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AFV Club T-34/85 With Interior


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This is my fourth tank and the first with an interior and to my surprise and relief, it was an all-around fun build.  I bought this AFV Club kit when it first appeared, about ten years ago, with the thought that it would be a fun one to practice/ learn tank building on.  I originally figured I'd use the transparent turret and hull cover but the more I looked at the parts and picture on the box, the more I thought the clear parts made it look like a toy.  I also wasn't sure what to use to bond the clear parts together with (UV cure cement? epoxy?). Once I decided to paint everything, it all fell into place.  Painting the clear parts also allowed me to add a few weld joints to the front of the hull as well as roughen up the turret to make it look more like a casting by applying Mr. Surfacer 500 to the sides. The only upgrade I added was the AFV Club 550 mm workable tracks in place of the kit-supplied rubber band tracks.  I used Tamiya acrylics with Vallejo Satin acrylic clear coat for the most part along with Alclad metallizers on the valve covers and brass ammo pieces and then enamel washes and dry-bushing for the light weathering. I mostly build cars, planes and ships but have really enjoyed these first few tanks and look forward to building a few more, particularly ones with full interiors. I welcome any and all suggestions, comments and critiques.  Cheers,

John

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Looks great!  Please continue to build tanks👍🏻

I have the AFV T-34/76 ‘43 with the clear parts and had the same concerns (I don’t care for the clear parts either).  I’m assuming regular cement worked?

I’ll have to get into that one someday.  Of course it took me two years to do the Miniart T-34/85 (spectacular kit, just a LOT of parts!).

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Lovely build, lovely finish!

Forgive a "bone" question tho. What are the two large gas bottles in front of the driver/machine gunner? Oxy/acetylene maybe, in order to cut yourself out in times of need?

 Regards

Pete

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1 hour ago, Pete Robin said:

Lovely build, lovely finish!

Forgive a "bone" question tho. What are the two large gas bottles in front of the driver/machine gunner? Oxy/acetylene maybe, in order to cut yourself out in times of need?

 Regards

Pete

Thanks guys for the complimentary feedback.

Pete - I think these are compressed air tanks, not sure what they are used for, hopefully one of the more knowledgeable tankers here can educate us both! When I tried searching this subject on the web, I ran across this amazing T-34 manual here.

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Hi nearsightedjohn,

Very nice model, with a feeling of something heavy and metallic, one of my favorite tanks (I have one posted on the forum, without an interior, although it's a very poor quality kit), and I have another one in my stash, but in a 76mm version, with an AFV interior, and I hope it stays at least like yours.

Cheers and TC

Francis.👍

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On 29/11/2022 at 21:54, nearsightedjohn said:

I think these are compressed air tanks

 

To start the engine?

 

Superb work on the interior and the exterior. First time that I see a transparent (in a way) tank. That must have been fun!

 

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On 29/11/2022 at 23:54, nearsightedjohn said:

I think these are compressed air tanks, not sure what they are used for, hopefully one of the more knowledgeable tankers here can educate us both! When I tried searching this subject on the web, I ran across this amazing T-34 manual here.

 

Great job! Very realistic.

 

Yes, compressed air cylinders for emergency engine start. Here is the text from the instructions for starting the T-34 engine Note.

"If the electric start is faulty, it is necessary to start the engine with compressed air, for which open the valve on
the cylinder and the reduction valve, and when the engine starts working, immediately close them."

The link you posted has a description.

 

Dmitriy

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