MiniArt Egyptian T-34/85 with Crew (37098) 1:35

[Mike]

Egyptian T-34/85 with Crew (37098)

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 engineers 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 the enlarged turret, giving even the Tiger pause for thought.

 

The T-34/85 served until after WWII in Soviet service, but once it became obsolete, they were exported aggressively to Soviet friendly nations, who could always find uses for them, sometimes for a long period of service.  The Egyptian military suffered from a dearth of armour in the 50s, so negotiated a supply of the trusty T-34/85 with the Soviets, acquiring almost 400.  They saw service most notably in the Suez Crisis and the Six-Day War, the latter being a costly campaign in terms of machines, and for the T-34 crews themselves who faced a determined, more technically advanced foe in a protracted engagement that is still controversial 50+ years later.

 

 

The Kit

This is another boxing of MiniArt’s new T-34 line, and is not an interior kit, but the box is still loaded with sprues of all shapes and sizes, including four crew figures to fill the hatches.  In total there are seventy-four 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 still 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 that performs the task of upper hull support in this boxing.  The lower hull walls are next, with their Christie-style suspension springs contained in channels up the inside surface.  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 driver’s hatch is hinged at the top, and the armoured cover is applied to the top edge of the aperture, and a length of tracks are installed underneath.  The upper hull top and sides are moulded as one, and the sides have a substantial 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.  A pair of PE parts are glued to the hull sides next to the turret ring, with two stiffener plates in PE where the front fenders will be late.  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 with exhausts and filling the circular inspection hatch in the centre, with a pair of armoured exhaust covers for the exhausts.  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, with final drive housing and idler wheel axles at front and rear.  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.  Mudguards are assembled with PE strips for the front fenders, with wading deflector passing over the track links on the glacis, and at the rear a rack with two Jerry cans is installed under the exhausts (bright idea!) between the two towing hitches.

 

Small parts and various pioneer tools and stowage boxes are made up and fitted onto the sloped sides of the hull, with additional fuel tank support frames on the rear sides, and interlinked towing cables just forward of them.  A trio of smooth-surfaced cylindrical fuel tanks are installed on the sides later by using curved brackets and five-piece tanks with PE and styrene shackles holding them in place, the cables taking up the space where the fourth tank would be.  The headlight is a detailed assembly made up from PE and styrene parts, with an angled cage folded around a jig to obtain the correct shape.  Ten pairs of wheels of two types (depending on decal option) 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 two lengths of 100mm 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, but their ruggedness also applied to desert conditions.  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, wedges 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.

 

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 turret upper starts as an almost complete shell with three sides moulded into it, which has inserts for the interior skin and the roof, which 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.   A DShK 12.7mm anti-air (and everything else for that matter) machine gun is fitted to the top of a couple of the options, made up from a large number of parts with big ammo can and a section of link joining it to the breech, then mounted on a cantilever mount on an optional cupola top with a single hatch.  Lifting-eyes, antennae (depending on decal option) and grab-handles are dotted around the turret sides, then the gun tube, which is a single part is inserted into the inner mantlet and covered by the outer, has a hollow muzzle for extra detail.  A top mantlet cover, extra track links and optional shovel orientation are made up and attached on the sides of the bustle, plus a self-made canvas tarp can be fitted to the rear with PE straps, or you can depict the straps hanging loose if you choose.  The turret is finally dropped into place in the hull to complete the build, with no bayonet lugs to hold it in place, so take care if you decide to inspect the underside one day.

 

Figures

Four figures are included on a single sprue that are linked by a central web.  I had to cut them off to photograph easily, but yours will likely arrive as one wobbly mass.  Detail is up to MiniArt’s usual excellent standard, and each figure strikes a different pose.  Three are sitting or crouching on or in the tank, while the other, possibly the commander, is standing with one hand in his pocket thinking commandery things, looking into the distance.  Each figure is broken down sensibly into head, torso, arms and legs, plus helmet with separate side flaps where appropriate and the occasional pistol pouch.

 

 

 

 

Markings

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.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• Egyptian Armed Forces, Cairo, Summer 1956
• Egyptian Armed Forces, Suez Crisis, Autumn 1956
• Egyptian Armed Forces, Six-Day War, Sinai, Summer 1967
• Egyptian Armed Forces, Six-Day War, Sinai, Summer 1967
• Egyptian Armed Forces, 1967-1973

 

 

 

Conclusion

The T-34 had a long and useful service life with many operators, with the boxing depicting a wide variety of vehicles from the Egyptian inventory.  This kit omits most of the interior in the interior boxings, and yet keeps all the external detail plus gun breech, so if interiors aren’t your thing it's an appealing alternative.  You can still have some of the hatches open though by careful placement of the figures, which are a nice bonus.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of