introduction

This T-34/76 Model 1942 is one of the latest in Dragons releases of 1/72 armor and it is a good one.

the kit

The kit is well molded in light grey plastic with my example having no visible flash. The kit contains 6 sprues of parts, DS plastic tracks (the new magic plastic), photo-etched engine screens and wire for the tow cables.

Construction

The kit goes together in the normal manner of any AFV with work on the lower hull followed by the upper and finally the turret and final assembly. Dragon has reverted back to their line drawings for instructions and I must say I prefer these over the photo-based ones which are too busy in my opinion.

Road wheels on this are one piece and I was amazed at the level of detail they were able to do considering they do not require any assembly. Very nice touch in this scale I think and a big time saver. I added the tracks before painting because I wanted to glue them to the road wheels to get the characteristic look of T-34 tracks. The material they use now is well suited to this and I had no problems with doing this.

Turret goes together well with two choices in turret roof depending on the model you are making. There is a basic gun breech if you decide to leave the hatch open but there are no other real details inside so I chose to leave mine buttoned up. Gun barrel is one piece with the muzzle already drilled out again a nice touch and a time saver.

Markings

There are markings for 5 tanks and each is in a different paint scheme and it also includes one “captured” tank used by the Germans. Decals look fine with thin carriers and should go on without any issues.

Conclusion

My sample is not yet painted. I haven’t decided which scheme I want to do yet so I decided to leave the paint until I make a decision later. If you like 1/72 scale armor this kit will please you and I found the overall level of detail on par with many larger scale kits.