Post by dierk on Jul 16, 2014 11:54:02 GMT -5
Trying to move my thread from MHI here - no idea how to get all your kind comments accross though...it's coz I'm blond innit. I've copied and pasted some edited highlights, hope that's OK.
I've decided to dip my toe into the post WWII era - don't worry, I won't make a habit of it
I'm going to losly base my model on this (for discussion porpoises only):
Using the AFV Club kit of the 174 factory T-34/85 some Friuls, PE goodies and road-wheels donated by Tamiya's T-62A
The kit is very impressive (apart from the lazzy band tracks) and comes with a pretty complete interior. I'm not going to go all rivet-countery on the interior, as it's going to be virtually invisible:
With a bit of fiddling the suspension can be made to be workable:
There are some wheels visible in the background - these will not make it into the final edit:
Seats, ammo boxes and firewalls are dry fitted:
I've left off the ammo to make painting easier:
I intend to go for the rancid, barely operational piece of junk look with this one, I think.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Tojo72 » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:02 pm
Should be a very interesting build,up to approx what year did they use these in Afganistan /
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Robbo » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:06 pm
Nice start and a very nice looking kit
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:20 pm
Tojo72 wrote:Should be a very interesting build,up to approx what year did they use these in Afganistan /
Good question - I have to admit I don't have a definitive answer, but I'm guessing not many will have survived the invasion by the soviet union.
Thanks for joining Robbo. In the dim and distant past (>30 years ago) I built a Tamiya T-34/76, and a 1940 model Dragon kit a couple of years ago. IMHO the AFV kit, although not perfect, is the best one on the market.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby deafpanzer » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:23 pm
You definitely have my attention! What habit? It is still Russian tank, right? :lol:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:26 pm
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby bullardino » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:27 pm
I knew this one was coming, I heard it on the grapevine
I'll follow really interested, I have a Dragon 85 with tank riders that I intend to do this autumn
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby `Boots` » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:28 pm
Great start Dierk so count me in fella
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Wouter » Mon Apr 28, 2014 8:47 pm
always good to see a T34 mate ^^
Cheers
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby DickyF » Mon Apr 28, 2014 8:50 pm
Nice clean building here Dierk....yer right, this is a great lookin' kit and a cool project....got me in!
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby wbill76 » Mon Apr 28, 2014 11:48 pm
Off to a great start Dierk! Looking forward to more on this one.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Tue Apr 29, 2014 8:29 am
Boots, Wouter, Dicky and Bill: Thanks for joining the party - always more fun with your support.
Because T-34 builds are common as muck :silent: , I thought it best to chose a slightly more unusul subject.
This build isn't going to be anywhere near as rapid as my recent efforts - the weather is getting better, so I'll be out on my new toy more often.
One of the many good things about this kit is that you get 3 drive-wheels and idlers to choose from - even better the ones in the reference picture are one of them.
Two things I haven't figured out yet are what are those two brackets in front of the fuel-tank mounting for and what are the four pins in front of them (spare track?) Any ideas gents?
Got the Friuls finished. Next I think I'll mask off bits of the interior and mess around with my AB.
Cheers,
Dierk
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby snipersmudge » Thu May 01, 2014 9:56 am
nice subject choice and nice neat work
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Leon » Thu May 01, 2014 1:05 pm
Nice start Dierk. :thumbup:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Fri May 02, 2014 8:54 am
Thanks gents.
Things are moving quite slowly on this one - managed to get some primer on the interior and started to paint the shells. Not too impressed with the (lack of) coverage of Vallejo Old Gold :problem: .
Still waiting for a few bits to arrive.
Got some running around to do today, so I'm not sure how much, if anything, I'll get done today.
Cheers,
Dierk
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Mon May 05, 2014 10:36 am
Thanks for the tips gents - unfortunately, my local shop has a very limited range, so I'm pretty much stuck with Vallejo. After three coats the finish was acceptable.
Got the fighting compartment pretty much done:
Although I enjoyed doing the interior, it is a bit of a wasted effort as most of it will be hidden once hull and turret is added:
I've removed the styrene mudguards with a grinder and sanded the surface in preperation for the PE replacements arrive.
Good thing I haven't glued in the firewalls :lucky: , as I found adding gearbox and engine to be easier in the followong order: first wriggle the gearbox/clutch assembly into place then squeeze in the engine after which just slot in the firewalls - that's the way it worked best for me during dry-fitting attempts.
I noticed some German - or Tschörmen as they pronounce it here :crazy: - Ebayers have a nasty habit of marking goods as sent but actually physically posting it several days later :thumbdown: So instead of being out playing on my bike, I'm stuck in waiting for deliveries :sick:
Not sure how much, if any, of the Aber PE set (actually for the Dragon kit) I'm going to use - at lot of it seems unnecessarily fiddly, often replacing stuff that's either pretty good already on the AFV club kit, like the engine grilles on the side, or utterly invisible :think:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby bullardino » Mon May 05, 2014 3:55 pm
Lovely progress, the interiors look great. Gotta get me one of those...
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby `Boots` » Mon May 05, 2014 4:05 pm
Just catching up with this one Dierk.................fabulous job on that interior fella, gets a big :thumbup: from me bud
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby deafpanzer » Mon May 05, 2014 4:47 pm
Excellent work on the interior! :thumbup: Hope you can keep all hatches open so we can see some of it.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Wouter » Mon May 05, 2014 5:05 pm
Nice to see progress mate, interior looks good, as well as the exterior. Looking forward to see the Aber fenders fitted...hope your stuff arrives soon!
Worked with Aber just once and it wasn't bad but I found it quite hard to assemble some of their smaller stuff
Cheers
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby wbill76 » Tue May 06, 2014 12:07 am
Nice work on that interior Dierk! Having just done something similar with my Pz I F build, I know how you feel about it all getting hidden away somewhat, but we know it's there!
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Tue May 06, 2014 9:38 am
bullardino wrote:Lovely progress, the interiors look great. Gotta get me one of those...
In my limited experience I consider this kit to be the best T-34/85 on the market - apart from the lazzie band tracks. If you shop around you can get one for about the same money that Dragon charge - got mine on evilbay for 35 €. There's one real problem with the /76: it has both early and late airfilters - quite difficult to fix.
Welcome to the party Boots, and thanks for the kind comment :thumbup:
deafpanzer wrote:Excellent work on the interior! :thumbup: Hope you can keep all hatches open so we can see some of it.
That's the plan - at least as far as the fighting compartment is concerned.
Wouter wrote:Nice to see progress mate, interior looks good, as well as the exterior. Looking forward to see the Aber fenders fitted...hope your stuff arrives soon!
Worked with Aber just once and it wasn't bad but I found it quite hard to assemble some of their smaller stuff
Cheers
Cheers Wouter - Yeah, the small Aber stuff I find exceedingly frustrating...I think I prefer watching other people, who are much better than me, struggle with the stuff - personally I can't really be bothered anymore as it takes all the fun out of the hobby for me. It's why I don't do German armour - all those tool mountings would drive me into the arms of the pharmaceutical industry :crazy: The mudguards are by ET - even with postage from Australia they worked out a fraction of the price of Aber.
wbill76 wrote:Nice work on that interior Dierk! Having just done something similar with my Pz I F build, I know how you feel about it all getting hidden away somewhat, but we know it's there!
Thanks Bill - Panzer I interior? Rather you than me mate :bow:
Finished assembling engine gearbox clutch and radiators. Hopefully I get to prime them today and maybe start on the paint.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby bullardino » Tue May 06, 2014 9:43 am
I know that the /76 needs some intervention... Nevertheless a full interior kit is something to have.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Tue May 06, 2014 9:51 am
bullardino wrote:I know that the /76 needs some intervention... Nevertheless a full interior kit is something to have.
Couldn't agree more - and if you keep the gearbox cover on, who's to know (apart from yourself)? Another major advantage is that you don't have to second guess the instructions with AFV, the way you have to with Dragon :roll:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby bullardino » Tue May 06, 2014 9:53 am
Dierk wrote:
bullardino wrote:I know that the /76 needs some intervention... Nevertheless a full interior kit is something to have.
Couldn't agree more - and if you keep the gearbox cover on, who's to know (apart from yourself)? Another major advantage is that you don't have to second guess the instructions with AFV, the way you have to with Dragon :roll:
You must be a genius if you need only two times to understand Dragon's instuctions. I still have unclear parts of the one I finished more than one year ago
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Leon » Tue May 06, 2014 9:58 am
Nice work on the interior Dierk,making good progress. :thumbup:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Tue May 06, 2014 10:07 am
bullardino wrote:
Dierk wrote:
bullardino wrote:I know that the /76 needs some intervention... Nevertheless a full interior kit is something to have.
Couldn't agree more - and if you keep the gearbox cover on, who's to know (apart from yourself)? Another major advantage is that you don't have to second guess the instructions with AFV, the way you have to with Dragon :roll:
You must be a genius if you need only two times to understand Dragon's instuctions. I still have unclear parts of the one I finished more than one year ago
Who said anything about understanding? :lol: :lol: :lol: Guesswork, that's all it is :tune:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby TRM » Tue May 06, 2014 12:10 pm
Doing some catch here and there Dierk...sorry for coming in on this one so late!! Interior looks great my friend!! I cannot wait to see you bring the outside around!!
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby bullardino » Tue May 06, 2014 12:11 pm
Dierk wrote:
bullardino wrote:You must be a genius if you need only two times to understand Dragon's instuctions. I still have unclear parts of the one I finished more than one year ago
Who said anything about understanding? :lol: :lol: :lol: Guesswork, that's all it is :tune:
Have you ever experienced their photographic instructions? They're hilarious.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Tue May 06, 2014 3:33 pm
Thanks Leon!
No need to apologise Todd - you've made it and that's all that matters. Still got quite a way to go before I get round to the outside - and I'm still waiting for fenders and wheels - oh, and I'll be popping back home to the UK for a few days next week.
bullardino wrote:
Dierk wrote:
bullardino wrote:You must be a genius if you need only two times to understand Dragon's instuctions. I still have unclear parts of the one I finished more than one year ago
Who said anything about understanding? :lol: :lol: :lol: Guesswork, that's all it is :tune:
Have you ever experienced their photographic instructions? They're hilarious.
That is one dubious pleasure :hurl: I have indulged in on my last T-34 the 1940 model. Hilarious indeed :lolno:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby bullardino » Tue May 06, 2014 4:14 pm
Dierk wrote:That is one dubious pleasure :hurl: I have indulged in on my last T-34 the 1940 model. Hilarious indeed :lolno:
Almost the same kit, mine was Mod. 1941
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Tue May 06, 2014 6:49 pm
bullardino wrote:
Dierk wrote:That is one dubious pleasure :hurl: I have indulged in on my last T-34 the 1940 model. Hilarious indeed :lolno:
Almost the same kit, mine was Mod. 1941
I feel your pain :cry:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby snipersmudge » Tue May 06, 2014 6:58 pm
very nice interior looking good
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby DickyF » Tue May 06, 2014 10:34 pm
Very nice internals Dierk - cool weathering fella
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Thu May 08, 2014 9:00 am
Cheers Pete and Nemo!
Got everything squeezed into their respective places:
Gearbox/airfilters/clutch:
BTW, exhaust pipe segments on the airfilters don't line up with the ones on the engine :?:
I'm very tempted to rip out the engine again and use it for a future project (I have a resin workshop conversion for a ZIS/GAZ truck). It's such a well-detailed model-in-a-model, and so little of it is visible once it's in place - I'd even add the wiring if I did it. Any suggestions if I should keep it for later?
Wheels arrived yesterday (together with the rest of Tamiya's - not very good, but cheap, T-62A). They'll take a bit of work to turn into late T-34 wheels. For starters, they are a bit too wide. Right before, left after:
A recent stroke of luck made that a pretty easy job: a local discounter called Netto had a Dremel-a-like on offer for a very reasonable 10 euro. Rechargeable battery and numerous cutting, grinding and drilling bits. :lucky:
There are a number of differences between the road-wheels used on the T-62 and late T-34s. A couple of pictures for discussion purposes only:
T-62:
T-34:
Another problem to over-come is that the Tamiya wheels have much larger axle-diameters than the AFV ones. First I'm going to try to make the AFV axles thicker by wrapping a bit of tape around them. If that doesn't work I'll fill the holes in the wheels and then drill a hole of the right diameter.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby bullardino » Thu May 08, 2014 9:45 am
Interiors look great Dierk.
The wheels need some care, but I'm sure you will make them perfect
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Wouter » Thu May 08, 2014 10:11 am
agree, this looks very good mate
Cheers
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby paulh » Thu May 08, 2014 12:41 pm
You could also try additing a sleeve with some everygreen or similar tube stock?
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby ceresvesta » Thu May 08, 2014 1:04 pm
Very nice one Dierk! Excellent display of skills and attention to details.
I am in!
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Thu May 08, 2014 2:55 pm
paulh wrote:You could also try additing a sleeve with some everygreen or similar tube stock?
Good idea Paul - but my LHS charges 5,40 euro :!: for a bag of Evergreen - masking tape's cheaper.
Welcome Phil, glad you're liking it.
Made a start on the wheels - due to the awkward shape of the lightening holes I couldn't think of anything else but approximating them with a craft knife. Apart from a bit more cleaning up, two down - 8 to go:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby bullardino » Thu May 08, 2014 3:55 pm
Nice progress on the wheels. Wouldn't it be easier to get one done and cast the rest using the first as a master?
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby deafpanzer » Thu May 08, 2014 6:10 pm
Interior looks great especially the engine! :thumbup: Try not to have too much fun with the wheels...
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby DickyF » Thu May 08, 2014 10:12 pm
Great job here Dierk
My opinion, if yer engine culd be put to better use elsewhere then it's a no brainer as far as I'm concerned - it ain't gonna be visible in the T34 so why would you fit it?
Great work on the wheels....IMHO I'd open up the lightening holes with a drill bit and then add the teardrop shape with my blade....much quicker and cleaner I think yer'll find.
Excellent work so far, keep it up buddy
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby wbill76 » Thu May 08, 2014 11:31 pm
Nice progress on the interior and the wheels Dierk. Looking forward to more on this project. :beer:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Fri May 09, 2014 12:33 pm
bullardino wrote:Nice progress on the wheels. Wouldn't it be easier to get one done and cast the rest using the first as a master?
Probably, if I had the materials to do it, and if I'd ever done any casting :oops: :lol:
DickyF wrote:Great job here Dierk
My opinion, if yer engine culd be put to better use elsewhere then it's a no brainer as far as I'm concerned - it ain't gonna be visible in the T34 so why would you fit it?
Great work on the wheels....IMHO I'd open up the lightening holes with a drill bit and then add the teardrop shape with my blade....much quicker and cleaner I think yer'll find.
Excellent work so far, keep it up buddy
Yep, no brainer - that's me :crazy: - I gave your tip a go and - of course - you're right: much quicker and cleaner, even found a little cone-shaped grinding tool that seems to do the trick on the teardrop shape. Cheers mucker!
Back to the grind, if you pardon the pun :oops:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Fri May 09, 2014 4:00 pm
Quick update while I'm waiting for the Dremel-a-like to recharge. Here's an example of what the wheels look like using drill and grinder:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Sat May 10, 2014 9:28 am
Thanks for the positive comments gents!
I'm sure I'll get round to casting in the fullness of time Luigi - either that or wait till 3d printers get better and cheaper :lol:
I ended up wrapping a bit of masking tape around around the axles to give the wheels something to hold on to. Because I didn't glue the suspension together to keep it workable, handling the model has to be done with care so it doesn't all fall apart - I'm hoping it'll be easier once the tracks are fitted.
Couple of dry-fit pictures to stop you all from losing interest and falling asleep :
This'll be the last update for a while, as I'll finally be reunited with my better half tonight, coming back here later in the week together - so I'll be, lets say, otherwise occupied
Found out what those studs and brackets on the side of the tank are for - again thanks to my friend with the bottomless ref library (for discussion puposes only):
Brackets held the smoker barrels.
Finished building the gun - did I mention: the kit includes a metal barrel:
Made a start on the PE mudguards - they even try to show the weld, although it is a bit uniform and even:
The grilles in the sidepods are a bit hurray, yet boo.
Hurray:
Boo:
The hurray bit can stay, the boo part's been cut out, to be replaced with PE - the Aber set provides two options for this: an easy one and a fiddly one - I'm opting for the fiddly one as it looks better:
More in roughly a week's time - unless the weather finally improves, in which case we'll be putting some miles on my new PTW :geek: (beaurocrateese for motorbike: Powered Two Wheeler or some such bollards)
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Sat Jul 12, 2014 12:50 pm
At long last I was going to post an update a couple of days ago, only for the internet connection to go down the second I hit the 'submit' button :lolno:
Anyway, apologies for the long absence, but we had to do some work on the flat seeing as we are apparently going to stay a good (bad?) while longer. This house was built in the 80's - the decade that taste forgot - so there is an abundance of various shades of dark brown everywhere :hurl: : window and door frames :hurl: (and yes, the doors too :hurl: ) skirting boards :hurl: Even the little balcony set into the roof was spoilt by what I can only describe as Vallejo German camo black brown :hurl: . You'll understand that the de-nazification of the flat had to take priority over modelling. The process is ongoing as it takes at least 4 -5 coates of white to cover all that 'cozy' brown.
However, I did get a bit done and even better: I found something to moan about on the kit :clap: . The hydraulic closing mechanism is quite nicely rendered in plastic, however, only for a closed driver's hatch! A bit of a chocolate tea pot, as both the interior and said closing mechanism are utterly invisible on a finished model if you use the kit part.
So I've been messing about with the Aber PE set and came up with this:
But it's closed, I hear you cry. Well, I must have been looking at Dicky's :bow: builds too much, as I've had an :idea: and ended up making it moveable:
Took quite a bit of blood, sweat and tears, not to mention A LOT of cursing.
But the result justifies the means I think.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Leon » Sat Jul 12, 2014 1:09 pm
Awesome work on the hatch mechanism Dierk. :thumbup:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby wbill76 » Sat Jul 12, 2014 2:51 pm
Pretty neat work there Dierk! Making it workable certainly solves your problem. Just don't go painting that interior shades of brown! :lol:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby TRM » Sat Jul 12, 2014 6:16 pm
Very nice detailing Dierk! Very nice when you can make things work while just trying to improve the overall look!! Great job!!
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby edi » Sat Jul 12, 2014 7:20 pm
amazing job......... :bow:
I've decided to dip my toe into the post WWII era - don't worry, I won't make a habit of it
I'm going to losly base my model on this (for discussion porpoises only):
Using the AFV Club kit of the 174 factory T-34/85 some Friuls, PE goodies and road-wheels donated by Tamiya's T-62A
The kit is very impressive (apart from the lazzy band tracks) and comes with a pretty complete interior. I'm not going to go all rivet-countery on the interior, as it's going to be virtually invisible:
With a bit of fiddling the suspension can be made to be workable:
There are some wheels visible in the background - these will not make it into the final edit:
Seats, ammo boxes and firewalls are dry fitted:
I've left off the ammo to make painting easier:
I intend to go for the rancid, barely operational piece of junk look with this one, I think.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Tojo72 » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:02 pm
Should be a very interesting build,up to approx what year did they use these in Afganistan /
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Robbo » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:06 pm
Nice start and a very nice looking kit
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:20 pm
Tojo72 wrote:Should be a very interesting build,up to approx what year did they use these in Afganistan /
Good question - I have to admit I don't have a definitive answer, but I'm guessing not many will have survived the invasion by the soviet union.
Thanks for joining Robbo. In the dim and distant past (>30 years ago) I built a Tamiya T-34/76, and a 1940 model Dragon kit a couple of years ago. IMHO the AFV kit, although not perfect, is the best one on the market.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby deafpanzer » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:23 pm
You definitely have my attention! What habit? It is still Russian tank, right? :lol:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:26 pm
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby bullardino » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:27 pm
I knew this one was coming, I heard it on the grapevine
I'll follow really interested, I have a Dragon 85 with tank riders that I intend to do this autumn
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby `Boots` » Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:28 pm
Great start Dierk so count me in fella
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Wouter » Mon Apr 28, 2014 8:47 pm
always good to see a T34 mate ^^
Cheers
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby DickyF » Mon Apr 28, 2014 8:50 pm
Nice clean building here Dierk....yer right, this is a great lookin' kit and a cool project....got me in!
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby wbill76 » Mon Apr 28, 2014 11:48 pm
Off to a great start Dierk! Looking forward to more on this one.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Tue Apr 29, 2014 8:29 am
Boots, Wouter, Dicky and Bill: Thanks for joining the party - always more fun with your support.
Because T-34 builds are common as muck :silent: , I thought it best to chose a slightly more unusul subject.
This build isn't going to be anywhere near as rapid as my recent efforts - the weather is getting better, so I'll be out on my new toy more often.
One of the many good things about this kit is that you get 3 drive-wheels and idlers to choose from - even better the ones in the reference picture are one of them.
Two things I haven't figured out yet are what are those two brackets in front of the fuel-tank mounting for and what are the four pins in front of them (spare track?) Any ideas gents?
Got the Friuls finished. Next I think I'll mask off bits of the interior and mess around with my AB.
Cheers,
Dierk
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby snipersmudge » Thu May 01, 2014 9:56 am
nice subject choice and nice neat work
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Leon » Thu May 01, 2014 1:05 pm
Nice start Dierk. :thumbup:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Fri May 02, 2014 8:54 am
Thanks gents.
Things are moving quite slowly on this one - managed to get some primer on the interior and started to paint the shells. Not too impressed with the (lack of) coverage of Vallejo Old Gold :problem: .
Still waiting for a few bits to arrive.
Got some running around to do today, so I'm not sure how much, if anything, I'll get done today.
Cheers,
Dierk
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Mon May 05, 2014 10:36 am
Thanks for the tips gents - unfortunately, my local shop has a very limited range, so I'm pretty much stuck with Vallejo. After three coats the finish was acceptable.
Got the fighting compartment pretty much done:
Although I enjoyed doing the interior, it is a bit of a wasted effort as most of it will be hidden once hull and turret is added:
I've removed the styrene mudguards with a grinder and sanded the surface in preperation for the PE replacements arrive.
Good thing I haven't glued in the firewalls :lucky: , as I found adding gearbox and engine to be easier in the followong order: first wriggle the gearbox/clutch assembly into place then squeeze in the engine after which just slot in the firewalls - that's the way it worked best for me during dry-fitting attempts.
I noticed some German - or Tschörmen as they pronounce it here :crazy: - Ebayers have a nasty habit of marking goods as sent but actually physically posting it several days later :thumbdown: So instead of being out playing on my bike, I'm stuck in waiting for deliveries :sick:
Not sure how much, if any, of the Aber PE set (actually for the Dragon kit) I'm going to use - at lot of it seems unnecessarily fiddly, often replacing stuff that's either pretty good already on the AFV club kit, like the engine grilles on the side, or utterly invisible :think:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby bullardino » Mon May 05, 2014 3:55 pm
Lovely progress, the interiors look great. Gotta get me one of those...
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby `Boots` » Mon May 05, 2014 4:05 pm
Just catching up with this one Dierk.................fabulous job on that interior fella, gets a big :thumbup: from me bud
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby deafpanzer » Mon May 05, 2014 4:47 pm
Excellent work on the interior! :thumbup: Hope you can keep all hatches open so we can see some of it.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Wouter » Mon May 05, 2014 5:05 pm
Nice to see progress mate, interior looks good, as well as the exterior. Looking forward to see the Aber fenders fitted...hope your stuff arrives soon!
Worked with Aber just once and it wasn't bad but I found it quite hard to assemble some of their smaller stuff
Cheers
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby wbill76 » Tue May 06, 2014 12:07 am
Nice work on that interior Dierk! Having just done something similar with my Pz I F build, I know how you feel about it all getting hidden away somewhat, but we know it's there!
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Tue May 06, 2014 9:38 am
bullardino wrote:Lovely progress, the interiors look great. Gotta get me one of those...
In my limited experience I consider this kit to be the best T-34/85 on the market - apart from the lazzie band tracks. If you shop around you can get one for about the same money that Dragon charge - got mine on evilbay for 35 €. There's one real problem with the /76: it has both early and late airfilters - quite difficult to fix.
Welcome to the party Boots, and thanks for the kind comment :thumbup:
deafpanzer wrote:Excellent work on the interior! :thumbup: Hope you can keep all hatches open so we can see some of it.
That's the plan - at least as far as the fighting compartment is concerned.
Wouter wrote:Nice to see progress mate, interior looks good, as well as the exterior. Looking forward to see the Aber fenders fitted...hope your stuff arrives soon!
Worked with Aber just once and it wasn't bad but I found it quite hard to assemble some of their smaller stuff
Cheers
Cheers Wouter - Yeah, the small Aber stuff I find exceedingly frustrating...I think I prefer watching other people, who are much better than me, struggle with the stuff - personally I can't really be bothered anymore as it takes all the fun out of the hobby for me. It's why I don't do German armour - all those tool mountings would drive me into the arms of the pharmaceutical industry :crazy: The mudguards are by ET - even with postage from Australia they worked out a fraction of the price of Aber.
wbill76 wrote:Nice work on that interior Dierk! Having just done something similar with my Pz I F build, I know how you feel about it all getting hidden away somewhat, but we know it's there!
Thanks Bill - Panzer I interior? Rather you than me mate :bow:
Finished assembling engine gearbox clutch and radiators. Hopefully I get to prime them today and maybe start on the paint.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby bullardino » Tue May 06, 2014 9:43 am
I know that the /76 needs some intervention... Nevertheless a full interior kit is something to have.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Tue May 06, 2014 9:51 am
bullardino wrote:I know that the /76 needs some intervention... Nevertheless a full interior kit is something to have.
Couldn't agree more - and if you keep the gearbox cover on, who's to know (apart from yourself)? Another major advantage is that you don't have to second guess the instructions with AFV, the way you have to with Dragon :roll:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby bullardino » Tue May 06, 2014 9:53 am
Dierk wrote:
bullardino wrote:I know that the /76 needs some intervention... Nevertheless a full interior kit is something to have.
Couldn't agree more - and if you keep the gearbox cover on, who's to know (apart from yourself)? Another major advantage is that you don't have to second guess the instructions with AFV, the way you have to with Dragon :roll:
You must be a genius if you need only two times to understand Dragon's instuctions. I still have unclear parts of the one I finished more than one year ago
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Leon » Tue May 06, 2014 9:58 am
Nice work on the interior Dierk,making good progress. :thumbup:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Tue May 06, 2014 10:07 am
bullardino wrote:
Dierk wrote:
bullardino wrote:I know that the /76 needs some intervention... Nevertheless a full interior kit is something to have.
Couldn't agree more - and if you keep the gearbox cover on, who's to know (apart from yourself)? Another major advantage is that you don't have to second guess the instructions with AFV, the way you have to with Dragon :roll:
You must be a genius if you need only two times to understand Dragon's instuctions. I still have unclear parts of the one I finished more than one year ago
Who said anything about understanding? :lol: :lol: :lol: Guesswork, that's all it is :tune:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby TRM » Tue May 06, 2014 12:10 pm
Doing some catch here and there Dierk...sorry for coming in on this one so late!! Interior looks great my friend!! I cannot wait to see you bring the outside around!!
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby bullardino » Tue May 06, 2014 12:11 pm
Dierk wrote:
bullardino wrote:You must be a genius if you need only two times to understand Dragon's instuctions. I still have unclear parts of the one I finished more than one year ago
Who said anything about understanding? :lol: :lol: :lol: Guesswork, that's all it is :tune:
Have you ever experienced their photographic instructions? They're hilarious.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Tue May 06, 2014 3:33 pm
Thanks Leon!
No need to apologise Todd - you've made it and that's all that matters. Still got quite a way to go before I get round to the outside - and I'm still waiting for fenders and wheels - oh, and I'll be popping back home to the UK for a few days next week.
bullardino wrote:
Dierk wrote:
bullardino wrote:You must be a genius if you need only two times to understand Dragon's instuctions. I still have unclear parts of the one I finished more than one year ago
Who said anything about understanding? :lol: :lol: :lol: Guesswork, that's all it is :tune:
Have you ever experienced their photographic instructions? They're hilarious.
That is one dubious pleasure :hurl: I have indulged in on my last T-34 the 1940 model. Hilarious indeed :lolno:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby bullardino » Tue May 06, 2014 4:14 pm
Dierk wrote:That is one dubious pleasure :hurl: I have indulged in on my last T-34 the 1940 model. Hilarious indeed :lolno:
Almost the same kit, mine was Mod. 1941
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Tue May 06, 2014 6:49 pm
bullardino wrote:
Dierk wrote:That is one dubious pleasure :hurl: I have indulged in on my last T-34 the 1940 model. Hilarious indeed :lolno:
Almost the same kit, mine was Mod. 1941
I feel your pain :cry:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby snipersmudge » Tue May 06, 2014 6:58 pm
very nice interior looking good
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby DickyF » Tue May 06, 2014 10:34 pm
Very nice internals Dierk - cool weathering fella
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Thu May 08, 2014 9:00 am
Cheers Pete and Nemo!
Got everything squeezed into their respective places:
Gearbox/airfilters/clutch:
BTW, exhaust pipe segments on the airfilters don't line up with the ones on the engine :?:
I'm very tempted to rip out the engine again and use it for a future project (I have a resin workshop conversion for a ZIS/GAZ truck). It's such a well-detailed model-in-a-model, and so little of it is visible once it's in place - I'd even add the wiring if I did it. Any suggestions if I should keep it for later?
Wheels arrived yesterday (together with the rest of Tamiya's - not very good, but cheap, T-62A). They'll take a bit of work to turn into late T-34 wheels. For starters, they are a bit too wide. Right before, left after:
A recent stroke of luck made that a pretty easy job: a local discounter called Netto had a Dremel-a-like on offer for a very reasonable 10 euro. Rechargeable battery and numerous cutting, grinding and drilling bits. :lucky:
There are a number of differences between the road-wheels used on the T-62 and late T-34s. A couple of pictures for discussion purposes only:
T-62:
T-34:
Another problem to over-come is that the Tamiya wheels have much larger axle-diameters than the AFV ones. First I'm going to try to make the AFV axles thicker by wrapping a bit of tape around them. If that doesn't work I'll fill the holes in the wheels and then drill a hole of the right diameter.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby bullardino » Thu May 08, 2014 9:45 am
Interiors look great Dierk.
The wheels need some care, but I'm sure you will make them perfect
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Wouter » Thu May 08, 2014 10:11 am
agree, this looks very good mate
Cheers
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby paulh » Thu May 08, 2014 12:41 pm
You could also try additing a sleeve with some everygreen or similar tube stock?
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby ceresvesta » Thu May 08, 2014 1:04 pm
Very nice one Dierk! Excellent display of skills and attention to details.
I am in!
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Thu May 08, 2014 2:55 pm
paulh wrote:You could also try additing a sleeve with some everygreen or similar tube stock?
Good idea Paul - but my LHS charges 5,40 euro :!: for a bag of Evergreen - masking tape's cheaper.
Welcome Phil, glad you're liking it.
Made a start on the wheels - due to the awkward shape of the lightening holes I couldn't think of anything else but approximating them with a craft knife. Apart from a bit more cleaning up, two down - 8 to go:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby bullardino » Thu May 08, 2014 3:55 pm
Nice progress on the wheels. Wouldn't it be easier to get one done and cast the rest using the first as a master?
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby deafpanzer » Thu May 08, 2014 6:10 pm
Interior looks great especially the engine! :thumbup: Try not to have too much fun with the wheels...
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby DickyF » Thu May 08, 2014 10:12 pm
Great job here Dierk
My opinion, if yer engine culd be put to better use elsewhere then it's a no brainer as far as I'm concerned - it ain't gonna be visible in the T34 so why would you fit it?
Great work on the wheels....IMHO I'd open up the lightening holes with a drill bit and then add the teardrop shape with my blade....much quicker and cleaner I think yer'll find.
Excellent work so far, keep it up buddy
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby wbill76 » Thu May 08, 2014 11:31 pm
Nice progress on the interior and the wheels Dierk. Looking forward to more on this project. :beer:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Fri May 09, 2014 12:33 pm
bullardino wrote:Nice progress on the wheels. Wouldn't it be easier to get one done and cast the rest using the first as a master?
Probably, if I had the materials to do it, and if I'd ever done any casting :oops: :lol:
DickyF wrote:Great job here Dierk
My opinion, if yer engine culd be put to better use elsewhere then it's a no brainer as far as I'm concerned - it ain't gonna be visible in the T34 so why would you fit it?
Great work on the wheels....IMHO I'd open up the lightening holes with a drill bit and then add the teardrop shape with my blade....much quicker and cleaner I think yer'll find.
Excellent work so far, keep it up buddy
Yep, no brainer - that's me :crazy: - I gave your tip a go and - of course - you're right: much quicker and cleaner, even found a little cone-shaped grinding tool that seems to do the trick on the teardrop shape. Cheers mucker!
Back to the grind, if you pardon the pun :oops:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Fri May 09, 2014 4:00 pm
Quick update while I'm waiting for the Dremel-a-like to recharge. Here's an example of what the wheels look like using drill and grinder:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Sat May 10, 2014 9:28 am
Thanks for the positive comments gents!
I'm sure I'll get round to casting in the fullness of time Luigi - either that or wait till 3d printers get better and cheaper :lol:
I ended up wrapping a bit of masking tape around around the axles to give the wheels something to hold on to. Because I didn't glue the suspension together to keep it workable, handling the model has to be done with care so it doesn't all fall apart - I'm hoping it'll be easier once the tracks are fitted.
Couple of dry-fit pictures to stop you all from losing interest and falling asleep :
This'll be the last update for a while, as I'll finally be reunited with my better half tonight, coming back here later in the week together - so I'll be, lets say, otherwise occupied
Found out what those studs and brackets on the side of the tank are for - again thanks to my friend with the bottomless ref library (for discussion puposes only):
Brackets held the smoker barrels.
Finished building the gun - did I mention: the kit includes a metal barrel:
Made a start on the PE mudguards - they even try to show the weld, although it is a bit uniform and even:
The grilles in the sidepods are a bit hurray, yet boo.
Hurray:
Boo:
The hurray bit can stay, the boo part's been cut out, to be replaced with PE - the Aber set provides two options for this: an easy one and a fiddly one - I'm opting for the fiddly one as it looks better:
More in roughly a week's time - unless the weather finally improves, in which case we'll be putting some miles on my new PTW :geek: (beaurocrateese for motorbike: Powered Two Wheeler or some such bollards)
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Dierk » Sat Jul 12, 2014 12:50 pm
At long last I was going to post an update a couple of days ago, only for the internet connection to go down the second I hit the 'submit' button :lolno:
Anyway, apologies for the long absence, but we had to do some work on the flat seeing as we are apparently going to stay a good (bad?) while longer. This house was built in the 80's - the decade that taste forgot - so there is an abundance of various shades of dark brown everywhere :hurl: : window and door frames :hurl: (and yes, the doors too :hurl: ) skirting boards :hurl: Even the little balcony set into the roof was spoilt by what I can only describe as Vallejo German camo black brown :hurl: . You'll understand that the de-nazification of the flat had to take priority over modelling. The process is ongoing as it takes at least 4 -5 coates of white to cover all that 'cozy' brown.
However, I did get a bit done and even better: I found something to moan about on the kit :clap: . The hydraulic closing mechanism is quite nicely rendered in plastic, however, only for a closed driver's hatch! A bit of a chocolate tea pot, as both the interior and said closing mechanism are utterly invisible on a finished model if you use the kit part.
So I've been messing about with the Aber PE set and came up with this:
But it's closed, I hear you cry. Well, I must have been looking at Dicky's :bow: builds too much, as I've had an :idea: and ended up making it moveable:
Took quite a bit of blood, sweat and tears, not to mention A LOT of cursing.
But the result justifies the means I think.
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby Leon » Sat Jul 12, 2014 1:09 pm
Awesome work on the hatch mechanism Dierk. :thumbup:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby wbill76 » Sat Jul 12, 2014 2:51 pm
Pretty neat work there Dierk! Making it workable certainly solves your problem. Just don't go painting that interior shades of brown! :lol:
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby TRM » Sat Jul 12, 2014 6:16 pm
Very nice detailing Dierk! Very nice when you can make things work while just trying to improve the overall look!! Great job!!
Re: Afghan T-34/85
Postby edi » Sat Jul 12, 2014 7:20 pm
amazing job......... :bow: