A SHORT GUIDE TO 1/72 T-34-85 TURRETS

IN MODELING...

1/72 Model Kits Review

AER 1/72 Kit 7209. T-34-85 1944 version, full injection molded model.

The plastic AER kit’s turret is of the 1944 tank and to me, it seems to have a few more problems than the ESCI and Eastern Express kits. The hull and running gear are discussed in Doug’s article so I will not cover them here.

Above is the back of AER’s kit showing a painting guide. Though the painting shows a turret with angle-jointed casting marks, the actual kit has no distinct raised mark when assembled. This is both good and bad. It gives you opportunity to scratchbuild any turret variant you wish, though makes extra work for those who do not want to do the extra work. I used epoxy putty to reproduce the casting marks which was a bit too course. Perhaps stretched sprue would be more in-scale.

Above is part of the AER assembly instructions. The radio antenna pot atop the turret, left-front of cupola, is a small nub and should be replaced by a small piece of tube. The loader’s hatch is separate though the hole in the turret roof needs to be manually opened up. The commander’s cupola is a separate piece and it, and the turret roof, are molded closed. This kit is a great wargaming piece as it is, though an etched-brass replacement cupola is a must here for an accurate display model.

Above is a photo of four AER turrets in various forms. The yellow top-center turret and the finished turret at the far left are resin copies I produced after some detailing work. The finished one at far left represents a 1945 version with the single cupola hatch and rear ventilators (and with AER decal markings). The gray lower-center turret is the master for the resin duplicates showing the casting marks formed from epoxy putty, the added pistol port, brass detailing from the Eduard fret, and inverted-U lifting rings of an early 1944 turret. At far right is an unadulterated AER injection-molded turret.

The above photo shows a top-view of the three AER turrets in the photo above, plus a LEVA turret (at far left) for comparison. Note the overly large diameter and long gun barrel of the gray AER turret compared to the surplus dark green PST gun barrel I took from a PST JS-2 kit. This may not be a fair comparison as the PST kit is for the shorter D-5T gun of the 1943 turret and Su-85. In comparing turret dimensions, note that the AER turrets are a little longer and narrower than the LEVA turrets. Without a caliper measurement, (and I know I will be called on this) it appears to me that the LEVA kit has the more accurate turret dimensions.

The AER offering is the weakest of the 1/72-scale kits of this vehicle I have seen, and has more problems than just in the turret.

Eastern Express T-34-85 full injection molded kit.

The hull and wheels are the same as Eastern Express’ very nice T-34-76 and SU-85 kits. In fact, on the sprue of wheels are excess parts from the SU-85! The turret appears to be an angle-jointed and like the AER and several resin kits there is little to no cast texture. Overall molding is very good and thin, though there is some flash around the turret.

From the sprue it comes with a choice of the 1943 D-5T mantlet, the 1944 S-53 gun mantlet, or the later Zis-S-53 gun mantlet. I understand it will be marketed as three separate kits with different instructions similar to PST’s IS and ISU kits. All three mantlets allow the gun to be elevated or depressed. The turret also has both the 1943-1944 two-part commander's hatch/cupola, and the 1945 version single hatch cupola. Using the 1945 cupola will require you to replace the curved front fenders to angular fenders. The 1945 T-34-85 cupola is supposed to be a bit larger than the two-hatch 1944 cupola though EE did not account for this.

(Revell Kit is on left, EE kit is on right.)

The casting lines I ingeniously simulated by gluing strips of thin white styrene plastic between the top and bottom turret halves, then when dry I sanded the protruding plastic down till it appeared right (see photo above). In the scan below, the upper turret is EE, the middle is Revell, and the lower is ARMO (see next page).

The 85-mm gun barrel is more in-scale than AER’s overly large barrel. The three armor fillets for under the turret are also included on one of the sprues. Like all but the LEVA kit’s gun barrels (see next page), the end will have to be drilled out. Like the AER, if you want an accurate Korean War or Middle Eastern version, you will have to do some correcting and conversion.

Revell T-34-85 kit #3130, full injection molded kit.

I suspect that this kit, along with the new Eastern Express kit, may put a crimp into the sales of aftermarket resin T-34-85 turrets. The model kit has the angular front fenders, the mantlet of the Zis-S-53 gun and twin rear ventilators for features of the 1945 variant. It also shows the rectangular bulge on the left side of the turret to accommodate the later turret traverse device though this bulge is not prominent on the model. This is the first whole kit I have found that is suitable for Korea war modeling without having to convert it. This version also served in the closing months of WW2, the Mid-East wars, and with several post-WW2 nations.

Examining the sprue: the kit appears well molded in a medium green styrene plastic. The turret lacks any cast texture or prominent casting lines though this can be simulated the same way as with the AER kit: with a little liquid glue, putty and careful work. The armor reinforcement fillets on the hull, below the turret ring, are molded onto the hull. The 85-mm gun barrel appears accurate in both length and diameter. It will have to be drilled out.

I like the fact that the cupola is separate and both it and the loader’s hatches are open and ready for two figures (not included). This kit is the only 1/72 styrene T-34 model I know of that has the driver’s hatch molded closed though, a point against Revell.

In the scan below, the completed Revell turret is on the right, with the completed EE turret on the left.

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