The Model Box

Squeezing a few hours every night and one sunny morning resulted in the tank being ready for base painting. After priming with grey and another round of light sanding, all the sub assemblies were sprayed dark green. The road wheels were primed black then sprayed dark green. I wanted a heavier look to the wheels so they got a different color primer. Here's the hull with my conversions below. As usual, you can click the pix for bigger versions. My reference (Osprey Modelling Manual 16 : T-34/76 and T-34/85) says that the T-34/76 tanks made at Krasnoye Sormovo Zadov N 112 (Gorki) had characteristic features specific to that factory. These included the installation of numerous handrails, splash guards, different light mounts, applique armor, etc.  I decided to try my hand in scratchbuilding only some of these features.  I substituted metal handrails instead of using the plastic ones supplied in the kit. I had trouble estimating their location placements though but the pic...

Work on the T-34/76 is still going at a snail's pace. Aside from the heavy schedule I have at work, the weekend also saw us working on the renovations of our bodega. I managed to squeeze in some free time though to add some detailing to the tank. SO, I whipped out the reference pictures I gathered from the net as well as some books I found while reading up on the tank. The wheels have been dry fitted and the seams sanded out. I've disassembled them for painting and stuck them on masking tape. Holes have been drilled for the grab handles. I opted to make new ones from wire instead of the flimsy plastic ones supplied with the kit. The original part though was used for a jig to help shape the wire. These were then glued in place with superglue and Mr. Surfacer 500 and Tamiya putty was used to mimic the weld beads around each connecting part to the hull. These putties wer also used to roughen up the surface of some of the parts, especially near the lower hull. The ...

I've started work on the Tamiya T-34/76. A reference book I got my hands on noted that the Tamiya kit has inaccuracies, specifically the chassis size, inherent in that Tamiya designed these models as motorized kits, hence necessitating some fudging in the sizes to accommodate the motor and the batteries. Offhand, I don't have the skill to rectify this but I'm instead looking into the possibility of making more than just an out-of-box model. I had initially also wanted to model a vehicle with the ehkranami or added armour on but I have very little in terms of reference and so decided to not use the accessories included in the kit. I've finished the lower chassis and have chosen to use all the rubber-lined wheels instead of mixing in some steel-lined wheels available as accessories in the kit. The road wheels and return rollers/drive train attached with the use of polycaps with no problems at all. The chassis does show its roots as a motorized kit as can be seen by ...

Here're a few pictures I've gathered around the net focusing on the Russian T-34. This is the first Russian subject I've attempted to make a model of and I found that the pictures help me with the build, especially since my kit came with Japanese directions -- a language I neither read nor write. I've collected the first few pictures I've gathered up into a PDF file and posted it at my Scribd page. You can download the document here. I've also searched the web for other modellers who've made this particular kit and I was blown away by the skill these modellers have exhibited. Here are some of my favorite builds: Erik Forsgren's Tamiya T 34/76 Joaquin Garcia's Tamiya T 34/76 in Polish sevice Panzermania's T 34/76 Ehkranami Up next, my W.I.P. pictures.

I've been cleaning our cabinets at home and found another cartload of old Tamiya models. Some were built halfway and abandoned while others are still mint in their plastic bags. I randomly chose one and started work on it. The lucky model is a 1:35 Tamiya T 34/76. I remember my uncle giving this kit to me long ago. I never really got into trying to assemble it mainly because I was more into small scale tanks and AFVs. Plus, the instructions were in Japanese. Now though, with a couple of recent small scale tanks under my belt, I'm feeling more confident. One problem I foresee though are the kit's rubber tracks. They seem wrong, aside from the fact that the track sag won't show up, the pattern doesn't seem accurate. A quick check on some forums and my fears were verified -- aside from rubber being a second choice for static scale tracks, the pattern supplied was indeed wrong. It seems that early 1942 production T-34s had waffle pattern tracks or earlier plate tracks ...

These are on my workbench and they'll be receiving my attention as soon as my workload lightens up after our new channel launch. I'm currently having problems with my American soldiers in Somalia. The diorama's been sculpted already but the paintjobs on the figures have left me frustrated. I may strip them and start over. Trying to fix botched paintjobs sometimes leads to more problems and maybe starting over would erase the bad feelings I've been having over the models. Maybe tinkering around with other models would help clear the air for a while, at least until I can get a breather from work and paint again. Honestly, I'm also frustrated with the diorama's progress since I've been planning to join the local IPMS and a well-made diorama just might help me be brave enough to seek membership. The 1/72 figures will be for wargaming while the 1/35 figures would be for a diorama focusing on the street battles of Fallujah. The pictures can be clicked for bigger...

Every model makers wants to share his best work thru pictures. Military Modelling's Mark Bannerman shares some tips and tricks to taking better pictures. Check out the article here.