Build Log - Trumpeter 1:72 Scale T-34/76 mod. 1942 (#07206)

[pr154]

Hi Folks!

After the overwhelming support and guidance from this community following a slight oopsie on my last model, I’ve decided to do a build log of my next project here!

A little bit of my modelling history for context…

• I was gifted a Dragon 1:35 Brummbar in 2019, which was waaaay too complicated for me to take on with any confidence of doing it justice, so I’ve since gone about “ruining” a series of cheap 1:72 scale kits in order to build up both confidence and competency. We’re now at 5 kits in, with each kit presenting a new challenge that I have been determined to overcome in the next kit
• Well-meaning relatives noting my interest in model building have also gone on to gift me some nice kits, with a 1:48 Tamiya Panther Ausf G and 1:35 Tamiya M10 IIC Achilles joining Brummbar on the shelf awaiting my competency
• Panzer IV Ausf G F2 was the first to be started and completed, which suffered from poor attention to instructions leading to a drive sprocket getting glued where a rear idler should be, which was a mistake not realised until the following morning requiring cutting, drilling and pinning to correct and a track that still doesn’t sit right. This model was also a hard lesson in why gloss coats are essential to prevent silvering of decals, so we were determined to get that right on the next build…
• Cromwell saw the first successful application of decals, but not without destroying one of the sets that came with that particular kit. The alternate set was not a true match for the vehicle, but was a successful application nonetheless. As it turns out I had taken some poor advice in how liberally to apply Micro Sol, resulting in over-softened decals that wanted to curl up and implode
• Stug III Ausf G was a kit purchased to confirm ability to apply decals without using any expletives. Mercifully I was successful in this endeavour.
• Tank Mark I (Male) was a successful attempt at a complex camouflague scheme, completed by brushwork, as well as experimenting with mini-diorama basing and environmental weathering. This was broadly successful and set a new standard for display which was then extended to the balance of my collection which each enjoy a little diorama base now
• Tiger I was the latest addition, was intended to be a test to confirm competency at an airbrushed 3-colour German Camouflage scheme followed by basic weathering. Although briefly successful in the airbrushed 3-colour German camouflage, it was subsequently destroyed by a series of paint compatibility issues but the model was ultimately saved by some old-fashioned brushwork. Unfortunately not the finish I was going for…
  
  

Which brings us to this thing… Our main goals of this build are to:

• Achieve an airbrushed paint finish in 4BO using a 1:1 mix of Tamiya XF-21 and XF-67
• Achieve realistic shading and highlights using Abteilung502 oil paints
• Mount on a simple base representing a Kursk summer
  
  

I’m conscious that other paint manufacturers specifically offer 4BO as well as modulation sets, but I have a better feel for how Tamiya acrylics thin and behave, and I feel the source of that mix/ratio achieved the result I’m looking for:
https://www.reddit.com/r/modelmakers/comments/uvo3wy/postwar_soviet_t3485_zvezda_korean_war_completed/#lightbox

Unfortunately the Trumpeter kits don’t offer too much provenance of the vehicle being represented by the model, but some eagle-eyed operators found this photo of a T-34/76 lost in a minefield in the Battle of Kursk (July 1943).

From the same forum, it was also suggested that the inscription on the turret wrapped around it, rather than being symmetrical unit markings like you’d expect from other nations of the era. Best guess is that it might say something like “For Gorky’s suffering” - “За горьковск ие страдания”

Russian translation

We may… and I stress may… look to handpaint the turret to represent the original intent out of respect for the original occupants of this vehicle, but not at the expense of achieving our core goals that will allow us to move onto the next project with confidence of outcome

Into the first step of the build it’s so far, so good. Fit of main hull components was good, however the mating of the upper and lower hull isn’t supposed to happen until Step 8, but relies on the accurate placement of the transmission cover in Step 2. There’s absolutely no reason to leave mating the hull parts that long (so far as I can tell), and I have been burned before by piecemeal assembly of upper and lower hull elements resulting in a misclose of parts when mating several steps later.

We’ll let the wife’s “borrowed” plastic hair ties do their thing before we move on to further assembly steps. Note that I’ve had to adjust the hair tie tension with a piece of sprue in order to force a fit for the transmission cover.

The only other gripe I’d make at this stage is the part-sprue connections are quite fat, so there’s quite a bit of sanding required, even after careful application of the side cutters

That’s it for now… Tips, comments, suggestions and criticisms welcome!

[Toimi_Tom]

Checking in!

What an awesome subject, and I really appreciate the historical digging you’re doing. And the review of your past kits, and that you’ve set specific goals for the build, new things to try, etc. I need to do that for myself. Be more intentional.

[GreySnake01]

Looking forward to seeing how it comes along. Always admire anyone who can build in 1/72 scale it was too small for me even when I was much younger.

[pr154]

Thanks for your interest folks!
@Toimi_Tom … I’ve been following your BA-6 build, as I was interested to see how you were achieving your 4BO finish. You must have the patience of a saint working with that etched brass. @GreySnake01 … Thanks mate! I’m fairly comfortable with this scale, having done a few aircraft at that scale in my youth. If anything, I find when the kits get bigger the capacity for moulded detail increases proportionally. Best of luck with your Type-61 build - There’s definitely a world of difference between modern model kit tooling and the vintage classics

The hair ties have come off, and the hull has come together pretty well apart from the rear armour plates. I’m not sure if this was a side effect of the moulding or some vigorous sanding to get those fat part/sprue connections cleaned up, but either way I had a lopsided lower rim to my rear armour plate

This was nothing that couldn’t be evened up with a hobby knife and a #600 grit sanding pen but it does bug me a little that the model doesn’t accurately represent the manner by which these major kit parts meet…

The remainder of the hull and turret build went smoothly enough, other than having to deal with these very fat model-sprue connections. Mould lines were either not obvious, or designed to align with changes of gradient of the model surface. I was impressed at the size of some the parts they felt to include such as the tiny handrails on the hull, which are absent from kits of many manufacturers at similar scale. These needed to be fixed with CA, as there wasn’t much of a socket for the parts to sit in. I’m somewhat inspired to do a kit in the future with Soviet infantry using those handrails to ride into battle. For all of the attention to detail with hull handrails though, this wasn’t transferred to the turret. Although we had some hull-mounted toolboxes, a tow cable, and external fuel tanks (the triangular boxes at the back) there was little in the way of externally-mounded tools either moulded in or available as separate parts.

There are some rather large holes that require filling, such as an unexplained pair of penetrations in the engine cover and the highly visible void in the hull side of the fuel tanks. The fuel tank holes are probably there by design but could have been covered with inclusion of another part. The engine cover holes seem more like a manufacturing error, and I’m noticing a few more irregularities as I inspect the photographs. That’ll be “Next Weekend Darren’s” problem…

I found this Trumpeter plastic much more brittle than what I’ve been used to working with from Airfix or Games Workshop, but despite all of the tiny parts the only part breakage of note was at the top of the gun mantlet. Believe it or not, I caused this fracture while using side-cutters to separate it from the sprue, cutting at the angle one would normally associate with side-cutters… I feel like I might need to use Green Stuff or something more plastic to fix this particular problem - Advice or tips most welcome!

Otherwise next steps are going to be:

• Clean up irregularities (damned hi-res photography has a way of picking things up)
• Sand and fill obvious craters and other irregularities with Perfect Plastic Putty
• Repair gun mantlet with Green Stuff
• Construct a radio antenna from either wire or stretched sprue (probably wire given the brittle plastic)
• Prime in Chaos Black
• Prime, Paint and Assemble wheels separately but coordinated to maintain consistency of finish

Until next time!

[GreySnake01]

@pr154

Best of luck with your Type-61 build - There’s definitely a world of difference between modern model kit tooling and the vintage classics

There is the moldings on the T-34 look so much better then the ancient Type 61.

[pr154]

We may … and I stress may … look to handpaint the turret to represent the original intent out of respect for the original occupants of this vehicle, but not at the expense of achieving our core goals that will allow us to move onto the next project with confidence of outcome

With a little help from good-ol’ Grok to create what the wraparound text would look like, I am emboldened to do this the hard way…

Alternatively has anyone had success printing your own decals? Seems like a thing

Bare Metal Foil White Decal Sheet 8.5 x 11 (Ink Jet) (1) BMF119

How To Make Custom Decals For Model Projects

[pr154]

Small update today… I was hoping to do some sanding and filling of my tank this weekend, unfortunately my FLHS doesn’t have Perfect Plastic Putty in stock. I had to throw out my last tube as I was a little aggressive with rolling it up from the bottom, and exceeded the limits of the tube ductility

I’ve started work on the base instead. I found the pine board base on Tiger I provided a more satisfying finish, but I still have a few blocks of balsa that are suitable for smaller 1:72 and 1:76 scale tanks like this so have elected to continue to use them up. Due to the limited base size and limited objectives of this build, we won’t be going for anything spectacular - We just want to represent a patch of dirt in the Kursk summer, noting that the vehicle this model appears to be based on was knocked out by a German mine during the Soviet counter-offensive to Operation Citadel in July 1943.
(Source: Roger-Viollet - Photo agency since 1938)

I’ve started off by marking the dimensions of the tank with a sharpie and masked off the edges. This was my guide for making the track impressions. I’ll be painting the balsa black like the others, so the guide marks won’t be visible in the finished product. If it were pine, I’d use a pencil and erase before staining, but a pencil would cause surface damage to the soft balsa.

I’ve previously used hardware store plaster filler to develop the ground of my bases, but haven’t been satisfied with its workability and it has presented issues adhering to the base without adding water which then affects its durability on drying. This time I’ve used an air-drying clay, also picked up from a hardware store. I’ve only made a thin application, as it cracked when I was using it to add some depth to the Tiger I base. Research suggested thicker applications were more likely to experience shrinkage and cracking, and this base isn’t big enough to accommodate much variation in the terrain anyway…

The thin application had caused some issues when trying to make track impressions, as the clay would stick to the tracks and lift off the balsa base forcing me to rework it a few times. To remedy this, I ultimately applied a light application of flour on the tracks, and they went on to release without problems

Unfortunately despite the thin application of the clay, it’s still experienced cracking and shrinkage. It might just be a side-effect of using cheap hardware store clay. I’ll apply a texture paint once it’s baked out, which has traditionally covered the cracking, but this time I’ll apply a clear coat first as I found on my last model the acrylic paints had reactivated the clay, and causing some discolouration in the finished product

These cracks were effectively covered up by texture paint on Tiger I, but I’d rather not have to deal with them in the first place. If anyone can advise on better base substrate materials, I’m all ears.

I also noticed the clay was reactivated by acrylic products such as the texture paint and subsequent overcoats on Tiger I which has caused a white stain to come through. Once it’s baked out I’ll apply a clear coat and see if that helps, again any advice welcome!

Thanks for stopping by!

[pr154]

I was planning to use some green stuff (Kneadatite) to repair the damage to the gun manlet that cracked during side-cuttering from the sprue anyway.

Following that repair, I figured it could also be stuffed into the various holes requiring filling. I’ll set aside for now and carve/sand for a smooth finish later

Otherwise, just doing a bit of sanding of some of the rougher edges. I’ll get to work on the wheels and see how it all looks after priming in case there are other areas requiring attention…

[GreySnake01]

Coming along nicely.

[Toimi_Tom]

Yep, looking good. It’s tough to remember how small these 72nd kits really are.

As for the clay — I’ve only messed with it a little, but my understanding is that the cracks are a result of it drying too fast. Maybe try a damp rag laid over it for the first night or something to slow the drying process?

[pr154]

Are you a concretor? Because that’s something a concretor would say… That’s actually a pretty good idea though, letting it cure under moisture. My only concern is whether it still has a live shrink-swell index after drying. I’ll do a test piece on cardboard and see if that helps the outcome

I’ve been doing some research into Celluclay and similar products in the meantime. It seems like it would be a better fit for me, but there is a real mix of experiences out there, good, bad and ugly - I won’t have to do another model base for a while though so plenty of time to mull on that and test the aftorementioned

[Toimi_Tom]

lol. Not a concretor. But I did watch this charming YouTuber:

Das Air Drying Clay - Pro Terrain Tips & Tricks

[pr154]

Okay, so it’s been a little while since I worked with Green Stuff, so had some mixed results with using it as a substitute for a filler. The gun mantlet has come out fine, and I now have an assembled turret. Unfortunately this particular kit does not support a variable gun elevation, so it’s had to be CA’d into place

Unfortunately my attempts to get it to fill the smaller gaps didn’t hold up to sanding so I’ve tried a different approach, this time actually sculpting the Green Stuff - This is probably more in line with its intended application of the product anyway - The photo makes it appear a bit rougher than it is, but we’ll see how it goes post-prime

[GreySnake01]

I’m afraid the little hole on the back of the engine cover is supposed to be there.

[pr154]

Ugh, diving a bit deeper I think you’re right… Therein lies the danger of jumping on a single image as a reference. I feel I’m a little committed at this point though.

There seems to be a lot of variety in these rear engine cover penetrations. Some only have a single hole, while this was moulded with two holes such as this T-34/85 at Eden Camp, Yorkshire

Edit: Nope, we were still within Green Stuff’s workability window… Thanks for the save!

[pr154]

Well priming didn’t go well… Thought I could squeeze one more model out of the Chaos Black can, but it wasn’t to be. I have an unprimed tank bottom now

Priming of the upper revealed that while the green stuff restored the structure of the gun mantlet, additional filling is required. So we’re on hold until I can get some more product delivered, refill, resand and reprime…

[pr154]

Base texturing has progessed, with a sand/gravel mix providing isolated rocky features and a stick from the garden providing some additional ground features. The star of the show is the AK Terrains Muddy Ground, which is a textured acrylic paint. A thin application such as this will credibly turn a hand-formed clay surface into a natural-looking patch of dirt, or turn your base into something resembling the Somme in 1916 with more liberal dumping straight from the jar.

As an added bonus it’s also managed to fill in the cracking of the air-dry clay without degrading our track impressions, so probably no need for me to reinvent that particular wheel until the current batch of clay either runs out or dries out…

We’ll revisit later in the build so we can coordinate the paint coats with our model when we get to the weathering stage, and apply a little static grass

Rightly or wrongly, we have quite a bit of contemporary evidence of how the Kursk terrain appears when chewed up by war. I’m even thinking I may have overdone it with the rocks, but there’s plenty of time to change course if necessary

[ScaleModeler66]

Outstanding build progress. I have meaning to buy the AK Muddy Ground…what is your opinion thus far of it?

[pr154]

Thanks mate! Honestly I have no complaints about the product, as it gives you exactly what it says straight from the jar. I don’t have a point of comparison with other products, other than to say it beats trying to mix a paint/glue/grit combination yourself. Grit size is small enough that it still looks like mud/dirt at smaller scales like 1:72. The product already has a burnt umber colour to it, so can potentially go down without having to paint.

It looks expensive for what it is, but it’ll go a lot further if you can develop the shape of your terrain using your substrate (in my case, have used either plaster or clay). I’ve done 3 model bases with it now and feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of the jar. You just need to be mindful that it’s an acrylic product and will reactivate any water-soluble substrate. With this base, I put a lacquer-based clear coat (Tamiya TS-13) over the clay substrate as a barrier first and didn’t have any issues.

I’ve seen some of the diorama professionals build up a simple foam substrate and then dump the product like they’re icing a cake - This uses a bit more product but you can sculpt it, press in other terrain features or make track impressions to get to your final result. I haven’t tried this approach with it yet, but maybe with the right subject like another Great War or a larger WWII Eastern Front kit I will

For vehicle models, you can also apply it directly to tracks and undercarriage to build up a texture and appearance of accumulated mud. It has the durability for you to apply early in your model build process, but I wouldn’t recommend this if you like the colour and ar planning to leverage the straight-from-the-jar convenience.

I’ve pasted some photos of the two other bases I’ve used this product on immediately after application - Both a fair bit larger than T-34’s balsa base, as the balsa bases were cut too small for a 1:72 Tiger I or 1:48 Panther G - I may do a retrospective build log on these kits as they were reasonably well documented in photographs

1:48 Panther Ausf G - Plaster substrate - 2nd Pass

1:72 Tiger I Ausf E - Plaster and clay substrate - 2nd Pass

The only downside is that in a lighter application, I’ve found it can struggle to get into all of the recesses of a textured substrate (notice a few white spots in Post #16) so either requires some thinning or touch-ups if you’re not planning to paint the ground. I’m loathe to thin textured paints too much as this can affect its hold on the grit. AK recommend leaving 24hrs for each coat to dry, which is why I try to advance the base texturing early in the process so I’m not held up by a minimum of 48hrs of applying and drying two passes with just this product.

My biggest regret is that I didn’t know about this product when I built my Mark I, which had a base developed from a thick application of plaster (Spakfilla). I’d then achieved the muddy look by letting the plaster set, painting with a brown acrylic and then applying a gloss coat

[ScaleModeler66]

Thank you very much for the indepth and informative answer. I definitely want to purchase a few jars of AK’s diorama base compounds.
Your base looks great with the track indentation. Can’t wait to see the fruits of your labor. I’m here until you finish her.