Here is my appreciation of the Trumpeter 1/16 scale T-34/85 model 1944 Factory no. 174
What is the first word that comes into your mind when you open the box? Huge. What comes secondly? Quality of molding. Even the numbers on the sprues are crisp. I can see no flash and only a very few ejector pin marks that will not be difficult to deal with.
The box claims:
-Total plastic parts: 845
-Metal parts: Brass wire for the tow cable and springs for the suspension.
-Photo etched parts: 2 frets (mainly ammo magazine and grills)
-Total sprues: 28 sprues plus lower hull, upper hull, lower turret, upper turret, 78 toothed track links, 78 flat track links, 20 rubber trims, one clear headlight.
Everything is very well packed like we use to see in Trumpeter's boxes lately.
The turret is individually packed in a nice cardboard box.
There is also a separate box for the rubber trims and indy tracks.
The two hull halves are in a separate box also along with the decals, two PE frets, a bag of copper wire for the tow cable and springs for the suspension. (Yes workable suspension) also a sprue of poly caps and a clear lens for the headlight.
The road wheels also comes in a separate box.
The rest of the parts are on the sprues in individual plastic bags. I will not show you the complete sprues cause they are too big and I would have to zoom out so all the details would be loss. Instead, I'll show you some of the finest details but first, just so you can have an idea of the scale of that beast, here is a shot of my 1/35 M36 Jackson next to the turret.
And here is how it looks next to the two hull halves.
As you can see on these two images, the surface texture and the weldings are quite nice.
The individual tracks are workable and nicely done. There are some pin marks on the inside of the tracks but they are quite subtil.
The texture is present on most of the parts and looks very realistic in my opinion. Here is a close-up of the turret ring where you can see the texture but also the fine details of the gear.
The radio components are nicely molded and for those who wants to build this kit out of the box, the wires are there on most of the electrical equipments and are more than acceptable even for a kit of that scale.
The machine guns are nice too but could have been better defined for that scale.
The gun breech is beautifull but as you can see in this picture, mine was damaged. This is the only damage I noticed in my kit tough.
Here you can see the driver's hatch, note that the hinges are workable. What you see on the hatch is the normal texture, these are not pinholes.
Here are some pictures of other parts where you can appreciate the quality of molding and level of details.
Finally, you can have a good idea of what to expect from the kit by looking at the instructions. These are really clear and easy to follow.
The painting markings guide is the now classic colored drawings from Trumpeter. Nicely done.
This kit is in my opinion one of the best investment you can make into a model. Compared to what Tamiya offers at that scale, this kit is as nicely done but at a very lower price. I'm about ready to start that project as I have a very good reference CD from "Toadsman's Pictures" and I'm about to receive the "T-34 Mythical Weapon" book from AirConnection.
In the next weeks, I'll try to build and super detail that T-34 the best I can. And I will post picture of my progress. I know Terry and Treadwell also have a similar kit and it will be a challenge for me to come up with something to their standard.
More to follow ......
No matter where you go ....... there you are.