FINISHED - First armor build: T34/76 1943

Modeling Subjects Armor
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Hey fella’s

Being a shipbuilder all of my modeling life, i took a few sidesteps to keep interested and to try to learn a thing or two.

Built a few aircraft with varying results, some good, some very mediocre. Had fun building them though…[:D]

Last time i visited my LHS i picked up a 1:35 Tamiya T34/76 1943 model with the 1943 hexagonal turret and started working on it, just to “do” something different. I do like the overall shape and appearance of the T34 and i have always wanted a nice model of it on my shelf so i guess this is it[:)].

After initial construction and painting it with dark green i went on with washes of dirt and rust. After that i have applied a wash of a lighter shade of green, finishing off with area’s of tamiya X-19 smoke at some places (figuring a final matte coat of varnish will cover up the shinyness of it).

A question for the veteran armor guys: Looking at these pictures, what are your thoughts, opinions…? What would you do next? Is this too much, too little? I would love to have some experienced feedback on my first tank model sofar. I was thinking drybrushing some edges in a random way with white (maybe a hint of green) paint? You tell me… I can use some guidance at this point…[:I]

Richard

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Good to see you’re getting out of your comfort zone there kermit. Looks good, I think that drybrush would be a good idea to bring out the casting details on the turret, posibbly just a bit of white mixed with the original green color would turn out well. Are you adding something into those redtangular holes on the side plates next to the engine? Like stowage boxes or something? I’m not to familiar with the '43 T-34. Looks good though.

On the issue of too much or too little, that’s been discussed here forever, personally I believe that you have a happy medium.

Oh, and after the drybrush, you should do some sort of wash to tone it down a bit, perhaps a darker than original green, mostly black. Just to fill in the gaps and give it some real depth.

Good luck! Keep us posted!

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I agree, I think you have a good thing going. Only thing I’d suggest would be some rust and chipping along the fenders and sharp edges. Those things took a beating. And the ruskies never seemed to touch up the paint! How dare they!

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looks good kermit

BTW are you on Model ship world, i think i know you from there beautiful ships sir, im flytyer75 on that forum

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The nice thing about the Tamiya T34/76 is the adjustable idler wheels not too many kits have those. And a nice set of Friuls or Modelkastens would set it off nice when used with the Tamiya’s adjustable idler wheels.

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Thanks to all for their response and kind words![#toast]

Today i will try to apply some drybrushing along the edges and see what the result will be. Also i have added a little rust on the undersides and some on the sides and front as i think the rear side received more “attention” as opposed to the rest. If i start to think it is getting overdone i can always easily take some off as i use watercolors for the washes. I will keep you guys posted[;)]

@ Figurefreak:

Yes yes, i’m on there as well [:D] I plead guilty as charged… Thanks for the compliment

Richard

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The the two projections on the hull nose need to be removed. Those were added post war for recovery purposes to the T-34 that Tamiya based their kit off of. They are not a standard fitting on a T-34. The variant you made with the raised commanders cupola was a later production type. Grab rails for tank “Desant” infantry were commonly fitted to the hull and turret by this point of the war.

As far as weathering goes. Definatley edge your center three road wheels, idler and sprocket wheels in a steel color as these are all steel rimmed and had lots of metal to metal contact with the tracks. also a worn area on the front below the drivers hatch as this was teh hull entry point for the driver and and hull machine gunner. Not necesarily bare steel but scuff marks and dirt/mud worn away by the mounting and dismounting of the crew.

Isn’t that a fun great starter kit for armor?

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Stikpusher,

Thanks for the heads up (you mean the eyebolts on the very front, right?). I must admit i kinda like them there as they sort of “fill up” that particular area of the front. I hope you will not be offended if i say i will still leave them there even if it is less than real-life-realistic.[;)]

The rims of the center wheels are easily adjusted though. Think i will take your advice on that one even though i think most of the paint will be covered up with the mud i am planning on using in the end. Thank you very much for your advice and help!

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(might as well make a little build log out of this topic…)

A little update to show you guys what my progress and changes are for today after considering all the tips and advice i got yesterday.

This morning (had a day off so lots of time to fool around…) i started out with some additional rust, mostly on the front end and undersides.

After reading the current “how realistic is a very very weathered tank” topic on here i looked at my tank model and decided my rust was a bit overdone so i removed/ dilluted most of it. I think the various angles of view show a more evenly applied subtle amount of rust.

After this i have drybrushed most edges and protruding items with a flat white paint and a gunmetal (humbrol 53) colour in a lesser extent. The shinyness of the fuelbarrels will be toned down as i made a little mistake not taking enough paint off of my brush while drybrushing.

Apart from that i am quite pleased with the result myself, considering it is a first time build.[:)]

This kit has been a great starter indeed. No interior detail whatsoever but assembly was a breeze and outside detail is great for the price i have paid along with the fitting of the parts.

The pics (to compensate for a thousand words):

Right now i am thinking of doing the final assembly first (railings, spare tracks on the turret and the tracks themselves) and finish off with a dark dirt wash before i coat it with a layer of varnish/ future and final weathering and decalling. Do the armor guys use future too or rather a coat of matte varnish?

Now that i am yacking on and on anyways…:[:I]

Looking at other builds i have seen people use grinded pastel chalks for their mud weathering. Today i went to a hobby/ art store and picked up a box of oil based pastel chalks on an oil base. Is this useful? And do i grind it and just use the powder or do i use something to make it wet? (turpentine spirit for this kind of chalk?). Could use a little heads up on that…

Richard

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yas kermit we armor builders use future also, sorry to break it to ya but the oils arent as useful as the chalks are, the build looks great especially the top of the turret

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Sometimes those pastel chalks when wet make a good mud. And alot of modelers like the Doog and WBill use the oil paints for what is called a dot filter effect.

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Ok, so what do i use to make oil based chalks wet with? I’m thinking the same agents you use for enamel paints but i could be horribly wrong…[;)]

The chalks i bought are called “Van Gogh” BTW. (not surprising, since i am dutch…LOL). The normal chalks i found were three times as expensive so i opted for these oil based ones. Do hope i made a good purchase…

Richard

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Actually Kermit you don’t want the oil based pastels. You want the chalk based ones.

You take the pastel bar, gently shave a small amount off so you now have a pile of pigment dust. I like to mix isopropyl alcohol with the pastels until I get a thin mixture like a wash. Using a wide flat brush I apply this where I want the pigment to go. It dries fast so I can go back with a dry brush, qtip, or similar tool and wipe away what looks too intense. This looks like what it is, dust on the tank.

The same pigment can be mixed with different liquids, glue or such to replicate mud caked on the wheels and tracks. You use less liquid and it comes out more “gooey” like real mud.

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Well, it’s definitely getting there! Try looking through these couple posts. These are some weathering tutorials and posts that I did. There’s a lot of info here to chew up, so take your time!

/forums/832933/ShowPost.aspx

/forums/898805/ShowPost.aspx

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There’s oil based chalk? never knew that. Im of Dutch descent myself descended from 4 dutch families on my moms side Meijer, DeSwanne, Timmer ,and Wehrsmah.

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Doog,

Exceptional work in those threads, i would like to use the word “jawdropping” there[;)] Very impressive but also very humbling…[#toast] Love your work!

Especially the use of primary colours in a dotted random fashion and then smearing/ dilluting them over the model is mighty interesting stuff. Definately going to try that out on a model altough i will probably be terrified looking at those screaming colours on a nice paintjob[(-D]. But again, very interesting material and thank you for the links.

I do hope i will be able to apply some of the techniques shown on my model… But for a first model i will just be very happy to have someone look at the finished product and say: hey it’s dirty… Not expecting stellar work anyways…[:I]

Richard

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Today’s progress for you guys to see and comment on…[:)]

Did a lot of work today and personally i think my first armor build is just about finished.

Completed assembly (steel towing wires, stowage, tracks etc.) And drybrushed it with several colours, completing with decals and powder coatings.

It still needs it’s final coat of varnish and there are still some glue marks from fitting the railings and towing cables. This will ofcourse be adressed[;)] I just wanted to wait with varnishing to hear what everybody thinks sofar. Does it still need something? I don’t think i should apply any more rust since i already think it is slightly overdone but i did that on purpose, even if it may not be too realistic… I just wanted a rustbucket on my shelf[:-^]

The pics:

(towing cables look far too new and shiny on that last picture but it looks much more like the next pic in real life)

The last picture is far less green in real life but my camera had a hard time focusing on the dark spots…(Nikon L100 is great for me but offers little manual control, hence the problems…) Still posted it for you to see what i have done to the wheels and tracks.

Oh and before anybody comments on the decals… I am not building any historically significant model so if my model doesn’t look like the real thing…there you have it[;)] Purely fictional. I just thought the cyrillic writing looks very cool and ummm… russian[8D] It says “Stalinist” on there btw…

Comments, critics and pointers are very welcome as always. Is there anything totally not ok about this one? Let me know please…

Richard

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Hey kermit, sweet T-34 you have. For a shipbuilder, I’m double impressed. I like the weathering too. I think maybe a darker wash on the grills would give a little more depth to it. Well done.

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Hi Kermit!

Glad you liked those links, and thanks for the compliments! I hope you get some ideas from them!

You know, to be honest, I think your T-34 is “done”. I think it looks just perfectly fine! For a guy who doesn’t build armor, this is about as good as I’ve seen. It could easily compete with some of the more veteran modelers–there’s nothing on it that looks underdone or overdone to me. The weathering is entirely adequate and appropriate.

I only hope that by “varnish”, you mean “Flat” coat? I hardly seal my models at all–a VERY light coat of flat maybe, but sometimes I don’t even seal them. Varnish can hide weathering pastels and powders, and attack your finish is you use too much. Whatever you do, go LIGHTLY on it.

I think this one could be put on the shelf with pride. [:D]

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Tigerman and Doog,

Coming from you guys i take the compliments very eagerly! Thanks a million gents!

I agree that the powdering has taken some of the depth out of the grille on the backside… Easily adjusted…[;)]

And by varnish i do indeed mean a flat coat (sorry for any misunderstandings as i am not a native english speaker…)

But if i don’t use it, won’t the powders be at risk then? Or do they “set” over time? Wouldn’t know to be honest… I have used plain chalk based powders on this model btw…

For a first armor build i must admit i have never thought i could achieve this level since i have only barely used washes and powders before. I just gave it the very best i could at this point and i don’t think i could have done it any better than this[:)] Definately will try another armored vehicle in the future[:D]

Richard

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[tup] Kermit, your T-34 looks great. You may not have been building tanks before, but obviously you are a quick learner. Very well done! I am looking forward to seeing more tanks from you. [#toast]