Hi all!

No, this isn't another post about the best T-34 model . Instead, I need to know which T-34 kit has a better bottom hull - Zvezda/Italeri, or Maquette? I plan to do a BREM conversion in the future and would like to know which kit to buy.

I haven't seen the Maquette up close, but I would imagine that the DML T-34/85 or T-34/76 lower hull would be the best one available.

They're pretty much the same in detail and placement, except that the driver's escape hatch, and another hatch centered directly underneath the engine, are raised on the Maquette hull, and flush on the DML hull.
Also, the driver's escape hatch on he DML is more oval, like the track around a football field. The Maquette hatch is a little more like a rounded off rectangle. I'd go with whatever your references say is correct, since I try to make a point of not being run over by tanks.

PS-the Zvezda ranks third in any event. I'm kinda leaning toward the Maquette as having the more correct hatches.

Of the two, the Maquette hull (the one used in their T-34 Model '40, '41, and T-34-85) is the better. At very least the cut-outs for the suspension arms are present and, IIRC, the spacing between the arms is more correct than Zvezda's.

Good luck with your project!

Mark

Thanks to everybody, I'll go for the Maquette kit.