AFV Modeller - Issue 19 - 2 - T-time.pdf - AFV Modeller - bonsaiPL

Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome all

the way from China, some of the most

exciting injection moulded kits you could

hope to see. There is no getting away from

the sheer schoolboy excitement induced

by the arrival of these two kits on my desk.

I had already seen the test shot pictures

and the T34/85 display models but these

really didn’t prepare me for the real thing.

They are in my opinion the most

spectacular injection moulded kits to have

been released and they mark out

Trumpeter as a new key player.

to engineer a complete interior. These are

elements that are by no means

commonplace in the average 1:35th kit

and when you compare these with the

likes of the Tamiya 1:16th scale Tank kits

you have to turn to the aftermarket

companies for these parts.

Tamiya have designed their kits primarily

for the RC market and this shows in the

lack of finesse in some components, but

Trumpeter have approached these kits as

purely static models and they are all the

better for it. Perhaps the best example of

this is the highly detailed turret ring which

is of course completely hidden when you

install the turret but they have taken the

trouble to reproduce it - always handy if

you want to blow the turret off! The quality

of the moulding is good and Trumpeter

have taken the trouble to replicate surface

textures where appropriate and everything

fits together well which is quite an

achievement given the complexity of the

kits. The inclusion of things like the etched

brass very much means that these can be

build straight from the box into some very

complete kits.

Trumpeter have released 4 versions of the

T34 - the 1942 T34/76, the 1943

hardedged ‘Mickey Mouse’ T34/76 and 2

versions of the T34/85. It appears that

Trumpeter have used the 85 as the basis

for all the kits which, given their prevalence

is understandable, but in their efforts to

keep as much commonality between

sprues they have introduced some

inaccuracies into the earlier 76 versions.

What you have here are complete

packages including etched brass, sprung

suspension with rubber tires, individual

track links and even braided metal tow

ropes and to top it all they have managed

Come on in!

It’s Trumpeter’s 1:16th

T34 with full interior

by David Parker

The turret ring is the bigger version for the

85 making the earlier turrets necessarily

inaccurate and likewise the kit supplies the

85 firewall and 85 engine oil filters. Both 76

kits lack the power transfer for the turret

and are short of the correct amount of

ready ammunition and also short one of

the floor ammo bins.

Given this, the 85 is most certainly the

easy option but to my mind also the least

exciting. It seemed the ‘42 with its big

turret hatch would offer the best

opportunity to show off the interior so I

decided to build a complete fighting

compartment in this and build the ‘43

buttoned up.

which go to form the inside hull walls. The

side walls for the fighting compartment

have the distinctive cut out scoops to

accommodate the bigger turret ring of the

T34/85 so these must be filled and I

thought the easiest method was to plate

them over using 10 thou card. The

locations for most of the fixtures and

fittings on the side walls is incorrect for the

earlier versions and is best ignored. Before

installing the inner walls it is best to fill the

large release pin marks on the hull floor.

under the seat - unfortunately they are

rather more complicated and this will be

visible. I began by making the 2 springs

which run from the steering levers to the

floor along with small heel rest which sits in

front of the right hand lever. The steering

controls feed back to a crossbar under the

drivers seat which I made from plastic rod

along with the control rods which run back

along the floor to the firewall. Most of this

area will be covered when the ammunition

stowage boxes are installed.

Trumpeter have done a good job in

providing a convincing representation of

the fighting compartment and especially

the drivers controls but there is still plenty

of room for improvement. Trumpeter have

run the rods from the drivers controls

The compressed air cylinders must be

plumbed in along with the hand pump for

the fuel system which is positioned

between the drivers pedals and this was

done using differing gauges of wire. The

driver and co drivers seats are very flat

Construction begins with the assembly of

the sprung suspension inside the towers

‘42

Bottle is relocated and detailed

hull interior

The power transfer

for the turret is not

included in the kit

so this was

scratchbuilt.

The radio equipment was detailed with

cabling and a scratchbuilt stowage bag.

New ammunition trays were built

using the kit tray and copies made.

The excellent HUSSAR Ammunition

was used to fill the trays.

The crew seats needed to be ‘re-

upholstered’ with MAGIC SCULPT

for a more realistic padded look.

The Driver’s controls were improved with

additional control rods and springs.

Moulded straps on the ammunition

bins were removed and replaced

with new ones made from pewter

strip.

The centrally positioned MG

ammunition stowage is taken from

the ‘43 kit and modified to fit.

The controls for the engine louvres

are repositioned next to the driver.

Head padding and weld

beads are made from

MAGIC SCULPT

MR SURFACER

500 was applied

to give an

appropiate

texture to the

armour plate.

The pivot control

for the antenna is

scratchbuilt

The dashboard is missing

the small light fitting.

A scratchbuilt radio mic is

added under the intercom box.

The engine bay was built straight from the

box because it would be hidden on the

completed model.

The only exception was adding cabling to

the engine.

The front fuel cells are missing from the kit.

A completely new firewall was built from

plastic card using the kit part as a

template. GRANDT LINE wingnuts were

used to replace the overscale kit parts.

The scoops on the hull side wall were

blanked off.

Cabling for the compressed air

system was added using different

guage wire.

‘42

turret interior

The vision port opening is

narrowed and the sides are built

up to the correct shape.

The cut back turret

edge is filled and a new

casting seam is added.

Weld beads

are added

using MAGIC

SCULPT.

Turret interior is

textured using MR

SURFACER 500 and

then lightly sanded.

The rough cast texture at the

front of the breech is created

with MR SURFACER.

The breechblock assembly is

carefully filled, sanded and

polished and small details

are added.

The kit has no stowage

bags included so you must

make your own. I also

added the cable

connections for the

intercom

The kit MG stowage

rack is not the correct

design so a new one

is built around the

etched brass kit part.

Chains are added to

the pistol ports along

with the one dangling

from the periscope.

The completed gun

minus barrel ready for

installation into the turret.

Note the shell bag under

the recoil guard which

was made from

GREEN STUFF

The machine gun

ammunition drums have

been detailed with canvas

straps and brass rod pull

rings.

AFV Modeller - Issue 19 - 2 - T-time.pdf

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