The latest round of effort focused on the hull and Step 7 deals specifically with the upper hull and the engine deck details. The option is provided to use either PE for the main intake screen or a part with the screen molded on and I opted for the PE. The upside to the PE is that it's much better in the detail department obviously but the downside was that the kit had a gaping hole underneath it that needed to be filled. I blanked off the opening with sheet styrene and added some louver flaps to fill the space. On the real T-34 there were only 2 flaps but I needed to use 3 parts to get the right angle/depth look once the screen and cover are installed. I also removed all the unnecessary molded on detail from the hull sides at this stage and added the rear engine deck plate as called out in the instructions.
The instructions incorrectly direct you to install the PE screen from the underside of the cover when in fact it should fit flush on the top. I annealed the screen over a gas flame and used the underside to shape it into the correct curve, then glued it in the correct topside position with Gator Grip acrylic binder glue to ensure I got it lined up right. Then the four bracing straps were added using small amounts of CA gel to complete things.
Step 8 deals with the hull glacis plate and adds the hull MG mount and driver's hatch along with the front tow points. I left the locking pins off the tow points for now as I want to explore some options in terms of installing the tow cables later on.
Step 9 is a big step as it joins the upper and lower hulls together and also adds the glacis plate. I joined the hull halves together first and then installed the glacis. I also cheated a bit and added the curved bow cover from Step 12 in the form of part C3 to make sure everything worked correctly. I also noticed at this point that I had overlooked the bottom plate that mates up with C3 that was supposed to be installed in Step 5.
The fit between the glacis and the upper hull was mostly good but some putty was needed at the top join. I also added some flame-cut texture to the sides of the glacis plate with the tip of a #11 blade and used putty for the weld seams that are supposed to be there as well.
Step 10 returns to the rear hull and adds the small access hatch and the exhausts along with some other small details. Fit issues here with the lower curved plate required some putty attention as well.
Step 11 adds the storage boxes and radio antenna pot to the right side. These are tricky to place correctly as no guides are provided and only the photos in the paint/finish guide show them post-installation. Spare tracks were left off for now as they will be painted and detailed later. Once the boxes were in place, the rear box was used to ensure symmetry on the opposite side and I also assembled and installed the jerry can rack from Step 12 since their placement is linked. A couple of jerry cans were used from the spares bin and some judicious thinning was needed on the racks before the two cans would fit correctly.
Last but not least, Step 11 also adds the rear Notek convoy light. I used 0.5mm diameter solder to wire up the conduit for the Notek light and some 'fingers' of left over PE from an Eduard fret for the brackets.
Still more work to do with the exterior in terms of the tool brackets and remaining front hull details before starting in on the turret.