MiniArt T-34/85 w/D-5T Gun Plant #112 Spring 1944 (35293) - 1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd

[Mike]

T-34/85 w/D-5T Gun Plant #112 Spring 1944 (35293)

1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models Ltd

 

 

The T-34 was Stalin's mainstay medium tank that was produced in incredible volume by sometimes crude and expedient methods, to be thrown into the fray against the numerically inferior German tanks on the Eastern Front. The designers combined a number of important advances in design such as sloped frontal armour, wide tracks to spread the load, and the ability to cope with the harsh Russian winters without freezing to a halt, which was a problem that affected the Germans badly after the initial successes in the summer of Operation Barbarossa. The part count and cost of the tank was continuously reduced during production, with plants turning out up to 1,300 per month at the height of WWII. The initial welded turret was replaced by a cast turret with more room, and later the 76mm gun was replaced by a more powerful 85mm main gun in the T-34/85 with an enlarged turret, giving even the Tiger pause for thought.

 

The T-34/85 with the D-5T 85mm gun was made for a short period at Krasnoye Sormova plant #112 on the Volga River as type 1943 until March 1944, when the type 1944 replaced it with a simplified gun.  The D-5T had its origins as an Anti-Aircraft gun, much like the German 88mm flak 37, and was initially rejected for up-gunning the T-34 until the larger 3-man cast turret came along, giving the engineers sufficient space to mount the gun successfully, putting the T-34 on par with the German armour, although after March the ZiS-S-53 was used for the ’44 type as well as some other changes.

 

The Kit

This is another boxing of MiniArt’s new T-34 line, and as well as being of an earlier type with the larger gun and turret, it is not an interior kit, but the box is still loaded with sprues of all shapes and sizes.  In total there are sixty-five sprues in grey styrene, two in clear, a good-sized Photo-Etch (PE) brass fret, a small decal sheet and instruction booklet with colour profiles inside each of the front and back covers.  Many of the sprues will be seen in various other boxings of the T-34, notably the Czech production that we reviewed here, which is the reason for their use of smaller sprues that make their kits so eminently modular.  It makes the process easier and cheaper for them, and makes the likelihood of receiving many different options to choose from much more promising for us, which with the rate we’re receiving them for review seems to be the case.  As always with MiniArt, the design, detail and crispness of moulding is excellent, and the inclusion of Photo-Etch (PE) brass in the box is one less thing you need to fork out for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unsurprisingly, construction begins with the lower hull.  The floor is decked out with four tubular fittings for the suspension on each side and a lower escape hatch, then the engine firewall near the rear.  The lower hull walls are next, with their Christie-style suspension springs contained in channels up the inside wall.  The upper hull begins with the ball-mount and DT Machine gun for the bow, without a stock for the gunner’s (dis)comfort.  The gun is left to swivel inside the port, so be sparing with the glue when you complete this assembly.  The glacis plate accepts the gun from inside after fitting of the armoured protection, and has an armoured external cover to protect the majority of the barrel from incoming rounds.  The upper hull top and sides are moulded as one, and the sides have a number of holes drilled out before they are applied to the hull, with a few nubs cut from the exterior on the way, then the glacis plate it fitted to the front and glued to the lower hull.  At the rear the engine bay is still exposed, which is next to be addressed by adding a frame around the rear bulkhead then attaching this large rear panel that has a circular inspection panel fixed in the centre, with a pair of armoured exhaust covers to the sides and short exhaust stubs filling the centres.  The engine deck is covered with vents and louvers that are added with a central inspection hatch, then fixed over the engine bay.  Additional armoured covers with PE grilles are fitted over the basic louvers, then the suspension swing-arms and stub axles are installed under the sponsons, and the mudguards with PE detail parts are glued into place at the front, with more simplified flaps to the rear.  Small parts and various pioneer tools and stowage boxes are made up and fitted onto the sloped sides of the hull, with racks of winter track grousers attached to the flat portions of the side and fuel tank supports behind them.  At this stage the driver’s hatch is also built with twin clear periscopes, hatch closures and external armoured cowls for the ‘scopes and hinges.

 

A trio of smooth-surfaced cylindrical fuel tanks are installed on the sides by using curved brackets and five-piece tanks with PE and styrene shackles holding them in place, and a canvas of your own making in the spare space where the fourth tank would be.  Ten pairs of wheels with separate hub caps are built with two drive sprockets and idler wheels to complete the rolling part of the tracks.  At the same time the main towing cables are made from styrene towing eyes, but you will need to supply three lengths of 94mm braided cord or wire, so make sure you have some on hand when you begin. 

 

 

Now for the tracks.  The T-34’s wide tracks were simple and easy to produce, as well as great at spreading the tank’s weight and helping prevent freezing of the drivetrain in cold weather, of which Russia has more than its fair share.  There are two different track parts, one flat, the other with a guide horn in the centre, and both have exquisite casting details that includes the ID numbers on both parts and indeed both faces.  They have four sprue gates on each link, attached on the curved hinge-points, making them easy to cut back flush and then sand smooth with a sanding stick, to ease assembly and gluing.  I made up a short length as a test, and was finished in a few minutes with a little liquid glue thanks to their close tolerances that keep them together while you glue.  Each side needs 72 links, which equates to 36 of each part, and once you get into a rhythm, it won’t take too long to complete the task, wrapping the still flexible links around the curved sections and holding them in place with tape and other clamps etc. to obtain the correct sag on the top run once the glue has cured.  The detail is so good it’s almost a shame to weather them once painted.

 

The turret starts as an almost complete shell with three sides and roof moulded into it, which has inserts for the interior skin.  The roof has a large cupola with clear vision blocks and binoculars built into the bi-fold hatch, plus a simpler hatch for the gunner, both of which are shown fitted closed.  The roof also has two more periscopes under armoured shrouds, and two vents on the rear, which are covered by a linked armoured mushroom cover.  Despite this not being an interior kit, the gun breech is made up from a substantial number of parts with another 7.62mm DT machine gun mounted coaxially in the mantlet, before it is set to one side while the turret floor is completed.  The floor part first has a lip inserted within the ring, then the inner mantlet support is prepared with the main gun’s mount, which is glued to the turret floor and has the breech slid in from behind and is joined by the coax DT with its mount.  The gun tube, which is a single part is inserted through the outer mantlet, and has a hollow muzzle for extra detail.  An aerial, some grab handles and lugs are dotted around the turret, and extra track links are made up and slid into the rails on the sides of the bustle, then the turret is dropped into place in the hull to complete the build.

 

 

Markings

There are four decal options in the box and they’re all green, as you’d expect from a wartime example made in the spring of '44.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• Unidentified unit, Red Army, 4th Ukrainian Front, Summer 1944
• 7th Guards Novogorod Tank Brigade, Red Army, Karelian Front, 1944
• Unidentified Unit, Red Army, late 1944
• 3rd Guards Tank Army, Germany, Spring 1945

 

 

 

The decal sheet isn’t huge because this is a tank, but the sheet is printed by DecoGraph, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas.  The markings and decals have been developed with assistance from Samer Kassis Archive, a prolific photographer of Soviet armour.

 

 

Conclusion

The T-34 played a huge part in the Soviet response to Operation Barbarossa, albeit after a substantial delay caused by Stalin’s apparent indecision.  It was a stalwart of their defence then offense, sweeping the Germans aside thanks to its sloped armour and weight of numbers.  This kit omits most of the interior, and yet keeps all the exteral goodies, so if interiors aren’t your thing it's a shoe-in.

 

Very highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[Basosz]

Is it possible that the first picture is the wrong one? The box art clearly says it's an interior kit and there are 3 (instead of 4) decal options. 

[Mike]

10 minutes ago, Basosz said:

Is it possible that the first picture is the wrong one? The box art clearly says it's an interior kit and there are 3 (instead of 4) decal options. 

Yes it is!  Give me a minute Two almost identical boxes and I put the lid back on the wrong one!