Kursk build #2 Tamiya 1/35 T34/76 ***FINISHED***

[Chris]

This one will be one of the many units defending the Kurst salient

[Chris]

Altough 40+ years old, this kit has nice detail

[Chris]

First the lower hull and road wheels are assembled


This kit was originally designed for a motor, and has holes and gaps that need filling


A little squadron green putty takes care of the problem


The bogies are installed, at this time the soviets were beginning to go with all steel, but sometimes they used the older rubber rimmed versions, so I put both on this build

[BWP]

Chris, the rubber-rimmed wheels were almost invariably placed on first and last position (unless of course you have a specific reference that documents otherwise!). The original plan was to go all-steel to save on valuable rubber, but it was found that the ride quality became intolerable for the crews, so the rubber-rimmed wheels were (re-)introduced to reduce the pain. Sometimes only 1 wheel on each side would use rubber (in which case it would be in the first position -- see my recent 1/72 build), but more typically it was first and last.

This kit is pretty basic (and generic) but not I think wildly inaccurate. It's quite possible that it served as the, ahem, inspiration for some kits in other scales ....

[ShaunW]

A classic Tamiya kit from the same era as my Tiger and one that I built in or about 1978 if my memory serves me correctly. A good start Chris - I'm afraid I can't add to the wheels discussion and in the absence of in-depth knowledge, Bruce's comments sound very plausible to me

[Softscience]

For a simple kit, this thing has really stood the test of time. It may be a touch too wide, but otherwise it fits the bill. I guess the T-34 was a simple machine, hence it's simple to model.

Funny. The Cyberhobby T-34 I have probably has more parts than the real tank did


I kid. I love the T-34.

[Chris]

Chris, the rubber-rimmed wheels were almost invariably placed on first and last position (unless of course you have a specific reference that documents otherwise!). The original plan was to go all-steel to save on valuable rubber, but it was found that the ride quality became intolerable for the crews, so the rubber-rimmed wheels were (re-)introduced to reduce the pain. Sometimes only 1 wheel on each side would use rubber (in which case it would be in the first position -- see my recent 1/72 build), but more typically it was first and last.

This kit is pretty basic (and generic) but not I think wildly inaccurate. It's quite possible that it served as the, ahem, inspiration for some kits in other scales ....

Thanks, that should be easy enough to fix, as the whells can be popped off!

A classic Tamiya kit from the same era as my Tiger and one that I built in or about 1978 if my memory serves me correctly. A good start Chris - I'm afraid I can't add to the wheels discussion and in the absence of in-depth knowledge, Bruce's comments sound very plausible to me

I built one of these about 30 years ago or so, I was surprissed to see how over priced 1/35 scale armor has gotten.

For a simple kit, this thing has really stood the test of time. It may be a touch too wide, but otherwise it fits the bill. I guess the T-34 was a simple machine, hence it's simple to model.

Funny. The Cyberhobby T-34 I have probably has more parts than the real tank did


I kid. I love the T-34.

Its an oldie but a goodie.

[Chris]

The body is started


The gun is built, I just noticed in the picture the tip is bent! (damn digital cameras...)


The turret and more hull work done, and the rubber wheel postions changed as per sugestion

[ShaunW]

It brings back a few memories seeing this kit being built - including very recent ones as the quality of the hull detail etc is very reminiscent of the Zvezda SU-100 that I built the other month. I don't know how old the Zvezda moulding is but it certainly does not appear to be any great improvement over this Tamiya golden oldie.

[Chris]

Construction is done


I painted the kit first with a dark green, then a medium green


And finally a lighter green, so now I am ready for decals

[Chris]

The road wheels get some rubber


These tarps were given tan straps for contrast


The lower hull section and tracks recieved the first stage oif weathering, an oil burnt unber wash, followed by a black wash then one of dirty brown. I will add still more to this, pinwash of black also applied




Pin wash of burndt umber applied to the upper parts to age them a bit



Lots more weathering needed.

[ShaunW]

That's coming together very well Chris. The tracks look good too, certainly better than those vinyl efforts I gave up with during my SU-100 build - did they give you any problems?

[Chris]

They were a bit tight and a little bent out of shape, but once on the tank they are ok.

[BWP]

Looking good!

[Softscience]

Some nice shading effects with the paint. Subtle.

Subtle is good.


Consider rubbing the contact surfaces of the steel wheels with pencil graphite. Just rub a pencil on some sand paper, dip your finger in it and run it against the wheels. The areas where the steel wheels touched the steel tracks would have been scoured free of paint and dirt.