Through a trade I was able to pick up a Dragon t-34/85 UTZ (1944) and a Tamiya T-34/76 (1943) I am wanting to swap hulls out. I think the Dragon is better and I like individual links. Everything appears to be similar except shape of front fenders though the Dragon has these parts as a cutaway option. So, to my untrained eye it looks like a go to me. I'm sure there are several very knowledgeable guys out there. Anything else I would need to do? Turret ring on the Tamiya is just a tad smaller on inside so turret would have to be bolstered a hair or just glued down....appearance wise it looks fine. So, of course any and all advice would be appreciated. I have another T-34/85 kit so that is why I am considering this

Why do you want to kit-bash these two together. The Dragon one is much better, way better than the Tamiya kit.

I agree with Gino, the DML kit is so many light years ahead of the Tamiya kit. According to T-34 experts, "the kit has an overscale hull, and the hull angles are distorted to make room for the motorization pack."

because I want a T-34/76 tank....I have a t-34/85 already..I just want to see if the Tamiya turret (76) can work on the Dragon hull (85) Now if any of you want to swap one of my T-34/85's out for a Dragon T-34/76 I can go that way.

The hulls have differences, don't swap them !
I'm not an expert, but check the front of the hull.
On the T34/76, it's rounded... and on the T34/85 it's simplified and not rounded anymore.
There might be other differences also, but I'm no expert.

Also, as the others have said : the dragon kit is so much better, so why swap parts ?

I must be explaining this badly or am erroneous in assuming everyone knows there is a radical difference btwn a t-34/76 and a t-34/85. Alright

I have 2 t-34/85 UTZ kits and 1 Tamiya T-34/76 (1943). I plan to build 1 of the T-34/85's straight from the box so to speak. I am hoping to improve the quality of the T-34/76 by substituting the Dragon hull. The dragon kit comes with a set of rounded fenders I can use in lieu of the angular ones. What other changes would be neccessary to make it "reasonably" correct to have a 76mm turret on it. This way I can have a T-34/85 model AND a more accurate T-34/76.

I don't have any plans to use the Tamiya hull or the other 85mm turret

Apart from the fenders, you will also need to replace the angular fillet on the hull front with a rounded one, as Anthony suggested.

There are a few details that will need shaving off the upper hull, like the three splash strips protecting the turret base overhang (top centre on the glacis and top of each hull side). The splash strip under the driver's hatch may need to go to (or not if you look at the photos in my link, below). On the hull rear plate, the conduits for the smoke generator cables will need to go too.

I think that you will need to add another hinge to the bottom edge of the hull rear plate too.

This set of photos gives a nice all around view of what you are building (even though they call it a Mod 42), inevitably the third hinge has broken off the hull rear, but the weld scar is still there.

http://www.thetankmaster.com/ENGLISH/AFV/t34-76_1.asp

Hope this helps.

Thanks David, I was able to visably locate all the differences. It looks like the only challenge will be making the fillet rounded. I'll probably purchase some of the half round styrene strips to correct that, everything else should be quite easy to accomplish. Looking at some comparison pictures btwn the very late 43 T-34/76 and early 44 there is almost no change other than the totally different turrets to house the main gun upgrade. Truely the T-34 was a remarkable tank

Hey Steve,
I guess it’s time to chime in here to tie some of what’s been said together and to add a few important points.
First, and this is just an aside really, the Tamiya kit is not “over scale” and its problems appear to have nothing to do with motorization. Instead it’s just a poorly mastered kit (at least by modern standards). The lower hull is only slightly wider than it should be (less than a millimeter if I remember correctly) but the suspension arms aren’t correctly spaced. The upper hull angles are off only for the side plates. They should be at 40 degrees off of vertical but Tamiya put them at about 43 degrees which makes the fender to fender width too great. Worse, the transmission/fan cover is nearly a tenth of an inch too “deep” which scrunches up most of the rest of the engine deck details.

On to the important stuff; If you want to do a wartime T-34-76 “Model 1943” (the correct Soviet designation really is Model 1942) you will need to change the fenders, replace the bow fillet, and remove the conduit for the smoke pots, all as noted by the other guys here.
More importantly the turret ring plate (the plate the turret sits on appropriately enough) needs to be changed as well as these were altered between the -76 and the -85 tanks. You can use Tamiya’s kit as a guide to rework the DML hull or, as some have done, cut the ring plate from the Tamiya kit and graft it on to DML’s hull (I think it would easier just to do the work on DML’s part though).
About the hinges for the rear plate; if you want to do a Factory 183 (UTZ) produced tank go ahead and copy the Tamiya part (three hinges and only four bolt heads along the angled outside edge of the upper part of the plate). If you want a Factory 174 made tank leave DML’s part as is (two hinges and five bolts).

A word about Tamiya’s “Model ‘43” turret: This is actually the worst feature of the Tamiya kit. The rear plate is far too wide, the radii between each of the flat plates are much too subdued and the hatches are not quite in the right spots. Add to this the base for the PTK-5 should be a disc held by six slotted head bolts and not a raised ring. (Trumpeter copied Tamiya’s turret exactly and it’s just as wrong.)
If you really want to do it up right you may want to consider using an aftermarket turret. A company called Miniarm makes a very, very good version that will fit your needs here.

I have lots of references on these tanks so just go ahead and email me directly if you have any questions.

Mark

Steve, now that I understand your intent, I would offer to trade you my Zvezda T-34/76 Model 1942 (kit #3535) for your UTZ. It is a better kit than trying to upgrade the old Tamiya one. I even have an Elefant barrel for the kit (35.308) and if you are a glutton for punishment, a set of Maquette early style single link tracks.

OK...well I am looking for a representative piece and I guess I'll live with what I have got. Thanks for your kind offer Rob, but unfortuneatly I had already carved up the hull on the dragon kit. It'll look OK as a representative piece. Eventually I'll pick up one of the earlier versions of the 76mm that dragon makes and the flaws will probably be less noticeable. Thanks everyone for the info. I need a project that is a bit challenging using BIG pieces...I just finished up my Nimitz after 3 and a half months (see pics in ship section)

Well......you could always just wait for Dragon to come out with a T-34/76 M1943 of their own

I have seen a couple good T-34/76 M1943 kitbash reviews in the Armor Modelling Magazine from Japan. I'm not sure which issue, but know its in there. The builder used both the Tamiya T-34/76 M1943 turret, and used the Dragon T-34/85 M1944 hull (the earlier one and not the newer UTZ kit).

Anyway, you're off to a good start. Remember its fun to kitbash, and your right on track with it.

Send us some pics if you can as you work.

Cheers !!

Alpen

What an understatement!

I'd a said, " and if you are into extreme masochism...."

No problem, just trying to help and prevent a really decent kit from being hacked up. I just picked up a DML T-34/76 Model 1940 on eBay ($19.99 with Gum Ka PE and Elefant barrel included, great deal!), so my Zvezda kit is excess. I'm a fan of the T-34 and think the Tamiya kits were fine for their day but have been surpassed first by the Zvezda kits and then by the Dragon kits. I didn't like the looks of the Maquette "Rudy" T-34 when I peeked inside the box at the store.

In my mind, Dragon is the only brand to consider when buying a 1/35 scale T-34/76 or /85.