Since the Char has entered the "hurry up and wait" stage in painting/finishing, I decided to start work on ICM's T-28 multi-turret kit. Smaller brother to the "land battleship" T-35, its got that massive appeal to it and I'd picked this kit up dirt cheap at my LHS during a clearance sale and thought its time had come. I will be building this one up with the short barreled main gun and markings for one of the Moscow parades with the frame antenna using the kit supplied markings.



Upon opening up the kit however, it became readily apparent to me that some "pre-build" steps had to be done first. The sprues were liberally coated with greasy mold-release agent so a bath was in order. Filled up a sink full of warm water with dish washing soap and allowed it soak for about 30 minutes.



Then pulled out all the sprues and laid them out on paper towels to dry overnight.





Close examination revealed that my kit shared a common problem that I've heard about with both this and the T-35 kit, the lower hull plate was warped, so I drafted one of my wife's salad bowls that was large enough to take it and filled it with hot tap water and submerged it with two thinner cans to get it to, hopefully, straighten out. It may take a couple of treatments to rectify though as it was pretty badly warped.



Actual build will begin in the morning once everything is squeaky clean.

looks Like ur coming along pretty well



Matt

The yellow flowers really accentuate the green plastic :-)

cheers

Great, keep this up! Have a T-28 in the stash and a T-35 on the way!

Small price to pay for the wife allowing me to use the counter Rick! :-)

Woodstock,

Dragon USA has recently started stocking ICM kits, depending on how this one goes I might just pick up the T-35 as well.

Hello Bill,
Keep us posted on how the build goes. These multi-turret tanks, are so unique , and so few. They are a welome break from T-34's , and KV's, I have the ICM T-35 , what a brute . Happy modelling !
Frank
" PERSEVERANCE "

Clanky,

This one tops the list in terms of amount of mold release still on the parts...I never wash kit parts before building but this one absolutely had to have it done...there were little globules all over the place and a funny smell...definitely didn't want that stuff on my skin/eyes while building!

Strathcona,

It's got that brutish/odd-ball look to it that I admit is very appealing. I worked on the lower hull panel with a hairdryer last night (the water treatment didn't do much) and put some weight on it and will let it sit like that for a while until I get to the build stages, hopefully that will help straighten it out. The rest of the panels look straight, so it'll probably end up being an exericse of careful glueing/assembly to straighten out the remaining warp.

What a horrible thing the T-28 is... and if you tell us the ICM kit has something toxic coating it...
I hope the final result will be great!

What you have done looks great. Are those link to link tracks? Have am working on a T 35 and would like to find an alternative to the tracks that come in the kit. I have the T 28 in my to build pile.

sbell,

The constructed kit is Clanky's, not mine, but looks like he did use the kit supplied indy links as they are molded in a different white plastic from the rest of the kit. For my build, I'll be using the Model Kasten SK-46 set workable styrene links.

Biil is using the ModelKasten tracks which are proven, I used the kit tracks which are soft and prone to cracking, if you use them, minimize the amount of liquid glue.

Bill, I'm looking forward to seeing your built up T-28.

Frank

As promised, construction work began on this beast today. I was pleasantly surprised to see just how much of an interior, particularly in relation to the engine bay, that the kit has included.

Step 1 deals with the engine assembly and has an entire sprue dedicated for this purpose. The assembly is pretty straightforward although there aren't any locating pins/holes on any of the parts, so it's necessary to have a good tight fit before glueing. The instructions are a little bit vague, showing the engine partially assembled with some parts called out for on the assembled side with arrows while the other side shows it disassembled in an exploded diagram. Everything generally fit well, although some minor sanding/trimming was necessary on the mount supports to get them to fit properly up against the engine block, it was easily taken care of with a squre tip needle file after some fiddling. The engine is fairly well detailed given the age of the kit (sprue molded copyright says 1997), and the assembly for this step consists of 18 separate parts, providing a nice representation if you decide to leave the engine deck hatches open later in the build. I'm not intending to do that, but went ahead and built it up since it will be useful in helping with the floor plate alignment later on.



Step 2 deals with the driver's compartment and this area is far more basic in detail vs. the engine. The floor plate has a suggestion of a diamond pattern that's not very well executed and the compartment consists mainly of a driver's chair, the two stools for the MG turret crew, a gearshift, and two traverse handles and that's about it. Strangely enough, the arm rests of the chair do have very nice hinge/bolt detail but it's lost to view once installed.



Step 3 continues work on the engine interior, dealing with the assembly of the transmission housing. The housing is two parts, again without any locator pins, and the alignment needs to be just right along all sides. The installation of the housing on the front end is a little tricky, the wheel portion has a very shallow connection point to the housing and the part that goes on the end of it, D9, needs to be aligned up properly with the piston arm like part D12 on the top for it all to fit well. I ended up trimming the pin on D12 down considerably to get it all to fit right, but it worked out in the end.



Step 4 is where some of the fun begins, it deals with the construction of the two MG turrets and first directs you to install the MGs along with their ball mounts into the turret front plates. The assembly includes a ring, part C11, that is designed to trap the ball mount and leave it positionable, but it doesn't quite work as the ring is too small to fit over the ball and sit flush with the turret plate, so I just glued the ball mount into a fixed position with some liquid glue and did away with the ring entirely. I also drilled out, very carefully since there's not a whole lot of surface to work with, the muzzles of the MGs with a #80 microdrill. The guns themselves are rudimentary in detail but provide something there if you decide to open the turret hatches. The guns themselves are extremely fragile and easy to break, I had one snap off cleanly right at the join plate into the ball mount and had to be creative with the glue to get it back in one piece.



Once that was drying, I worked on the turret construction. The turrets are each 2 halves that have very large sprue attachment points in awkward positions that require some very careful cleanup, particularly the point that attaches where the front plate needs to join. There are also very large ejector pin marks on the inner surfaces of each half, so if you do display it open, those will have to be dealt with. No locator pins or holes are provided, but the fit was very good front to back on both turrets, I used regular glue for the joins and then followed it up with some liquid glue to make sure the seal was nice and tight.

Once that was set up, I installed the roof and front plates. These also had a very good fit but even with the use of liquid glue a slight lip/gap still resulted at the join lines that needed to be dealt with. Checking the references on T-35 turrets (same turret as the T-28 ), shows that these turrets were all smooth cast single-piece so I sanded down the lip as much as possible and followed it up with some putty to fill in the remaining gap and still retain the curvature of the turret.



Both turrets were given the same treatment and their hatches and lifting eyes installed. The hatches have some nice exterior detail but are totally blank on the inside and also have a sink mark to boot, so I elected to close up both turrets and leave it at that.



Overall I've been pleasantly surprised so far with this kit, there's been very little flash and the mold lines, when present, have been small and easy to deal with. Too early to tell if this carries over across the rest of the kit, but so far, so good.

Another excellent looking build up Bill, I recently got the T-35 off ebay with the MK track links, JR barrels and the Eduard pe set for a grand total of $55 which I consider a right bargain, works out as about the same price as the MK tracks alone would run me over here.

I havent had that close a look at mine re the mould release agent but its something I'll bear in mind definitely when I decide to start on it..

I look forward to your next updates with great interest.

That is a pretty good deal I'd say!

This is my first post so hopefully I don't commit any faux pas

I built the ICM T-35 this winter as my 4th AFV since coming back to the hobby. It actually is a great kit. and looks properly humungous in the display case at my LHS. I got an early molding of it for a song when San Antonio Hobby went out of business.

A few things I noticed with it may help anyone else building the T-35 or T-28 since many sprues are in common.

First off, that heavy mold release agent is a nightmare, it sticks to skin and clothes. It is the color and consistancy of pine sap. I was never able to get it fully off some of the white track sprues. Luckily, there are plenty of extra links.

Don't worry about the warp in the hull parts. My top hull covered a 45 degree arc and the lower was at least 20. Hot water didn't do much. What I did was ignore it. I glued one end of the bottom to one of the side plates with thick superglue. When dry I glued the next inch or so with regular model tube cement, then another spot of super glue and so on until the whole seam was done. End of warp, the other side piece was glued on the same way. Once the interior is in the hull box is very strong. When it came time to put the top on I just glued it a stretch at a time and let the rigidity of the hull pull the top straight.

Next, mounting the antenna on the turret is like assembling a biplane's wings. The mounting arms have flat ends which need to be glued to the curved turrent sides. It is very easy to have them slightly out of whack and thus miss the mounting bands on the antenna. Plus, the antenna itself is asymmetrical. I did not get this to work as well as I liked but at least the whole thing is straight and level.

The turret bases are all to big for the rings. I fixed this by cutting off the locating tabs and filing out the openings. Do not try to force them into the rings or they will crack (he says, knowingly). The machine guns are very fragile and will break off with even a hint of pressure.

The tracks actually are quite easy to put together. Certainly easier than the magic tracks in the Dragon Panzer I that I recently finished.

Really a good kit of a unique subject. I marked mine up as a prewar parade machine with the kit decals. ICM decals are really matte and can be fragile but go down well on a gloss surface (I used Future). It is a pity that the complicated suspension system is hidden under those skirts.

Enjoy your build! I got the T-28 at the same sale and hope to start it after I finish the Trumpeter Wyvern and Dragon Stug III currently on my bench.

Ian

Thanks for the tips Ian will definitely keep those in mind. I'm beginning to lean more towards a long-gun version without the frame antenna since the parts in mine look a little dubious, but I'm not sure yet. I've got the long main gun barrel as well so it's an easy enough fix either way.

how differnet are the t-28 and t-35 tracks. I was wondering if you could use a set of t-35 white metal tracks instead as I have not been able to find the MK t-28 ones.

The tracks are the same for the T-28 and T-35. They have different suspension designs due to their different weight, but the tracks are common between them.

Looking forward to following your build, Bill, as I always learn some useful bits from your very well documented SBS projects.
I 've built 1.45 of the T-28's; first kit came out okay, but didn't like the way the tracks ended up (first or second time with individual links) so I got another one at a deep discount. When I started it, I found copius amounts of mould release, which I scubbed off, and three different colors of plastic, not counting the tracks. Construction was stymied by the fact that the different color plastics did not react to glue in the same way (Model Master liquid cement, Testor's maroon label, Tenax and Ambroid Pro Weld were are employed at one time or another. Got very tired of things not warning to stick, so put in the limbo pile.... Started a T-35, got the interior and suspension done, then shoved it aside to work on other projects. Your build may be just the thing to get me working on it again
[:::]

I'm definitely interested in watching this one build up. Another one of the 'clunky-looking' early tanks I am suddenly taking a serious liking to.

Polly Scale plastic prep works well in combating that mold release on the t-28. I had washed/scrubbed mine three times before I used the prep. One time with the prep worked. Also, the small turret sides did not meet at the back. So I used evergreen strip and putty. It turned out OK. The antenna is a BIT fiddly but worth the effort. I screwed up the red and white strip decals, but that was my fault( old, shaky fingers!!!), not the decals. Turns into a nice model.
capnjock

Jim,

I've been using the Testor's black bottle glue and haven't had any problems with it so far in terms of securing parts. Sounds like yours was an adventure though!

Kevin,

Have to admit the boxy/bulky look has an appeal to it, one of the reasons I decided to give it a whirl myself.

Capnjock,

I soaked my sprues in the dish washing liquid that my wife keeps by the sink, something with bleach included in it is all I know. It worked pretty good after about 30 minutes of soaking and rub down with paper towels after air drying. The turret fit on mine was fine at the back for the small turrets, haven't gotten to the large one yet so can't say yet about that one.

Managed to squeeze in a little bit of time today dealing with Step 5, although I didn't complete the whole step, just the first sub-assembly. This step has 3 parts to it, the first of which deals with the main turret roof and its details. This is also the first area where the PE set begins to come into play, so some extra time was required for that as well.

First up the turret roof is a single piece with some of the detail already molded on. There's a ventilator cover that's solid and needs to be removed to take the PE replacement part that's open. Some quick work with the sprue cutters and it was gone.



Both the commander's and loader's hatches are also fitted in this step and the square loader's hatch turns out to be a bit larger than the cutout provided. I used a sqaure needle file to sand down the edges on the cutout instead of trying to sand the hatch itself and after some back and forth, was able to get it to fit in the designated space with a tight fit. The commander's hatch consists of two parts, one of which is a ring that fits around the molded on based very tightly, almost a snap fit, so careful placement initially is key as there's not much to grip onto to adjust it. Fortunately I'd placed it more or less in the right alignment and only had to adjust it slightly. The second piece is the hatch cover itself, this also had a nice tight fit with only a slight adjustment to the base of the MG support required to get it to fit.

I decided to use the Eduard PE parts for the MG mount and the multi-part arrangement required some care to get all the parts to fit together properly. The end result is a little shorter than the kit supplied parts, causing the shoulder rest of the MG to sit on top of the hatch instead of the ring like it should, but I'm not too worried about that considering the mount was designed for a different kit and still provides better detail than the kit supplied items. I also added some of the PE details to the MG itself and drilled the barrel out with a #80 microdrill bit. The mount to the commander's ring needed to be cut down and sanded smooth to accept the PE mount, but other than that it wasn't too complex of a switch out.



This is all the work I'll get done on this for this week since I'm travelling again and will be away from the bench.

Managed to return to this one today after a 3 week hiatus due to the need to finish up the Char, travelling, etc.

I finished up Step 5 by assembling the turret. Once again, it's in two halves with no locating pins, and the roof as a separate drop-in insert. I decided, for convenience sake, not to assemble the turret floor and ready rounds just because the hatches are closed and the assembly instructions are somewhat vague on the exact methods required...so rather than bother with it, I just left it off.



Step 6 deals with the 76.2mm main gun assembly and I elected to go with the long barrel version since I have both JR barrels, the short barrel might come in handy on a future T-35 build. This meant making the right selection of mantlet and face plates for the turret to fit the correct gun based on the instruction call outs of course. The barrel had a tight fit due to the weight ring at the end of the muzzle and the opening on the kit part had to be widened just slightly to take it but it fit snugly at the breech. I left off the interior breech details since all the hatches were closed, the detail isn't that great and is essentially just there to give the impression of a breech should you choose to open the hatches and nothing more. The exterior plate shows some stress marks, this is due to the extremely tight fit over the mantlet and recoil housings, it had to be coaxed into position carefully not to snap the thin sides but a little back and forth using a blunted toothpick eventually got it into position.



Step 7 completes the turret assembly with the installation of the main gun and both the front and rear MG mounts. The fit on these is only average, both required some putty work and finesse with liquid glue to get them installed. The rear MG mount also needed some sanding on the interior edges of the turret to get it to fit properly. The main gun mount was a little better, only requiring some additional finger pressure and strategic use of liquid glue to get it into place. I drilled out the MGs using a #80 micro drill and fixed the mounts in position since I couldn't keep them for settling at crazy angles if left positionable.





Next up will be the hull construction and dealing with the warped floor plate. The turret has molded in location points for the feet of the antenna support arms. I still haven't decided if I should go ahead and install that or leave it off...seems that there are examples of both cases, but both options have challenges...if I install it, the challenge of the antenna feet being square vs. a rounded surface will have to be dealt with...if left off, then the mount points on the turret will need to be puttied and sanded. Decisions, decisions!