Hi,

I'm building the Tamyia T34-85. I've noticed what appear to be seam lines on the fuel tanks. Are these supposed to be there or should i get rid of them. I'm sure I once saw a photo of a T34 and the fuel tanks seemed to have a join in them. Is this correct.

kind regards
Digger

Digger,
:) Definately don't double post topics in multiple groups.

Thanks,
Jim

Hey Digger,

The Tamiya T-34/85 is a cool kit to build. The T-34 is my favorite tank!! :-) !!
Anyway, while I am not a T-34 expert, I don't think a tank would have a seam on it, just don't seem to make sense However, reference shows that the tanks were handled very roughly in the field, and sometimes jetisoned when not needed anymore.
I think the best thing to do is to fill the seam with some CA and sand it very roughly, thus making it look beat up. That is what I did no my T-34

Cheers,

CDT Reimund Manneck
U.S. Army ROTC

I'm not a big fan of Russian WWII armor, but I remember reading that a weld/solder seam line on the external fuel tanks was acceptable.

Digger--I believe the weld seams are part and parcel of their workmanship (or lack thereof). Can you acquire Calibre 35 products?
thanks
DJ

hi,
thanks for the tips. i haven't heard of calibre 35. What do they make?

Digger :-)

I left my tank book at work but I'll look for you tomorrow.

Calibre 35 make aftermarket armour accessories, I think they are closley (or were) related to Aires. They have a website

Cheers,
Linz

Yeah, that's right mate. The fuel tanks were crudely made, and the seams were still present. Not all were dinted as much as Tamiya makes them, you may want to change that one.

Cheers,
Linz

The seams could be there althought it wasn' t very common, at least on the post WW2 T34/85s...
Unfortunately, the Tamiya ' s T34 serie aren' t one of their best...Angles hull plates were wrong, makin' the tank too squat ! The T34/85 turret' s kit was 6 mm short on the back, and the angles were also wrong; the turret was too small and didn' t extend beyond the sides of the hull as it should...( look at any picture of the real " caviar tin ", to see what I mean ! ).
The best T34/85 is the Dragon model...Nearly 100% accurate ! You could use too the Italeri, less accurate but a lot cheaper, in France at least ( need to change, or reshape the too squared tires of the wheels, and use the RPM tracks...Good value at around 10$ the set ! ).
Two good little books ' ll give you enought informations to make a nice model:
- From Osprey' s New Vanguard serie: " The T34-85 medium tank, 1944-1994 ", by S. Zaloga & J. Kinnear...A 48 pages book dealing with history and technic, with 8 pages color plates and numerous small scale drawings...
- From Darlington Productions, Inc. ' s Museum Ordnance Special #6: " T-34/85, in the post WW2 Era ", by Adam Geibel...A 24 pages little brochure full of internal and external detail photos...A must !
' ve a nice day...!

Mike is correct the DML kits is nice, and accurate, BUT if you already have the Tamiya kit there isn't much you can do. That Tamiya kit has always seemd over priced for what you get.

Nate
Wisc. USA