Tom's T-34/76 with too much PE

[Tomosaurus]

Okay, this build is going to be a lot of firsts for me. First GB to start. First alu barrel, though I'm not expecting much challenge there. Also the first time really going balls-to-the-wall with PE. This Tamiya kit is an oldie, but the mouldings are pretty good, and with a bit of TLC this is going to make a fine addition to my collection.

Boxart:


All the goodies:


The Eduard PE set, some quite old PE from 'On The Mark Models' and an aluminium barrel from Jordi Rubio. Those last two items came with the kit when I bought it.


Sprue with the mantlet and a crewmember:


Two options for the turret, early and late version. I'm going for the late version:


Fueltanks, backplate and accessoires:


More fueltanks and bobs and bits:


Finally, the hull, turret and roadwheels:


First up, building the roadwheels!

[Tomosaurus]

Okay, we're off. I can already tell the PE is going to slow me down immensely. Were I to have skipped it, I'd be done by now probably

The lower hull needed some putty at the seams:


And I've filled up those nasty holes as well:


On with the gun. The barrel needed some mucking about to fit snuggly:


First time bending PE. Not as annoying as actually sticking it in place:


The turret all done. This is the 'late' style cupola. PE total so far: 3


Cut away the fenders per the Eduard instructions:


The PE fenders look nice and are easy to fold:


But oh bugger, I've cut away more plastic than was needed. A strip of plastic from an old sprue serves as filler. I'll sand it down when it's fully cured.


Lesson learned: work one side at a time! That way I could've avoided it on the other side


I can already tell there's a bit of a learningcurve here, but I won't let it deter me...

[Tomosaurus]

I managed to correct my earlier mistake pretty well I think.


I filled up the underside with putty. I still need to sand that down.


The front fenders are on, and we're looking good!


On to the engine deck grills. I drilled out the moulded enige cover and replaced it with Eduard etching.


I needed a little putty on the right side, but it went well enough.


Finally I installed the rear fenders. These went on like a dream, super easy and sturdy!

[shortCummins]

looking good from where I sit

[Tomosaurus]

Thanks!

I added the final bits and pieces yesterday. The building process is now complete. I did chicken out on half of the PE though. It was just too fiddly, and wasn't worth my time. Maybe in the future I might be mad enough to try, but not yet...

I gave some texturing to the turret and front part of the hull. I used Vallejo putty which is thin enough to apply without dillution. Just stipple it on with an old brush.


I've added the stowage but nothings glued yet, well, except for the fueltanks. I went with both the angular and the drum shaped tanks, because I think it looks nice. If I were a tanker I'd want all the fuel I could get


A final size comparisson with a T-60 recon tank which I'm using as a bench mule.

[RonBurgundy]

wow, great effort on that T-34, especially for your first time using so much PE...can't wait to see some paint on this thing...texture on turret looks good...

[Tomosaurus]

You want paint? We got paint!

I primed all the pieces with grey Vallejo primer.


After which I gave it a layer of black. I should probably have gotten the black primer to save me the trouble


I'm slowly making the switch to Revell Aqua, coming from Model Air. I'm really liking how they spray on. I used Bronze green to simulate the Russian green. It's a very close match.


I'm going to add some more highlights, though not quite colour modulation, tomorrow. I don't feel like it now...

[Tomosaurus]

'Tomorrow' became 'two weeks later'. Oh well, that's how it goes.

I've added a highlight on the areas that would be exposed to the sun. I used the base colour, Revell matt 65 bronzegreen, and added matt 15 yellow to lighten it up.


I then added some matt 9 anthracite to the mix to get a darker shade. With that I hit all the covered spots like the lower parts of the turret and underneath the front glacis and the fuel tanks.


I added all the stowage on the tank, just to map out how it looks. The tracks need a touch of rust, and the wood needs some more work too.


The satchel is painted Sinai grey, from the Academy AFV enamel range. I suspect these paints to be reskinned Tamiya enamels. I like them a lot.


Top-down view gives a good idea of where more visual interest is needed. The wooden crates are too light as they are, and I'm missing accents on the front glacis and engine deck. The engine deck will be fixed with some weathering and oil stains though...


I'm contemplating adding my own Cyrillic writing on the turret in white. Maybe my girlfriend's name or something sappy like that...

[OliveDrab]

Great T34 and great work updating an old Tamiya classic

[Tomosaurus]

Thank you!

I glosscoated the model, added the decals and did a pinwash with oil paints. It still surprises me every time how much it changes a model.

I sprayed on three coats of Pledge.


Way too shiny for a Soviet tank, haha


Decals on. I went with the Guards Brigade, even though I had my doubts about that emblem given its age.


Close up of the engine deck pre-wash


And post-wash


It's still quite mucky, but I like the look.


Especially the turret benefitted from the pin wash


Taking pictures with flash revealed some spots that needed extra touching up


Next step is to seal it all in with a satin coat. Then a brown filter over the entire model.

[Tomosaurus]

On with this build!

I decided against doing a brown filter. In stead I went with an oil dot filter, giving highlights, shadows and chromatic variation.

I also added rust- and rainstreaks.


Giving the illusion of sunfaded paint and wear.


Overall I'm pretty happy with the outcome, as this was only the second time using these techniques.


The back might benefit from some more pronounced rusting.


But on the turret the result is subtle, and I like it.


Though making streaking effects on the top of the turret is still difficult for me.


I had more success on the front glacis.

[Tomosaurus]

I'm nearing that point in the build where I feel I CAN add extra stuff, but maybe I SHOULDN'T, for fear of ruining what I have. So I'm probably calling it finished here. Maybe add some more rust effects on the exhaustpipes tho.

I superglued all the stowage in place.


The front tracklinks are from an IS-2, I think it works well.


I've removed some of the handrails, as they were obstructing the stowage more than anything, and came loose all of the time anyway.


I added mud to the roadwheels and running gear using pigments and white glue.


I kept it subtle, and didn't coat the tracks. I might want to build a urban dio for this at a later point.


At that later stage I'll probably add more dust effects to both the tracks and the vehicle, depending on the scenario.


I'm especially happy with the way the turret turned out.


The broken number decal was covered up with paintchipping.


All in all a very enjoyable build. I might limit myself to just PE grills and maybe fenders in my next couple of builds tho, as I don't get the full bang out of the PE sets yet.