MiniArt T-34/85 Mod.1960 (37089) 1:35

[Mike]

T-34/85 Mod.1960 (37089)

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, occasionally with wet paint or no paint at all. 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 their 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 units 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 a further enlarged turret, giving even the Tiger pause for thought before an engagement.

 

The T-34/85 stayed in service until long after WWII with the Soviets, 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.  These exports were upgraded to Mod.1960 standards with new more powerful engines and other more up-to-date equipment to give them at least some chance of surviving more modern foes.  Surprisingly, this wasn’t the last update, with another following on in 1969.  The most recently used Yemeni vehicles were in use as late as 2015 where they suffered losses from modern anti-tank missiles, which are the bane of modern armour, let alone warmed-over WWII equipment.

 

 

The Kit

This is another boxing of MiniArt’s recent T-34 line, and is not an interior kit, but the box is still loaded with sprues of all sizes.  In total there are sixty sprues in grey styrene, two in clear, a good-sized Photo-Etch (PE) brass fret, a long thin 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 previous boxings of the T-34, and their use of smaller sprues makes their kits so eminently modular.  It makes the process easier and cheaper for them, and the likelihood of receiving many different options to choose from much more likely 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 has a lower escape hatch, then the engine firewall near the rear that performs the added task of upper hull support in this kit.  The lower hull walls are next, with their Christie-style suspension springs contained in channels up the inside face.  The upper hull begins with the ball-mount and DT Machine gun for the bow, without a stock to give the gunner more space.  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 external armoured 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 pair of towing hitches and small tie-downs are installed on the lower edge, followed by adding a strip to the front of the lower hull in preparation for joining.  The upper hull top and sides are moulded as one, and the sides have a number of holes drilled out before they are used, then the glacis plate it fitted to the front and glued to the lower hull.  A pair of slim styrene parts are glued to the roof sides next to the turret ring, and some small raised pairs of marks need to be removed on the sides with a sharp blade.  At the rear the hull is still open, 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 covers for the exhausts and two cylindrical fuel tanks on brackets at the top corners, with the rear mudguards and a pair of hoses for the fuel tanks added too.  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 bow-wave deflector passing over a run of track links on the glacis.  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 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.  Racks for additional fuel tanks are installed to the rear of the sides, with many short tie-down loops and a few longer ones in the mid-section, plus some stowage boxes made up with PE clasps that mount on the narrow horizontal fenders running down the side of the vehicle.

 

Small parts including various pioneer tools and stowage boxes are made up and fitted onto the remaining sloped spaces of the hull, including three trays of track grousers with PE straps, and two towing cables that 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.  A trio of smooth-surfaced cylindrical fuel tanks are installed on the curved brackets and five-piece tanks with PE and styrene shackles holding them in place, plus two short ribbed tanks taking up the 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. 

 

 

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 apply the adhesive.  Each side is built from 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.

 

This is not an interior kit, so the basic gun breech is made up from a few parts with another 7.62mm DT machine gun mounted coaxially in the mantlet, before it is set into the turret floor, which 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.  The turret upper starts as an almost complete shell with three sides moulded into it plus a pair of inner sidewall layers, which has some holes drilled into the outer skin and the roof fitted that has a large cupola with clear vision blocks and another block built into the front of the hatch, plus a simpler hatch for the gunner, both of which are shown installed closed.  The roof also has two more periscopes under armoured shrouds, and two vents on the rear, which are covered by a pair of armoured mushroom covers.   The single-part slide-moulded gun tube is inserted into the inner mantlet and covered by the outer that slides over it and the gun has a hollow muzzle for extra detail.  A PE top mantlet cover, plus a self-made canvas tarp (using your own stock) 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 in the future.

 

 

Markings

The decal sheet is wide and thin, and 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:

 

• Soviet Army, late 1960s
• North Vietnamese Army (People’s Army of Vietnam), early 1970s
• Army of Rhodesia, early 1970s
• Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
• Unidentified Unit, Yemen, late 2010s

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

We’ve been treated to many, many variants of this doughty and long-lived medium tank that saw service in almost as many places as the AK47 until the 1970s at least.  By the time this mod came out they were already outdated, under-armoured and under-armed, so must have been very cheap to buy.  It’s a great kit though, and the varied operators will be tempting for many.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[Cometracer]

Nice!  I didn't know the Rhodesians had T-34s.