Tamiya T-34/76 ChTZ

first off, change the snap togeather name! yes, if u want to do it right aftermarket is the way to go. anso investin a air brush. moderling books will help alot toooooooooo

Ehh. Junior, open a window when working on models in future.. I think the thinner fumes are getting to you..

Squadron.com has 3 sets of aftermarket tracks listed on their website. If you are adding p/e sets and an aluminum barrel, I recommend paying the extra money for the tracks as they will give your model a realistic sag look. If you use the kit tracks you will have to glue or tie them to the kit wheels. In addition to Model Kasten, Maquette also makes individual link tracks. Aber and CMD also make some good aftermarket parts for the T-34.

First let me say that my T34 by Tamiya was one of the first kits I built. It went together easy, and was a fast build, BUT this kit is something like 30 years old. There were three main faults with the kit that I can see.

One: the tied downs on the fenders are molded on, and these will have to be cut off and replaced. I’m not sure if these will be included in you’re photo etched set or not, but wire will work great for it.

Two: the grills are all molded in plastic, but I do think eduard will save you there.

Three: and this is the one that bugs me the most, the first wheel on the tank is way too far back. On my kit it almost touches the first road wheel. Tamiya gives you an adjustable slot to mount this wheel and this is because the model was designed to be a working motorized toy. I would suggest putting this wheel as far forward as it will go. If you have some sort of reference to tell you how far forward it should go, I would highly advise you use it.

Having pointed out the flaws I must say that this 30+ year old kit is definitely one of those oldie, but goldies. And since it sounds like you have spent quite a bit of money making sure you can update this old kit I would suggest getting some sort of reference.

Here is the cheapest reference I know of. http://www.activevr.com/afv/1-35.html I’m also pretty sure you could find drawings on the internet somewhere else for free. Try a google search.

Hope there is something here you can use to help you. Good luck and have fun!!

Thanks for all the tips everyone, I sure appreciate it!

Yes, my plan was to ensure that I get this kit as accurate as I possibly can; I have the "T-34 in Action" book and have several websites bookmarked with tons of photos for reference. I didn't notice the wheel location issue, but I have noticed other inconsistencies like the roadwheels themselves: they are of the solid type. The ChTZ actually used the "spoked" style that had 6 holes/spokes instead of one solid piece. I think that may be tolerable for me. I did see some places that sold metal road wheels for the kit, but none of them specified if they were solid or spoked, so I'll probably use the kit wheels.

My biggest fear in this kit is getting the paint right; I still need to get an airbrush. I plan on going with the Russian Winter paint scheme, which, in 1943, was a poorly-executed field paint job where they just slapped some white paint on it and called it "good enough". The bad part is: all the pictures that I have found are of battle-worn, usually disabled, black-white ones. Wish me luck.

Thanks again for the help & tips.

sorry its that damn putty fumes!

Actually I would not worry about the wheels at all if I were you. I dont know where you saw//read//heard that the road wheels were the spoked type, but there is a picture of what appears to be a late T34/76 model 1943 from the Chztz. factory with the solid wheels in "Panzer Colors" pg 55.

Hmmm... every ChTZ that I've seen has the spoked wheels. The Squadron book "T-34 in action says that early versions of the ChTZ had solid roadwheels, but after some mechanical problems, when "...a new style, pierced, rubber-rimmed roadwheel was adopted".

Well, I picked up the Maquette link tracks from Squadron.com... Wish me luck!!

For the winter white-wash camo, check out John Robinson's "Armor Whitewash" article in the Feb. 2003 FSM (p. 36). He demos a technique that uses artist's pastel chalk. Looks pretty neat.

Back issues. Must order back issues.