid of this blue backdrop. Way to intense and it gives everything a blue hue. Advice on the build, constuctive comments welcome. Any glaring errors pointed out would be good to. I'd hate to present this to my buddies and it be totally screwed. They are some serious tread heads! Thanks for looking.

It's looking fantastic for you first armor! I'm having two tips right now: Chip it a little bit. This would bring more life in your tank. One of the things remarkable for a T-34 is mud. Because o the terrain of Russia they were very muddy. Try to make it. I think it's a great start when making the running gear etc. muddy. When you're a bit more experienced you could leave the rear fender off. This was seen many times on those tanks. The mud would then be warped up against the hull. But for a clean model it looks super!

Lars

Great job on your first tracked vehicle, and a clean build. I agree with Lars, a bit of weathering and lots of mud will add some life to the T34. I like the antenna, nice touch.

Rob

Thanks, Lars. I think you are right, it definately needs some chipping and some mud would be nice. I think I'll do some chipping today but I'll leave the mud off for now. Need to consult my friends on a How-To for that one.

Try do do some 3D - chipping. This is the nicest option on this tank. Start with chips of a lighter green color. Then chip in the middle a dark metal color.

https://armorama.kitmaker.net//features/1221

Here is another T-34 step by step treated with pigments. There are many other ways to do so, but this is some fantastic basic info. Look around in the AFV forum section, for more weathering techniques with pigments.

Lars

Flawless T-34 you have there, clean built and look and those marvelous tracks I agree for the chipping but the model being so beautiful it's a shame if the mud applied goes wrong, then again it was so cleanly built it's a shame dirtying it hehehe , looks like it's a brand new tank ready to be displayed

Nice job, keep it up and best of luck for the chipping/weathering process

Super T-34. I like this one a lot. Well done. NIce job for your first armor model. Very well done. Now lets see some more weathering. Then you'll be all set.

Wires on headlight look wonderful! Great job!

Wow that's an awesome looking T-34 which version is it (Tamiya /Dragon?)

i love the paintjob it looks great, the wheels how do u manage to do them i always mess up mine. i was playing this shooting game and i saw some one with the same username as yours, what a coincidence, great job

Looking good! Thanks for sharing! Welcome to the world of ARMOR!

Cheers -

Tim

Nice build.
Looks real good indeed.

My suggestion. Paint chips are a fad, and are far less common in period photographs than they are on models. Don't chip it, just dirty it up. Washes, pigments and drybrushing. Tanks in the field get filthy, but few survive long enough for the paint to fade or chip, unless some sheet metal actually gets crumpled by an impact (common with fenders).

Thanks for the comments, all. Good tips. Hopefully I'll remember them for the next kit.. I've dirtied it up a bit more and added a few scratches. Looks better!
Someone asked, this is the Dragon kit. I should have put that in the title.
Thanks again, all!

Very nice hkshooter!
I agree with the chipping, perhaps a bit on the front, I've seen alot of videos with T-34s smashing down trees, and I can't imagine that they were not chipped at all from that. The Reds really put a beating down on those tanks, also they were produced so crudely I can't imagine the paint was of excellent quality anyhow. The antenna really adds a nice touch again, perhaps a nice target for a Tiger!

Welcome to the world of armor!

Very nice build...I agree with others about some chipping and some mud. Great paint job!!

sweet T-34 can't wait to see it weathered thanx for sharing hkshooter. Ant.

i think its beautiful, i wouldnt chip it, it looks the best as it is.

well, just fascinating for the 1st tank! I liked painting and weathering wery much

Pictures are gone..................

Would have been nice to see.