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A real-life conversion of the T-34/76 based on the Italeri/Zvezda 1/35th kit If the appearance of the T-34 was a shock to the German Panzer forces they recovered quickly and started to deal with the Russian tanks in short order. |
| Damaged and captured T-34s were sent to factories for refurbishment to German tastes - during the course of the war over a thousand tanks were repaired in a factory near Riga and sent back into service against their former owners. |
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The kit was built as per instructions except for the fuel boxes which I wasn't using. A stowage box was fabricated from plasticard and given a metal lid cut from the nice thick foil Nescafe thoughtfully supplied with their 750g and 1kilo coffee granule drums. The side skirts are an old set of Royal Connection Hetzer side skirts in brass - there are only three per side but as I was going to leave one off anyway it only meant producing one in plasticard. |
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| The tracks are replacements by Model Kasten, part number SK-34. The Italeri tracks come in two pieces per side, and are really not too bad, but nothing tops the look of the plastic link replacements that can be made to sag realistically. | The Italeri/Zvezda Model 1943. This is the simplified version with all steel wheels, steel box fuel tanks at the rear and very little additional stowage - as per the real thing. Generally accurate and realistically priced this is the best early model to base a conversion on or build straight from the box |
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The 'mickey mouse' turret hatches are adorned with swastika decals taken from a Superscale aircraft sheet that provides a selection of all scales up to 1/24th. | The engine decking grill was cut out and replaced with the Eduard etched steel sheet. This is primarily intended to backdate the Dragon models to earlier versions, but it does have an excellent two piece grill that can be realistically battered. The downside is that it's very fiddly to get right. I lost count of how many times I superglued myself to the frame or grill. Click here for how I do this sort of replacement part. |
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The completed model was airbrushed overall in Tamiya Panzer Yellow. Then after that had dried two coats of thinned Future/Kleer was airbrushed over. When each coat had thoroughly dried (most important) a really thinned wash of Tamiya Panzer grey can be dripped on with a 5/0 fine brush. This will soak into the panel lines and pop them out against the light base colour. After another coat of Kleer the decals can be put on. |
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This was where I tried an experiment. I brushed all round the hatches and deck grills with Tamiya mid green to simulate where the Panzer yellow had chipped off during use. After another coat of Kleer this didn't look too bad, and stopped looking like green paint had been dabbed on... I shall experiment with this technique. With a bit more practice I'll risk it again on another model... |
| Some extra stowage was added but in general these vehicles don't seem to have carried the multitude of items seen on other German vehicles. |
| The SS Wiking Panzer Division used the T-34 almost exclusivly at one point. This is a typical example - some carried red and green stripes, and presumably there must have been ambush schemes too, but I've not seen any photos showing this. |
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These overhead shots shows the tow cable which consists of the kit eyes which have been cut off the moulded cable. The ends have been drilled out and replaced with a length of twisted cable from a jewellry stall in the local Sunday Market. The thickness and twist exactly matched - proof that modelling materials are where you find 'em... The tow chain is Artesania model ship anchor chain. The packing case is scratch built from plasticard and stuffed with tissue paper, painted with acrylics to stiffen it. The unditching beam is balsa wood, fixed in place with some excellent straps from the Eduard etch sheet. |
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