She is lookin' really good- almost there now!

That's a fuel container. Later T-34's had three, some SUs had four, but initially there was only the one on the right side.

It comes looking beat up in the kit, all I did was score around the retainer straps to highlight them. It's a pretty good part, especially considering the age of the kit.

What's that cylinder on the right side? It looks dented. Did you do that? If so, that's amazing!

Well, I added some exhaust stains, played around with the accumulated chunks of mud, sod, earth, or whatever I end up trying to make it look like, and did a little more with washes. Also added were a couple of lengths of spare track. I have one of Tamiya's old figgies together for the loader's hatch, waiting on paint. Where I am after  last night:

"Grow up"? Me, never......  there was a big "discussion" on another armor site about those that seek ultra-realism (river counters) vs. those that are happy just build and paint a model and the relative merits or validity of each. It got rather heated at times, and the "apprentice rivet counter" was my attempt at humor.

I may take some of the mud out of the road wheels, or make it look wet, haven't decided yet. I suppose it will depend on what kind of base I put it on.

"Apprentice rivet counter"

That is funny 

Do we all have to grow up like that 

Zack 

It is a queen allright :)

A muddy queen and the mud should be wet.

Dry it shakes/flakes off.

Almost want some green grass in there.

Zack

Pawel, exhaust soot is definitely in the plan, thanks.

I took a look at the model last night, and I can't really figure out how to get a log on either side without having to re-do the mud at the back, so it may not get the log.

Karl, good thought. I do believe one or the other is in order.

Time to noodle.

RBaer

Thanks, Cliff!  I may yet add some localized, darker washes on the accumulated clods on back, to try and make the stuff on the bottom look almost wet. Not sure yet.....

GMorrison

It looks great. Maybe just an unditching log.

Hello!

That tank looks really good! I thought - maybe add some soot from unburned fuel at th exhaust stacks? That tank's engine must have done some real turning to put that mud on like this, why not show it at the exhausts? Good luck with your project and have a nice day

Paweł

Thanks, Cliff!  I may yet add some localized, darker washes on the accumulated clods on back, to try and make the stuff on the bottom look almost wet. Not sure yet.....

The thing I notice about the pics, taken this morning, is a slight orange tint to the mud. In reality, it's much more like a varied  light brown, which I expect (hope) will show up in the finished pics I take outside.

The slogan and mud look really good from here.

Good idea......

Thanks!

It looks great. Maybe just an unditching log.

Excellent Pawel, thanks again! Good thing to keep the political officer happy too.

At it again last night, adding more dry dirt with several washes and both wet and dry pigments, then some assembly. Still to do that I'm sure of at this point: TC fig, some light stowage, tow cables, exhaust and maybe fuel stains, and a radio antenna. Anything else that anyone sees? All suggestions welcome!

Hello Russ - that looks all right! Terrible things happened on the eastern front - tanks rolling from the production lines straight into battle or young soldiers from the Asian parts of the Soviet Union sent to fight before they even had a chance to read or write - I say in that context your inscriptions look just right. Your political officer would have been proud! Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

Pawel, count on it!

Karl, it's a workable system, keeps me modeling rather than burning out: I've always got something going on that I feel energetic about. And thanks, I'm a little bit out on a limb here with the chunks of accumulated turf, but I think it'll work out.

So it was a lot easier than I thought it would be to get the old script off, only took about ten minutes to prep both sides of the turret, but then I spent upwards of an hour trying to get the new on. In the end, after having re-done both sides multiple times, I had to settle for the look of something very hastily applied. It's definitely time to buy some new small brushes. Anyway, here's what I ended up with:

Russ, that makes total sense, why you would be driven to do multiple projects a a time. :)

Your latest efforts are looking great. Love that dirt!!

Well, gentlemen, I'm always glad to help. Next time just ask me before you grab that paintbrush

Good luck with your model, Russ, and have a nice day

Paweł

I've done it a couple of times, IDF chevrons too since those are sometimes hand-painted on the real thing, and normally don't have an issue. I've also used drafting pencils, which I prefer but this one is painted in a semi-gloss and the pencil wouldn't work on it.

It's just that I copied this from a pic in a modeling magazine (see original post) and it's wrong there. Oops.

Ohhh, very cool! Never tried painting my own slogans like that, course I never had anyone like Pawel to help me though!

Pawel, thank you so much. Oddly enough, I'm blogging this on another forum as well, and I've been told the exact same thing. I even have my word written out in several styles, which I've printed. Gotta love the internet!

On the down side, I've sprayed a light coat of satin over the turret sides, so fixing this may involve repainting the turret sides, or not, I'll find out tonight.

I just knew I'd get into trouble copying some one else's work, lesson learned.

Hello Russ!

I'd be glad to help you with this one. The word we're looking at is "Ms-tit-yell" - or at least that's my transcription. In Russian it would look like this: мститель. So the first letter is an M - no problems here. Te second letter is an s - looks exactly like a C in russian. The third - a T - is also no problem. The fourth is an I - and should look line an inverted N. On the left side of the turret it looks OK, on the right side it looks too much like a H, which is a Russian way to write N - confusing, eh? The fifth and sixth signs are OK. The seventh sign is a "hard L" - and it looks like an A, but without the crossbar. What you have looks too much like the Russsian sign "Ya" - that looks like an inverted R. What you are missing completely is the "soft sign" - that looks like a small b. You definitely need that, or you're going to have a typo. So I guess you want to do some fixin here - if you need some more info, please let me know and I'll try to help. Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

Karl, I've always needed more than one going at a time. It's possible a side effect of what I did for a living for so long, which was being an automotive tech, then fabricator, still automotive but more in the competition end of things, the last ten years of which were in my own business, so I had to have more than one job going as I couldn't afford to be held up on anything, for whatever reason. In modeling, I find that if I get to a "hump" on a particular model and don't feel comfortable at that particular step, I can pick up something else and still get maximum benefit from the limited modeling time I have.

Pawel take a look at the turret in the following pics: I'm copying another build (top of post) and am moderately unsure of the accuracy of the script. It's supposed to say: "Avenger". Keep in mind I painted it freehand, so any errors in the actual Cryllic letters are mine.

Speaking of knowing vets, my recently passed neighbor was in tanks in WWII, but wouldn't talk about it at all.

So, current pics from work done last night: Turret washed, name and numbers on, more mud to get a layered effect and a brown wash on the hull, tracks and wheels. Also added is mud on the outer wheels. No pigments yet, still adding the heavy stuff.

ACW, as always, and thanks for looking!

Hello!

While I mostly finish the builds I started, sometimes it takes a lot of time. But I have like two or three builds going on in parallel - helps me stay sharp and let certain things dry really well - I just use that time to do something else.

Now your T-34 is looking good! It was a right decision to restart this build. If you should need some translation from Russian, please let me know, I could help you here. As for those white stripes - those weren't the P-47's, but Il-2 Shturmoviks. Remember, the Germans had some captured T-34s in their units, too. Once I even used to know an old man in Germany, who used to shoot those soviet T-34s on the eastern front. Now I wish you good luck and good fun with this build and have a nice day

Paweł

Pretty cool, Russ. That's some "brave mud" on that sucker---I LIKE it!

I just can't believe that you keep a stable of "shelf queens". I can' sleep if I don't finish a model...;lol..

There were a few of the older tanks still in action in Berlin, most being repaired hulks. I've got a pic somewhere of a line of T-34s, some 76, some 85, and they all look hammered.

I recently read the average life span of a T-34 in 1944 was 30 days, some repairable, some not.

Edit: Or maybe it was 30 hours.....   frighteningly low, whichever.  It's in "Armored Champion", I'll have to dig it up tonight.

Ohhhhhhh mud, cool!!!

If I remember correctly the white band was an identification used in the Battle of Berlin- not sure how accurate it is. I'd guess there might have been a few T-34/76s involved but I'd think most had been replaced by T-34/85s by then.