ok this is my tamiya T34/85 very near completion, 'bout all thats left is adding the tow cables, and maybe some stowage junk thrown on, but the end is near.






thanks for looking
Bender

looks very good.......what type of stuff you going to put on back?

Bender---this looks good.

How was the build for this kit, pretty good as far as fit, molding, parts quality, etc?

Are the tracks vinyl band or indi link?

I might think about using a thinned dark wash around the engine deck and gas tank covers to replicate grime/spillage/fumes---but that's just me. This looks like a great addition to your model collection. Congrats.

Steve

Looks very nice. I like the build and the mud and such.

Is that a weld seam on the left rear corner of the turret? If so is that accurate? Is it just me but are the tracks a BIT too shiny?

Good clean build/paint. I like it Bender. As half had pointed out, the track seems to be a little bit shiny. But should be easy to improve with a wash and some weathering.

I would add a little more weathering on the substructure, but comes to weathering, it's more of a personal taste.

Good work, Bender.

Bender:
Looks great.
What color green did you use and did you use pastels for the "dirt" on the kit? Nice jon on the turret decals, with the rough texture of that turret it's impressive to see the decals settled without silvering....

Howdy Bender: I like the subtle weathering, not too rusty or dirty. Did you find that the turret will not clear the grab handles on the back of the deck? I built the Zvedza T-34/85version and thought this was a mistake and moved the handles back toward the engine grill, but maybe they weren't supposed to clear the handles.

wow looks really nice,
i would like to build a t-34.
that was some tank,
that tank beat the germans bye it self

Bender

First of all I want to ask wich model of the T34/85 this is. I amd building the T34/85 model 44 now but I see a lot of differences between my tank and your tank.
Is this kit OOTB??? or did you use AM stuff. I really like your paintjob and as said before the decal work is splendid. I agree with the others that the tracks can use a little more weathering/rusting but that is only my opinion as I like my tanks looking obviously used. Another thing you can think of is adding a little more rust on the Exhausts of the tank and doing a bit of a black drybrushing on the engine deck where the Engine grills are. I have seen a lot of modelers doing this and it sure looks really good.

Other then those small nitpicks I have to say that this is a good looking model dude

Ver impressive T34 Bender. Have to agree with the others though on the tracks ...... need a good weathering definately. the silver tracks stand out too much. Maybe a few scratches in strategic places would help also. The extra fuel drums are dented, so a little rust in the dents would look nice also. From what i can see all four fenders are missing ..... if damaged there should be some tell-tale signs .. rust and/or damage. Without these fenders, mud would be thrown up on the vehicle!
Love your choice of colour and the reddish dust. The good thing is, it is still easy to weather more to suit! Gppd luck!

thanks for all the input guys, will try to answer all your questions,

(climbing onto soap box taking a very deep breath)
first off everybody commented on the tracks, they are fruil tracks, as for weathering, I operate a Caterpillar D-11 dozer for a living, and I have never seen a machine that was in use that had any rust on the tracks, and if there was rust it was fine surface rust that was worn off in the first 50 to 100 feet of movement, Ill give ya an example of tracks, the machine that sets on them weighs probably more than 30 tons, a lot of weight there, grinding down, not just on the track cleats, but the whole track gets down and dirty, the dozer im running now was new in january of this year, the paint on the tracks lasted less than a week before it was completely worn off, and Cat uses some pretty tough paint, but the example, take a hand full of dirt from around your house, go to your car hood(simulating the track plate) and put the dirt there, press your hand down on the dirt and turn it around in a circle, mimicking a track being drug through a turn, as one track turns the other locks up thus making the machine turn, after this with your hand inspect the paint, that was done with just a few pounds of pressure your had exerted, multiply that by 30 tons and you get the idea of how sandblasted and bright the tracks are on equipment that is in use,check em out at any construction site, !!!!BUT!!!! that is just my point of view from the operators seat, personal preferance is everything in modeling. all i did to my tracks is a dark wash, then some dry brushing on the high points with silver argent (?) sorry I always seem to get long winded on the subject of tracks....

the turret is an MB models resin '45 vintage composit turret, as far as I was able to research, it is correct with the weld seams and the detail is very nice. the russians had an amazing amount of different turrets for the same model tank.
check out these links for info,
http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/t3485bg_2.html
http://www.andreaslarka.net/mediumheavytanks.html
http://www.gjames.com.au/chris/

the kit is an old tamiya that can be motorized, so fit and detail are lacking... all the grab handles and tie downs are wire, and the fact that the turret hits the handles on the deck is my fault, measure twice, drill once, unfortunatly I didnt notice this until the glue was dry.......live and learn i guess.

the turret and markings are for a tank in berlin in '45, i modeled it as a newer replacement, the russians went through quite a few to get into berlin, so not too beat, the fenders, I found in photos that alot had the fenders removed, im guessing from abuse or what ever, just thought it looked better that way so....

the paint is MM Russian armor, seemed way to light before the dull coat, but after I think it looks pretty good, IMHO, the paint color that is. as for weathering and paint, it is actually a little darker in person than shows up in the pics

the pastels used on the under carrige first sprayed with black, then very light russian armor green, then weathered with dark wash around all the lugnuts and seams, then with dark brown and a light tan pastels for the dust on the top sides of the tank, my fault again with light placement and shadows but first try with this stuff on armor. i definately need practice.

the decals are from the kit, settled down with setting soulution. micro set i think.

thanks a ton for all the input, gonna go get after it again and see what I can come up with
thanks again guys.

Bender

Bender

Well structured and ariculated response. I especially appreciate you sharing your actual experience with track wear---useful info. Thanks.

This is a nice model.

Steve

Bender:
Glad to see I'm not the only one who looks at construction equipment as a reference for my models. With no tanks to view, it's the next best thing . Now I just gotta find a trin to get some photos of the under-carriage for my K5 to see who that weathers....

Great job on your T-34/85. Nice subtle weathering, and I like the shade of paint you used. I especially like the use of M1940 tracks (not uncommon in 1945). Excellent work.

Cheers !

Robert