Now here's a question;

I have just got hold of SU-100 by the Russian manufacturer Zvezda I am going to replace the road wheels on it since the examples provided have poor detailing. I intend to use a mix of road wheels mainly early pattern dish shaped T-34 version and 3 mid version all steel rimmed . as per some references.

However, looking at the various images available I notice the early version wheels on SU-100s have plain tyres on them while the T-34 version seems to have Tyres that have patterned tyres with indents around the tyre rim and groves in the tyres.

My question is: would it be the suitable for SU-100 circa 1944-45 to have the tyre pattern with indents around the rim and groves in the tyres. Or should I replace with the latter rubber plain tyres?

Any comments thoughts would be gratefully received.

Jerry

Jerry- use the plain tires for your SU-100. If you find an SU-100 with a mix of rubber tire and all steel road wheels,then that was a field modification. Steal from the field was the norm for the Soviets.
Cheers- Rob

Za Rodinu!

By the time the SU-100 was introduced the plane dish wheels with non perforated tires were the norm. As Rob says, anything else is probably a field modification.
Though I suppose it could be possible that one might have an all steel wheel or two it doesn't seem likely it would have the two rubber and three steel wheel arrangement of mid production T-34's. The steel wheels were an interim solution to compensate for a lack of rubber. As soon as enough was available the steel wheels were dropped as they caused problems with the tracks and even the tank itself.
Of course, if you have a photo of an SU-100 fitted the way you describe, as opposed to an illustration, then that blows my theory out of the water :-)


Mark

As the others have said, the rubber tires with the tread and dimple pattern were a leftover of the original Christie suspension, which the Russians faithfully duplicated with their first BT-2 in 1932, and which carried over to the T-34 in 1940. By 1945, it finally ocurred to them that the tread pattern served no particular purpose since the tanks no longer had the ability to run without their tracks (a feature Christie had used to increase the life of the tracks back in 1931). So the plain rubber tires were the norm in the war's final months, and the SU-100 seems to have commonly used the non-perforated, dished wheels. The all-steel wheels were really a temporary measure introduced to cope with the rubber shortages of 1942-43, and were not usually seen that late in the war on T-34 chassis..

Guys ,

Thank you for the tips. It looks like I’ll go with Dish wheels with non perforated tires as the vehicle would have Left the Factory with , I will add a couple of Steel road wheels as a field modification to add a little interest , Since it is not beyond the realms of possibility. Which brings me on to my next Question : does anyone know of a good set of After market T-34 late dish wheels with smooth rubber tyres since the Zvezda ones a poor and they need replacing ?

Thanks for all your interest and help

Best wishes

Jerry

Jerry- I do believe that Maquette has a set. I have used their road wheels before and are not bad. The price isn,t bad either! I know there are resin sets of road wheels,but the sets cost as much as the Zvezda kit itself!
Cheers- Rob
Za Rodinu