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Good Evening Comrades I made the T-44 from Miniart a while ago but I have been playing around with Ammo oilbrushers in an experimental way on the tank. I enjoyed this because of the control you have and being oil they have a long drying time Unfortunately you can't see much of its highly detailed engine! I believe the T-44 wasn't a great success as they found it difficult to cure overheating problems. But the chassis then matured into the T-54 and the rest is history Hope you like it? Andrew

Good Evening Comrades I made the T-44 from Miniart a while ago but I have been playing around with Ammo oilbrushers in an experimental way on the tank. I enjoyed this because of the control you have and being oil they have a long drying time Unfortunately you can't see much of its highly detailed engine! I believe the T-44 wasn't a great success as they found it difficult to cure overheating problems. But the chassis then matured into the T-54 and the rest is history Hope you like it? Andrew

A couple of T-44s (Beech King Air) of VT-31 on the transient line at Nellis AFB. 160973, October 1980 161076, November 1980 Thanks for looking, Sven

Dear Colleagues You don't build one of these full interior Miniart kits, you go on a journey! From the chasis to the turret Then Sergei takes a look Is anyone else making one of these insane Miniart tank kits? They have extraordinary finesse but patience is essential Andrew

T-44 Soviet Medium Tank 1:35 MiniArt The T-44 was a medium tank first produced near the end of the World War II by the Soviet Union. It was the successor to the T-34, offering improved ride and cross-country performance and much greater armour. Designed to be equipped with a powerful 85 mm main gun, by the time it was fully tested the T-34 had also moved to this weapon. Both tanks offered similar performance, so introducing the T-44 was not considered as important as increasing T-34 production. Fewer than 2,000 T-44s were built, compared to about 84,000 T-34s. Although the T-44 was available by the end of the war, they were not used in combat. Attempts were made to improve the T-44's armament with a new 122 mm gun, but the turret proved very cramped and the rate of fire was poor, on the order of three rounds per minute. Another attempt with a 100 mm gun seemed more promising although a number of additional changes would be needed to make a truly effective design. Design work on a slightly enlarged version of the T-44 began during the war and a prototype was produced in 1945. This newer design entered production in 1947 as the T-54/55 series of medium tanks, the most-produced tank of all time. The Model The kit comes in the fairly standard top opening box MiniArt use, with an artists impression of the vehicle on the front. Inside there are no less than sixty one sprues of varying sizes, mostly small, in a medium to dark grey styrene, along with two sprues of clear styrene, a small sheet of etched brass and a smallish decal sheet.. As with most MiniArt kits there is a huge amount of detail contained on the sprues and in this one there are around 768 parts not including the etched brass. The styrene used appears to be quite brittle, something I’ve noticed with other MiniArt kits. The mouldings are superb with no imperfections and very few moulding pips. Some of the smaller parts, and there are a lot of them, do have a fair number of sprue gates, but fortunately they are relatively small and shouldn’t cause too many problems. The sheer number of parts is explained by the fact that this kit is equipped with a full, and I mean full interior. The build starts with the comprehensively detailed engine is a model in itself and has more parts than some whole kits, around forty. The suspension is made up of pairs of torsion beams held with a two part case before being fitted with the two piece suspension arms and fitted to the lower hull. The engine assembly is also fitted to the lower hull, followed by the six piece intake ducks, fighting compartment floor and five piece ammunition box. The rear bulkhead of the fighting compartment is assembled and detailed before being glued into place, whilst compartment sides are fitted to the hull sides and more spare ammunition fitted. The two large machine gun drum racks are also built up and attached to the interior sides. The engine decking is then attached and fitted with the three hatches, each with the option of being posed open or closed, followed by the rear deck and the rear bulkhead, which has been fitted out with what look like intake filters, and the towing hitch. Each suspension arm is fitted with a pair of single piece wheels, and their respective hubs, as are the two pairs of sprocket wheels. The engine deck mounted cooling grilles are then attached, with the grilles made of PE. The front mounted idlers are made up form six parts before being fitted to the hull. To the rear, a pair of external fuel tanks are attached, one on either side of the engine deck, each made up from four parts. Each of the two track guards are fitted with front and rear fenders, before being detailed with the more external fuel tanks, tool/storage boxes and spare track links. Probably the most awkward section of the build will be the track assembly; with every other link fitted with a separate guide horn they are then attached to the plain links forming a pair, of which you need to assemble thirty five for each side. With the tracks in place the track guards and fenders can be attached. The fighting compartment roof is fitted with the drivers hatch and respective periscope. The two piece turret ring is fitted with three crew seats and put to one side, whilst the turret roof is fitted to the hull. The turret itself is as complete as the hull, with what seems like every bit of kit provide to fill its interior. A full gun is provided with the breech section being made up from twenty parts, and is then fitted with the seven peice sight, eleven piece gunners seat and elevation controls, three piece co-axial machine gun and four piece trunnion unit. The turret sides are fitted out with the many a various details, such as radios, traversing controls, spare ammunition for both the main and co-axial weapons, and a multitude of other fittings. The turret bustle is fitted with a rack for the sixteen main gun rounds, whilst the turret roof is fitted out with the commanders and gunners periscopes, ventilation unit, and a clip, which allows the turret roof to be removed allowing the detail to be shown off. The outside of the turret is also covered in parts, such as the aerial base, storage boxes, hatches, grab handles, the main gun is a single piece unit which slips into the breech section and finished off with the mantlet. The turret sections are then glued together, with the exception of the roof, as mentioned above. The completed turret is then fitted to the hull, thus completing the build. Decals The small decal sheet contains markings for ten different vehicles, three Soviet vehicles and two captured units re-used by the Wehrmacht. Four of the Soviet tanks are all from unidentified units in use between 1945 and 1955, The others being:- T-44, No. 139 of the 8th Mechanised Army, Operation Whirlwind, Budapest, Hungary, 4-11 November 1956. T-44, No. 385 of the 8th Mechanised Army, Operation Whirlwind, Budapest, Hungary, 4-11 November 1956. T-44, No. 949 of the Belarusian Military District T-44, From the 29th Armoured Division, 5th Guards Mechanical Army, Slonim, Belarus, 1946-1947. T-44, 38th Panzer Corps, Kurland, 1946 T-44, 101st Jaeger Division, Austria, Spring – Summer 1946 Conclusion This is another super kit from MiniArt and brings yet another lesser known military vehicle to the mainstream modelling community. With the numerous parts count and the large number of very small parts, this kit is really aimed at the more experienced modeller, but looks like it should build up into a superb model, absolutely full of detail, so much so that there shouldn’t be any need for aftermarket parts. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

T-44 Soviet Medium Tank COMING FEBRUARY 2016 Product Information: Complete Package. Everything you need for an accurate model in one box. All New Tooling. The First Ever Model In Plastic Ever Full Interior of fighting Compartment V-44 Engine Included Workable Tracks Workable Torsion Bars Photoetch Parts Included Clear Parts Included Decal sheet for 10 Options Full Colour Instructions Check out the video from Miniart below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaDR9ZRbCbU&feature=youtu.be All of this for just £39.99 with Free UK Mainland Postage HISTORICAL INFORMATION SOVIET MEDIUM TANK Т-44 Produced: 1944-1947 Number built: 1.823 SPECIFICATIONS Crew: 4 Weight: 31 t Length: 6070 mm Length with gun forward: 7650 mm Width: 3180 mm Height: 2410 mm Base: 3800 mm Ground clearance: 425 mm Engine: Model V-44 12-cyl. Diesel 500 hp Max. road speed: 60 km/h Max. cross country speed: 25-30 km/h Max. operational range: 250 km Suspension type: personal torsion-bar Specific ground pressure: 0.83 kg/cm² Gradeability: 30 deg. Surmounted the wall: 0.73 m Trench: 2.5 m Fording: 1.3 m Armour: 15-120 mm ARMAMENT Mark: ZIS-S-53 standard in 1944 (58 rds.) Caliber: 85 mm Type of gun: rifled Sight: telescopic TSh-16 Machine gun: 2 x 7.62-mm DTM HISTORY T-44 was created in 1943-1944. Though the T-44 did not see combat in World War II, it was issued to tank brigades for training purposes. It was never shown publicly during military parades and pictures were never shown publicly until the secrecy was dropped. T-44 was being developed in order to create a tank that would have better combat and technical characteristics than the T-34. SPECIFIC FEATURES The original intention was to retain the high mobility and speed of a T-34 and to provide the T-44 with heavier armour protection against large-caliber tank guns. This was accomplished by adding thicker armour but reducing the internal volume of the hull. Although the T-44 used many components of the T-34, it had a new hull, and a modified model diesel engine, suspension and transmission. THE MAIN DIFFERENCES FROM THE T-34-85 T-44’s hull had a simplified construction without fenders. The hull of the T-34-85 had T-shape cross-section while T-44’s hull had a rectangular shape. The height of the t-44’s hull was reduced to 300 mm. The new V-44 12-cylinder 4-stroke diesel engine, developing 500 hp, was a more powerful version of the T-34's model V-2 with a new planetary manual 5-speed transmission system, filtration system, improved cooling system, horizontally placed water and oil pumps and an improved fuel system which increased its power output. It was the first tank design to feature transverse engine placement, which made it smaller than a standard T-34 and gave the crew more space. The hull upper front armour (glacis plate 60°) thickness was doubled to 90 mm. Even though it was more heavily armoured, the weight of the T-44 was the same. The tank's crew did not include a radio operator/machine gunner. This space was used for ammunition stowage area, transferred from the floor of the fighting compartment. As a result were improved working conditions. The bow machine gun and driver's hatch switched positions on the glacis plate. One of the machine guns was mounted to fire through a tiny hole in the center of the glacis plate. Because the tank's crew did not include a radio operator/machine gunner, the driver operated this light machine gun. The T-44 had a compact torsion-bar suspension instead of the T-34's Christie coil springs.