Improve the T-34's engine deck

The T-34 has a very prominent grill on the engine deck - here's how to improve it

Most of the 1/35th scale T-34s have this moulded grill. It should be open, and you should be able to see details below it.

There are a number of replacement grill sets available, in Steel or Brass and priced according to their complexity. Its a conversion worth doing

This is the grill of a T-34/85 Model 1944 which is seen here just before charging around the arena at Severnside MVC show in 2002.

This shot shows the fine grill - and also shows just how see through it was. You can make out the open cooling gills below - the engine was running fast and needed all the cooling it could get...

My Minicraft drill fitted with the secret weapon that makes this conversion easier - Its a slitting disk, with tiny saw teeth around it's edge. Its a great little tool, as long as you are careful about using it - this little blade will slice fingers as easily as plastic..... I got a selection of different sizes from Shesto Tools of London, while they were at the IPMS Nationals a year or two ago. They have literally a hundred different uses.

Simply touch the saw blade to the kit grill and it will neatly slice through the plastic. Take care not to press too hard or for too long as the heat will rapidly build up and melt the plastic.

I've tried cutting out the whole grill and just cutting out the panels - leaving the plastic bars intact. I now prefer to cut all the grill out and grind down the moulded surround - as the grill is only about 5mm thick and doesn't stand up as it's moulded on a number of kits. Take a look at my T-34 photos here and also here

The cut-out deck piece with the grill ready to be filed and cleaned up.

The grill finished and ready for the next stage.

The two main grill sets I use, Airwaves and Eduard.

The Airwaves brass sheet has some key details - a mesh and frame in one for the grill, grab handles for the driver's hatch and the flare/flag port cover on the earlier T-34/76 turret. It also has tiny foundry numbers for you to add to your sand cast turrets.

The Eduard sheet is a kit in itself. You can use it to backdate the Dragon kit hull to the various /76 versions, or as with this one you can use it to superdetail the Italeri/Zvezda kits. There are a myriad of parts on two steel frets, including a two part grill which is more accurate but is much more difficult to use.

Two views of the Airwaves grill on the Italeri hull.

The Eduard two part grill on the Italeri Model 1943.

Compare this picture with the one at the top of the article - its pretty close to the real thing I think. Very fiddly to do, but worth the effort.

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