WIP - 1/16 scale T-34/85 - Update April 16

Nice, I'm sure the juges will like it, and with a tank that big, it could kill a real cat

Rock on kitty killer rock on!

Thanks tread,

Yes I have plans for the markings, I'll do it myself.  It will be a "Kitty Killer" Isn't cool.  Here is what inspired me.

http://ausfwerks.com//store/ausfwear/1708/T.html

I will buy the t-shirt also and wear it at the competition.

Wire, sanding and painting....riiiiiight!! We all know thats a photo of a real leather seat!!  Did you take apart a bar stool for the photo?   JK!!  That is amazing!!  Great work sir, I love your handmade weld beads!  Apoxie Sculpt is really nice stuff!  I am just starting to use it and love the way it works.  Nice, nice work Cptn Solo!! 

Thanks T-rex. 

Actually, most details will be seen thru the hatches that will be hinged.  And the turret will be removable if you want to have a closer look inside.

Concerning the mine-roller ...... I'm finishing this tank first.  Then I'll probably finish my Bismarck and pickup truck before getting back to it.  My plan is to have it finished by the end of summer so I can bring it to a local show/competition.  Thanks for asking.

Excelent job so far, still the best tank I've ever seen, I like the welding mark on the tank looks real, the inside of tghe turret is good too but why did you bother to do that when the viewers won't see it when the model is complete?

How is it going with the mine rollers?

Thanks for your comments Marc.

Ok, first you need to know that there is no rule about casting turrets and if you take the T-34 for example, there are about 10 different models of turret built with different techniques (welded steel plates, two pârt casting, four part casting, etc...) with different molding qualities and mold forms.  Depending on which mold was used at which factory, during or after the war.  You really have to make an extensive research to be fully accurate.

For my tank, I haven't completed the research yet cause I was not at that step but I saw several pictures of the fact. no.174 one and I must say I'll have to add some texture cause the finish was really rough on these things.

The line you see on the turret is a seam line on the existing turret but it is too clean to be used as is.  I might modify it using Apoxie Sculpt.

Let's say that line is a mold line from the kit and shouldn't be there.  I would simply scrape it off with my x-acto knife and/or sandpaper and then I could add texture with a dremel rotary tool.  The idea is to gently touch the surface for a second here and there to damage the surface lightly.

Get some practice on a piece of styrene first.  It's not hard but you need to get it right on the model so ....

Hope this is of some help.

Yann

No comments other than it look great. The wire on the seat looks terrific.  Not 100% sure but that might be called a "bead". Sounds like something I may have heard on The Learning Channel once.

I do have a question regarding real tank construction.  Would the sides of the turret be cast as a single piece?  Or would there be welds at corners like around the top.  I ask because I really have more than one question.  That line down the side corner in the bottom photo... Is that a mold line in the kit or does it represent where 2 parts of a real casting mold may be.  Last one... really... if it's not supposed to be there... what is your technique for getting it off when there is a textured surface?  Remember... we "wingnuts" sand everything nice and smooth.   It's an airflow thing... not a big concern when you're punching through a stone wall.

Here is some more progress.  On the photos of the real tank, it was obvious that the seats are in leather and have that "lip" around them.  I tried to replicate this with a piece of copper wire.  Then  added texture on the seats using a coarse sand paper.

Some paint, wash and dry brushing and it looks not so bad,but it is not the result I was looking for.

Also, I had to scratchbuilt the seat for the loader/machine gun operator.  Here is a start:

It's made of a styrene sheet for the main plate and Apoxie Scult for the cushion.  I still have to add the tubing around it and the straps.

The tank itself is almost done, here is a dryfit test:

Some more work inside the turret.

The indicator for the traverse is scratchbuilt also.

Here are some welding that I did using Apoxie Scult.  It works very well.

Comments are welcome.

Back from B.C and ready to roll!

Looking good, the exaust pipe lines up with the outer pipe, and make sure that door still can open, keep up the good work!

And don't you hate that you make a little mistake inside and when you try to fix it you accedentaly damage the model and intead of making it better, it got worse. Like when I fix my Mark II I accidentaly place the wheels up side down, the glue was drie and....euh.... rip the piece right off can't say it fine and just thought to myself "wait a minute!.......thinking.....thinking......thinking, realise! shi@#$". Can't fix it now, unless, wait no that won't work, owell the paint job looking horrible anyway look like it was painted by a clown.

Thanks for the compliments everyone.

Wingnut: If you want to be accurate, there are alot of differences everywhere.  There is even some difference between tanks of the same model but from different factories.  What you need to do is a complete research on the model and factory number you want to model.  My main references were the Airconnection book: T-34 Mythical Weapon and the CD-ROM from Toadsman here: http://www.toadmanstankpictures.com/index.htm

I think these references are a must for anyone who wants to build a T-34 accurately.  And both are complementary.  There is information and photos in the book that are not on the CD, like the engine and transmission area.  And there is much more interior color pics on the CD than in the book.  One major problem though is that the color photos are mostly from a Polish T-34-85.  That means my T-34 may not be 100% accurate but I don't care too much.

This is the most complex tank I've ever built, there is so much little differences and subtile changes between models that the research is definitely the most important part of the whole process.

I hope you jump in the project, it would be interesting to follow the progress of someone else after I did mine.  I'll be there to help if you decide to do it.

WOW!!!!! THAT IS INCREDIBLE. THE WEATHERING, THE DETAIL, EVERYTHING!!

sam

Muchos gracias everyone.

Bill, thanks for the compliment.  I agree that people will look at it but I doubt I win anything, I made too many errors.  As per what I saw last fall, the quality of the finishes was very high.  Do you remember the MIG?

Thanks Chris, yeah apoxie sculpt is a charm to play with.  What you see at the rear is the transmission and I used a mix of Tamiya flat Alumnium and flat white (around 80% - 20%)

Thanks Treadwell, you're right, it is a pain in the @$$.  Way to much things to sand.

Why did you cut the roof?