Best T-34 m.41 in 1/72 - Dragon? UM? Trumpeter?

[KRK4m]

Presumably Zvezda snap-kit is better than any of the trio mentioned above, but i don't like the looks of the hex-turret model 1942/43.

So can anybody tell me what are the pros and cons for the early production T-34 in Braille scale? Is Dragon really so wrong and Unimodels so good?

And what about the Trumpeter? Is it worth its price?

 

[Seahawk]

Or the Fujimi kit.  (Sorry, no idea how they compare.)

[modelldoc]

Don't forget the old Matchbox  / REvell kit. 

Fujimi is quite good.

 

modelldoc

[Seahawk]

Think we should try to forget the Matchbox kit.  It (1/76, like Fujimi) was not good: general softness of detail and very crude wheels.  Not a patch on other Matchbox AFVs from the same period like the Stuart.

[BallsBuster]

This depends what exactly would you like to build. The "1941" designation is largely a researches or modelers' strive for cataloguing and organization of the reality, which is in fact, much richer and diverse than one can put in a table. The early T-34 with a two men turret was produced at three factories, over the periods of two years and the machines were very different.

So early T-34 - 76 with wide tracks - Dragon is a better choice (although some people do not like the hull, the differences are not huge, and hardly noticeable)

For the later ones-with 500mm tracks- you might want to kitbash between dragon and UM, or update either of those, my very personal opinion, either of them is not that bad...

 

There is also an Italeri (ex-Esci) kit....

Edited July 7, 2017 by BallsBuster

[KRK4m]

Thank you, BallsBuster

My idea was to build a mainstream T-34 (with 2 men turret and long barrel 76mm gun) and a WW2 SU-100 using kits from the same manufacturer. This will make the differences between the two models similar to the real vehicles - e.g. the rear hull won't feature different slope angles and dimensions. As I wanted sharp, crisp details and correct scale (between 1:70 and 1:74) my first choice was Zvezda.

But their T-34 features this awful hexagonal cast turret while SU-100 has the post-war rectangular front fenders.

Due to that there are only two options left - Dragon and UM. Dragon is "clean" and easier to built while UM is closer to a short-run, but spot-on to the drawings.

This is why the question appears: are the Dragon shape issues worth the expected struggle with UM bad fitting parts?

[BallsBuster]

You are welcome.

The early 1941 T-34s with F-34 gun were identical to the ones with L-11 and spotted at least two different types of turrets. UM caters for both, Dragon - only for one -welded(if I remember correctly). But UM provides narrow tracks- which is not correct for 1941 until September at least. The later versions had a number of differences from the initial versions (like a round access hatch on the back plate and many many more) etc. Also narrow tracks became the norm (and there was at least a dozen of different versions of those. You will probably need to find a photo of a particular tank you want to build and try and make a choice based on that...

 

I started doing the UM kit of early T-34 and had no problems at all with fit (I actually built a few of their kits but not T-34s) and they were a joy to assemble. They are not short run kits (ACE are). But they will require attention as they are sometimes, as you correctly mentioned, a bit crude on the details front. The biggest issue however are the rubber tires and not the fit. If you go for the kit wheels, make sure the plastic parts are well primed and protected from contact with those. The plastic link and length tracks are a plus comparing with the DS ones. UM also allows you to have the drivers hatch open, or semi closed, which is a big plus for a T-34 model especially circa 1942 and later.

 

The geometrical issues with the Dragon 's hull are not noticeable to an untrained eye, and I would say it is hard to tell which one is which on built models. Besides, I think the problems were referred mostly to the kit with hexagonal turret and the earlier ones are OK... but I am not sure here.

 

I have not heard anything bad about Dragon Su-100, and it is better than the Zvezda one, except of the tracks, which are DS in Dragon. As you might have noticed I am not a great fond of DS tracks. 

Edited July 7, 2017 by BallsBuster

[Wm Blecky]

If you are looking for correct, or even just a choice in tracks and running gear for that matter, OKB are the folks you want to be looking to.