1/48 Hobby Boss T34/85 Tank

[thehennessyguy]

Hi guys

I've decided to start my second WIP and i actually hope to finish it this time haha, Im going to be building the very well detailed T34/85 from Hobby boss its my first kit from them so I'm exited to see how it turns out. I have seen a couple of these t34's build on the forum and they look great. Before you read as a disclaimer my build will be nowhere near as good as the other ones on here ha! Its my first proper armour build so I'm looking forward to trying some weathering techniques with pigments and Washes etc.

I've made a quick start by assembling some of the lower hull and the engine, gearbox components.

This is the kit

This is the lower hull i had a quick session and put some parts in

I then made a start on the engine parts

​I then painted the engine and gearbox parts, i gave them a simple dark dirt wash to grime them up quickly

i will tidy all the parts up and wipe of someone the excess before the next post, Thanks for looking and have a good day!

[bull-nut]

Looks like a good start. Enjoy the build, I have the very same kit half done on the shelf. Be careful and go slowly, I found when building mine that some of the locations can be a little vague.

I really should get back to mine at some point.

[thehennessyguy]

Thanks bull-nut, you really should pick up where you left off i would love to see it!

Anyway back to the build i managed to get a good few hours in today and thought id get the engine bay finished so i can continue on with painting and detailing the crew compartment in the next couple of days. I decided to paint the engine bay in red for some reason, no idea why but I'm just experimenting and going with what i think looks good for the interior. I mixed the Humbrol red with a couple of drops of white and painted it on un-primed. The engine and transmission along with the fan went in like a dream to my surprise i only had problems with the radiators situated next to the engine itself the one on the left had to be propped up with a small ball of blue-tac and then superglued.. excessive i know but it was very very finicky and annoying to fit!

I left the bay to dry/cure before i started tugging at it and moving it etc for the weathering process. I decided i would go pretty heavy and try to grime it up and make it look all old and dusty just like a work horse T34 would look. Starting with a mix of MIG black and brown oil paint thinned down just enough to make the bay look greasy and to dim down the bright Red that the engine and surrounding bay had. After this i brushed some Vallejo matte vanish onto the bay and used some vallejo pigment to just dust around the edges of the transmission and the top of the engine to simulate dust entering through the top grille above the engine or just general dust from operations/maintenance.

Anyway don't want to bore you guys so onto some photo's , Btw sorry for the weirdly over exposed colouring on the build its just my Samsung s6's tendency to pick colours and over exaggerate them.

Red bay received the wash to dull its colour and weather abit

Engine and transmission before adding the radiators and exhaust

Here i added the large panel that slides over the transmission and has the exhaust's run through it.

this is the engine with all the parts fitted but before the pigments had been applied and without the final wash present.

This is when i applied the matt vanish and pigments.

about two hours later the dried pigment has made the engine look all old and dusty

Im pretty happy with the result and i got to try a couple of new techniques out which is always fun

Anyway thanks for looking guys ill try to keep this WIP updated weekly until we get to the end

See you in the next one

Brandon.

[thehennessyguy]

Hello there

Just out of interest can you guys see the photographs on this post, I visited my post earlier today on a iPhone 6 and the images weren't showing up and if thats the case for everyone i'll have to have a fiddle with the URL's . Anyway just wanted to find out sooner rather than later to save me the hassle of changing all of my future post's

Many thanks

Brandon

[bull-nut]

pics show up fine for me.

[thehennessyguy]

Thanks bull-nut i was just having issues on a mobile safari browser with it them not showing up but they seem to be working on my samsungs google browser, and the post isn't generating too much interest i thought people couldn't see the build

[SimonT]

Looking good so far, working fine on my iPhone6 too.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Looking good.....This kit is a very strong contender for best OOTB AFV kit ever, it's actually slightly cheaper than the Dragon 1/72 kits and just look at what you get in the box!

[John_W]

Looking good.....This kit is a very strong contender for best OOTB AFV kit ever, it's actually slightly cheaper than the Dragon 1/72 kits and just look at what you get in the box!

I have one in the stash. I was amazed when I opened it up and found it had a full interior.

Following this one for hints and tips.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Bought one to trade with someone and foolishly opened the box.....I'm now the owner of two and I want a third.

[85sqn]

I made one of these last year and it is certainly good value given all of the detail that comes with it! It's a shame Hobbyboss didn't provide the same level of detail for their Sherman series.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

It's just their 1/48 T-34s, all the others (1/72 & 1/35) are just like any other kit.....You have to go up to 1/16 before they return to this level of detail.

[robw_uk]

nice... tempting to get one.... love the interior

[thehennessyguy]

Hope your all doing well guys

Just a quick update with the build i haven't got much done to be honest i've been quite busy with college and had a couple other things going on but i did get a hour or two today to get a few more things started.

I finished off the fighting compartment by using a ton of washes and just going for a super dirty look, Which i think i have overdone slightly but oh well. I have made a start on the upper hull too by adding the drivers hatch and i have added the rear venting that sits above the engine bay

Here is the finished crew compartment i will joining the upper and lower hull together with a couple of magnets super glued into the plastic, this way ill always be able to change anything and i have the option to open it up for a peek.

In this photo the compartment is finished with painting and has been vanished but it is without the large oxygen bottles ahead of the drivers seat and the drivers control sticks, these have been added and painted after i have just had difficulty uploading the photo so i will retake it tomorrow

Here is the drivers hatch from the inside perspective of the tank, all together the hatch is compiled of 8-10 parts so its quite fiddly but it achieves a good look from the inside and out.

While i was at it i added the rear section of the hull and the engine grills, i will add the exhaust's at a later point in the build probably after painting.

Thats really all for this post guys, thanks for taking the time to read & i will spend a evening or two soon to get a bit more progress done, hopefully a completed turret!

Peace

Brandon

[thehennessyguy]

Looking good.....This kit is a very strong contender for best OOTB AFV kit ever, it's actually slightly cheaper than the Dragon 1/72 kits and just look at what you get in the box!

I agree I'm swamped with detail, I've honestly never had so much plastic in a box for this price its insane. I thought this would be a 'quick' sort of build but I'm now realising that getting this all done might be a ways off from now ha. Really happy with hobby boss though I've even bought a Me 262 in 1/48 that I'm planning to start after i finish the T34

nice... tempting to get one.... love the interior

thanks Rob you should purchase one they are such a bargain for the amount of product you receive when you open the box haha

[Yeoman1942]

Just bought this after seeing this thread.

What a kit for £12. The detail would be great at 1/35 it's unbelievable at 1/48

Apologies if the link doesn't work I'm trying out drop box for posting images

Edited February 10, 2016 by Yeoman1942

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Picture isn't showing, but I can probably guess!

Great aren't they!

[Yeoman1942]

yep amazing detail in such a small box.

Looks like drop box is a no no for the site At least I can get the link on via a laptop.

One step at a time

[Yeoman1942]

I made it work Obvious I know as you can see the image, but I am chuffed.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Sometimes you can see your own images but other posters can't.....Fortunately that one works just fine now.

[thehennessyguy]

So here we are, Two months later and I've literally done nothing in the way of progress.

I started a Me 262 to re gain some interest in a build and now I'm starting the T34 back up as of this week!

I managed to get a little progress her and there but i'm really holding off on adding outer parts like the external fuel tanks because i might be getting an airbrush soon and i wanted this to be the first build i spray.

Anyway heres a couple photo's of the T34 finally looking like a Tank.

Thanks guy's

Brandon

Edited April 3, 2016 by thehennessyguy

[FrancisGL]

Nice progress and good detail for 1/48 kit, pops ready for more, cheers mate

[thehennessyguy]

Hey guys

As i promised i have finally got my hands on a Airbrush and that means all the delaying and waiting was worth it .. i hope ! The brush itself is nothing to special, it's a Sparmax Max 4 with the 4mm needle and is pretty well made for the price especially for the absolute beginner like me

I also ordered a Sparmax Compressor to accompany my new brush and it's actually performing very well the moisture trap attaches under the airbrush and the compressor is tankless but it fit's into my small work space pretty well so I'm a happy customer.

So back on topic with the T-34 i started by priming the model with some vallejo grey primer in the bottle i sprayed this through at about 15psi so it didn't get too gritty on the surface. After this i went straight in with the olive green for the T34 i felt this was too dark and i started to think about weathering

I then used tamiya for the first time and applied a Semi-Gloss coat to the model and used a UMP Dark Dirt wash to the entire model to gritty the look up and bring out some hidden detail

Oh yeah and DEEECAAALS!!

More T-34 Goodness below

This is where thing's got a bit.. extreme? i remember reading about people using this Tamiya Buff colour to dusty up Tanks and weather the paint job by spraying thin layers of buff over the sharp edges to show sun fading on the paint.. So i bought a jar and got to work but i soon started to like the look of the tank being dusty all over? and i went slightly over board with the buff application so I'm putting this down to artistic license and me experimenting with my new brush..

Dusty ey ? Here's another one

For anyone wondering about the black streaking and shadowing i was messing around with a tamiya weathering set using the soot colour on the barrel and sharp edges

Alright thats enough of that so the next time you see this T-34 she should be all wrapped up with the tracks on and a replacement MG barrel ? maybe ill see if i can scratch build something

Anyway Thanks for having a look. Brandon

Edited May 8, 2016 by thehennessyguy

[bull-nut]

Looking good, I like the really dusty look.

Have you put the tracks together yet? If not, I suggest you line the jigs with Tamiya tape before you start, otherwise you may find the tracks glued to the jig if you aren't careful, ask me how I know!

On the subject of tracks, you should try Tamiya's Dark Iron, it looks great on treads.

Edited May 9, 2016 by bull-nut

[Yeoman1942]

Looking good. The buff has had the right effect to soften the green