What color would the engine compartment of a T-34-76 be? I've seen some modelers paint it in 4BO green, others in off-white, and some only in the primer color.

The T-34 also had a compressed air starter system with two bottles in front of the driver. What color would these bottles have been?

Fuel tanks painted yellow with the oil tanks in between them next to the radiators painted red. Is this correct?

What color would the crew compartment floor of the tank be?

NEVER white!
The modelers who paint the engine tranny compartment white are basing it on post war CzechPolish tanks (I have a photo or two that claim to be of Soviet post war T-34-85's with white painted engine compartments but I have my doubts.)
Generally, early war tanks will have 4BO compartments but later war (say '42 to maybe '44?) may well have primer only. It may well vary between factories.
It's probably a fair assumption that later in the war as Soviet tank production became less threatened and the supply chain stabilized 4BO was again used. (4BO is a protective paint.)
The yellow fuel cells also seem to be post war CzechPolish. They are always dark in wartime photos and recovered tanks tend to show them in primer only.
The Soviets had the habit of color coding fuel and compressed air lines (yellow for fuel and blue for compressed air) but my guess is that throughout most of the war these lines would have been unpainted.

Note that the transmission and engine were made of aluminum and were unpainted.

The engine compartment was painted a light blue-gray paint. It was easier to find the fallen parts and to detect leakage of oil or fuel.


фотохостинг png

Post war I'm assuming? Do you have any exterior photos of this T-34?


Stay safe, Anton.

This SU-100. Yes there is. Here is the link to the other photo.

http://www.fotovalkirumodelism.com/page.php?page=244

Also here is the link of the T-34 85. This machine is manufactured in Omsk no earlier than the spring 45 years. Mask tools very early. In the engine compartment you can see the remnants of paint, which i wrote.

http://www.dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?np=1&p=1208&vmode=S#blockpre

One thing to keep in mind is that these tanks were in use until well after the war and subject to constant rebuilds including new paint.

Examples of the T-34 that have been recovered from rivers and bogs around Eastern Europe over the last decade or so tend to show primer only or green. The Model '42 supplied to the US during the war had an engine/transmission compartment painted in 4BO.
These are the references I've used when talking about wartime T-34's. Tanks used post war, to me at least, are a less reliable source of information.

Mark

Additionally, how were the covers for the two periscopes in the driver's hatch opened and closed? Was there levers inside the hatch, or were they moved up and down by hand?

Also, is the fuel tank arrangement for the AFV Club "Factory 183" T-34 kit correct? I have heard that Model 1942 T-34's lacked the forward pair (touching the engine bulkhead) of fuel tanks, having only the two rear ones and the two next to the driver/co-driver.

Email me directly and I can share a couple of photos of the mechanism for raising and lowering the armored covers.

byrule303ATcox.net