Started quite some time ago, (over a year now), it’s my intention to wrap up this Trumpeter T-34 over the course of the next year or so. Just wanted to share my passion for my big boy T-34. This will ultimately be finished in a really dirty and trashed scheme. Base will depict a section of a destroyed city, (Berlin). I’ve done this before in 1:35 scale, and it looks pretty intimidating.

Turret has been doctored up a bit with globs of super glue to represent casting seams, and dinged with ball bit in motor tool to recreate very rough cast surface appearance of turret that seemed typical;... not yet finished.

Playing a bit with some balsa foam to create the beginnings of a destroyed structure. Street will ultimately be littered with rubble and debris.

End result will (hopefully), look like this.

This picture shows a JS2 not a t34.

Looks good Kevin. I am interested to see how those super glue seams work out when painted...

This picture shows a JS2 not a T-34.

Very true, but picture was posted to illustrate what the scene will look like when finished, not the vehicle. I haven't yet decided if I want larger building remnants such as those depicted in photo or not. Still lots of room for playing with the concept.

Me too. The casting seams appear very course in many detail photos I've seen.

sometime...INCREDIBLY course







sometime a little bit "smoother"...

Mauro,

Great Pictures! I love that cut-away one! Didn't know the turret was that thick!

Kevin,

Should look great! I remember when Tamiya had the 1/25th scale Tiger and T-34/85. I built them for a contest at a local hobby shop. Won a ribbon for the pair!

You going to do it with the Seige of Berlin white stripe on the turret?

Bill B.

I expect it'll have the ID stripes, yes. I heard that without them, Mustangs would blast anything moving.

Here you are many other ones

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=1208

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/159937&ord=&page=1

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=2018

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=999

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=1986

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=1683

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=997

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=803

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=821

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=823

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=791

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=753

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=367

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=365

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=269

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=1211

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=1365

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=813

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=1360

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=1367

I think for Russians T-34/85 is a sort of symbol of "Great Patriotic War" victory

They are plenty of well preserved exemplars and lot of them have been transformed into monuments

This one looks like a post war manufactured turret. Same smooth surface as the turrets manufactured in Poland and Czechoslovakia after the war.

Thomas

Thanks for all the links; all those details will be handy reference. I just ordered some Archer transfers for this beast yesterday. The vehicle depicted on the sheet may or may not have ever made it to Berlin, but for the sake of this display I'm going to assume it did.

Here you can find A LOT of other walkarounds

http://legion-afv.narod.ru/T-34-85.html

Here over 570 pics (many of them are in action photos)

http://army.lv/ru/t-34-85/foto/631/266/1

Here a book about the T-34-85

http://www.army.lv/files/120.pdf

Here you can find some profiles and technical drawings

http://army.lv/ru/t-34-85/risunki/631/266#infov

http://army.lv/ru/t-34-85/shemi/631/266#info

http://www.smcars.net/forums/attachments/tanks/17828d1141265071-t-34-85-1945-model-t34_85_25.gif

http://www.mk-armour.narod.ru/1995/01/Draw_21.jpg

Original user's manual

http://pro-tank.ru/teh-dok/tank-t-34-85-rukovodstvo/557-tank-t-34-85-rukovodstvo-soderganie


Hope that will be useful for you

Thanks Spider. I think my single biggest problem will be painting and weathering this beast. I really want it to look “war like”, not toy like. Most seem to be able to build and detail, but oftentimes fall short of the realism I’m after. I’m not a tread head as such, so many of the methods I’ll use are pretty new to me. we’ll just have to wait and see what happens I guess.

Well Kevin, if I were you I'd have the same worry
That's one of the reason why I've never done any kit in the bigger scale

Anyway I think you are in the right place. There are lots of guys here in the site who can give you the best advise.
In my humble opinion the best way to avoid the "toy effect" is using a wide range of colors and a large amount of weatheing process. If I were you i'd use for exemple the hairspray technique which could give you the best results in this case

Here you can find an article written by Mr Mig Jimenez about a 1/16 Kv1

http://migjimenez.blogspot.com/2010/02/winter-time-116th-tamiya-kvii.html

I think it will be useful for you to give an idea about how to paint in a convincing way a challenging project like yours

Another site where you can find lots of inspirations is the Mig production forum

http://www.migproductionsforums.com/phpBB3/

Hope that will be useful
I'm quite curious to see your project developments

Best regards

Thanks Mauro. We'll just have to wait and see if I can do this the way I want it to look. I'll do my best, that's about all I can offer.

Small update (very small), but my Archer transfers for this beast arrived today.

Now I discover that this particular vehicle was more than likely destroyed before it ever got near Berlin. I suppose I could say that this scene is near Budapest? What a bummer.

So it's a tank belonging to the 2nd or third ukranian front

Which corp? Which tank brigade?

according to the standing bear symbol is a T34/85 of the 36th Guards tank brigade, 11 th Corp, 3th ukranian front

(here you can find all the ww2 Russian tank brigade symbols:
http://wio.ru/tank/oz/oz.htm )

Perhaps you can find an exemplar of the same unit that entered in Berlin, so, with some modifications, you could use the stencils that you've bought

for exemple this one (but unfortunately the pic was taken in Belgrade)



Here some other pics of 36th guard tank
http://tankfront.ru/ussr/tbr-f/gvtbr36f.html

Your exemplar




Anyway If I were you I'd try to paint the tank insignas by hand brushing. On a such large scale it may look more realistic than using decals or stencils. Furthermore the huge model dimensions allows to you to make a good job.
Do you use perhaps Tamiya or Valleyo white primers? If so, you could drive and cut your insignas on the masking tape, then you could apply them on your model before painting the base color. When the base color will be dried , you'll remove the masking tape and so you'll have your insignas already done. Is an usefull tip which i've seen on a modeller's magazine

cheers

Can't wait to see some assembly pics on this. I have the RC version of the 85 and it's one of my favorite tanks. I rushed it into service and now that I have more time I'm going to go back over it.

I just really like the rough finish the Soviet tanks had but applying decals (especially a dry transfer) will be tedious at best. I plan to paint some kind of slogan on it as it is going to be a Berlin battler complete with the 'bed spring' armor.

Now, on with the build!


~ Jeff

Painting a number and a rough white stripe could be enough

Yeah, that's what I meant. i have those photos as well as others to go by.


~ Jeff

http://www.o5m6.de/T-34_85_1944_Flattened.html

http://ww2drawings.jexiste.fr/Files/1-Vehicles/Allies/2-USSR/03-MediumTanks/T-34%2885%29/T-34%2885%29-1944.htm


"Towards Berlin!"

German tank camo are a a far more complex