Hello All,

I recently discovered that the T-34 was first built in the city in which I was born. That coupled with fond memories of assembling scale models as a child has inspired me to get a good T-34 scale model to assemble and paint. I've gone with the DML T-34/85 (model #6266). I'll try to upload photos of my progress as I go along in case anyone is interested. If any of you experienced modellers have any useful hints that I should keep in mind that would be much appreciated. Also if anyone knows of any aftermarket upgrades that I should consider getting to improve the model. (eg interior/engine etc) any suggestions would be most welcome.

Thank you

Hi Anton.
This is a premium edition kit and is relativly complex, straight from the box. It was definatly the best T34 available when released, which is not too long ago, and makes a great model as is. As you´re a beginner, I think you should concentrate on the basics and if enjoy what you have. No need to buy anything else ... just have fun. Do show you work in progress and get feed back as you go along.
Adding extra does not automatically improve the model, if the basics are not done well. Leave them for the next project!!

Like Frank says, work on the basics.
Go slow, check part fit before trying to glue, and read and think through the instructions before assembling. Easy as that and you'll enjoy the experience more.
One thing to add is that clean up is very important to how your finished model will look. Make sure you clean up all those attachment points and mold seams and the finished project will be much nicer!

Have fun with it! Oh, and never be afraid to ask questions as they crop up!

Hello Anton.

T-34s were built in Kharkov until the city was taken by the Germans in 1941. The design originated there, at Zavod No.183, and evolved from their experience with the BT family of tanks. Interestingly, Soviet tanks experts of the time wanted to replace it with a the T-34M, a completely different design based on the (Leningrad) T-50 as the T-34M, but the war intervened and the T-34 stayed, and triumphed. In 1944 when the factory was rebuilt, it was planned to restore production of T-34s, but instead the factory began production of the new T-44, from which the T-55, T-62, T-72 and so on were developed.

The DML T-34s are pretty good, easy to build and finish. The newer they are, the more goodies they come with in terms of brass parts, aluminum barrel and individual tracks. Modelling has changed. Nowadays these things are very popular, and crazy modellers will often spend far more than the kit cost to gather up all these things.

There are three kits from DML for T-34s from KhPZ (Kharkov Parobozostroitelnii Zavod). The first production tanks had a shorter L-11 gun, and is kit #6092. Kit #6205 has the common welded turret and F-34 gun, and #6418 has these parts as well as a cast turret option and additional brass parts and barrel. Go for the last one unless you want the early gun.

Every model has faults, and these are no exception. Mark and I will drive each other crazy arguing about how many bolts there were on the rear towing hooks of tanks built at Sormovo in April 1942, but on the whole these can be built straight from the box without too much grief. If there is ONE thing to do to improve the kit, it is to replace the screen over the rear compartment with mesh, but these parts are included in the 6418 kit. You don't really need to hunt around for anything else.

If you do want to get extra stuff for your tank, there is no shortage of choices. There are hundreds of items offered for T-34s, from decal sheets to complete resin kits, highly accurate and highly expensive... go nust! Start by checking out the T-34 page on the PMMS site. Terry Ashley has reviewed many of them, and this site is an excellent resource.

http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/subject/t34.htm

I can suggest some books, too. This book is recent, and is hands down the best T-34 book available:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/409173/message/1259966822/New+book+for+sale-+The+first+full+encyclopedia+of+T-34

Viktor Kulikov, who has posted this advertisement, is known to me (and many others) and can supply it. (I assume you still read Russian?) There are many other books available too, and if you send me an email I can point you to some Russian sites with much information.

Have fun with your model. Beware that one leads to another, and it can become a very addictive hobby. It can also be a lot of fun, and is an excellent way to relive history.

Cheers
Scott Fraser
Canada

Hey Guys,

Thanks for all the replies! I think I will stick to the basics for now as Frank and Mark suggested and build up some experience, particularly with painting/weathering which I suspect will not be optimal on this one given it's my first. I like the look of the "bedspring" armour and think it'd be a pity not to stick it on.. seems like such a typically Russian or rather "Soviet" solution if you know what I mean.

Scott, thanks for all that info. I was indeed born in Kharkov but left as a kid. We had a family acquaintance that worked at the Malyshev plant, and actually ended up getting in trouble for saying something that allegedly expressed anti-soviet sentiment and ended up spending a large portion of his life at a labour camp.. but that's another story. I still can read Russian (slowly). Thanks for the book recommendation too. I just did a search for it on yandex.ru and seems i can get it delivered for $38 (Australian) http://www.books.ru/shop/books/704766?partner=gbru . Might look into it.

But back to my little project. I've realised the only adhesive I have is superglue, which seems inadequate to me. So I'll have to make a trip down to the hobby shop to buy some plastic cement. I figure I might as well get any special tools and paint while I'm there. Before I venture out I have a couple of questions:

Anything I should know about buying adhesive(s)?
Is there a particular brand of paint I should be looking for? any colour recommendations?
Finally, other than scalpels, fine pliers, a vice, abrasives and an airbrush, (all of which I have access to) are there any special tools I should look at?

Thanks again everyone!

For the basic build, liquid cement, a flat file (or even your girlfriend's emory board) and a few no. 11 XActo blades ought to suffice. The blades IMHO are better than scalpels.
I also like to get a piece of wet dry sand paper to roll/ drag the wheels on once they're installed to get rid of the seam lines. It's a very quick method.
The needle nosed pliers are good if you plan to replace the square shaped tie downs with real wire, otherwise you don't really need them.
Get an old tile or piece of glass to cut out your PE parts.
As you already have CA glue for the PE parts you should be all set.

As for overall color, Russian tanks were finished in a color called 4BO Protective Green. Some modern historians favor FS-34102 (from the US FS-595b color book) as a decent match for the original color card. It's widely available in hobby paint lines as a USAF camouflage color. That said, there was a lot of variation in wartime paint, and the pigment used in 4BO was chemically unstable, so it would actually darken with age rather than fade.
I suggest using both liquid cement and a tube type cement. Tamiya, Testors, and Tenax are all good brands of liquid cement (Testors probably dries the most slowly of the three). Liquid cement is great for almost all assemblies, but there are times when you want the glue in one tiny place only, and liquid cement will run all over, so the thick tube cement is perfect for these problems. Tube cement doesn't dry quite so fast, so again, it's good for very small glue applications. I don't use it all the time, but I always keep an orange tube of Testors cement handy.
For joining non-styrene items, super glue works well, but five minute epoxy can be more forgiving. Super glue tends to set up very fast, and there are some places where epoxy is a better choice, particularly if you may need to reposition a part after applying it.