WIP: 1:35 Tamiya T-34/76

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 the large gaps in the plastic meant for the motor's axle.




I've also decided to model the tank using the cube-like petrol tanks instead of the cylindrical drop tanks. The attachment holes for the latter were puttied and sanded smooth.

When I was about to attach the drop tanks, I came across some reference pictures showing how the actual drop tanks were bolted on the rear of the hull. The kit's suppied parts seem to be vastly siplified and paled in comparison to the pictures I saw. I refrained from attaching the drop tanks and plan to add some detailing to them first and then attaching them as per the photos I've come across.





I completed the turret and dry fitted it into the hull. I found the fit too tight and so I sanded both turret and hull until I achieved a looser fit. This is also to anticipate the thickness that the paint that will be applied later on might add to the turret and hull surfaces. It was also suggested that the various weld seams be enhanced using putty. I think this will be fairly easy to do, a bit simpler than making zimmerit surfaces I believe. Reference pictures also show crews added some splash guards around the turret -- detail that wasn't included on the Tamiya kit. I'll probably make these using thin plastic. I decided to glue the turret hatch closed since I'm still uneasy about attempting to model a tank exterior. A shame though because the kit came with two seats for the interior as well as the rear parts of the main gun. I also removed the grab rails I previously attached to the hull. The reference book suggested using copper wire instead so I'll be looking for suitable wire to make new ones. The reference book also suggested adding more weld seams to some of the parts. Putty -- the smooth type, not the A+B version -- most likely something similar to Tamiya's tube putty or maybe even automotive body filler, is applied around the welded objects and textured with a small screwdriver. I'm confident I can do this fairly easily since I've done one or two zimmerit surfaces before.



More soon!