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

IN MODELING...

Conclusion

As expected, all styrene kits and the aftermarket resin and brass accessories have their good, their bad, and their ugly points to them. The AER kit has a lot of accuracy problems but is still a reasonable representation and may be perfect for a wargamer or particular modeler. The LEVA turrets have the best texture and casting marks, though the 1944 turrets should have longer gun barrels. With Eastern Express’ and Revell’s new releases, the market for the AER kit and the aftermarket conversions may slump. Still, plastic EE and Revell kits may need work in correcting the casting texture.

My Perfect T-34-85? If there is such a thing, my perfect T-34-85 (using all the available kits and aftermarket parts I have personally examined) would consist of: a LEVA turret with an ARMO aluminum 85-mm gun barrel, and an ARMO or Eastern Express or Revell cupola. A must is the PART or Eduard etched brass frets with replacement hatches. For the hull I would chose the Revell or Eastern Express kit with perhaps the AlBy or Resin Master replacement wheels depending on the particular T-34 model.

I thank Doug Chaltry, Dave Showell, Adam Wilder, Ivan Podgornov, Andrey Cheremisken, Philip Van Acker of Tracks-n-Troops, and Hugh Evans for their assistance with this article and with acquiring the different kits to review.

References

Here are some photos of the T-34-85s in storage at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

There is a good amount of information out there on the T-34 tank. Much of the older writings appear to have much incorrect data and assumptions so please examine all references with a questioning eye.

• THE T-34 RUSSIAN BATTLE TANK, by Dr. Mathew Hughes & Dr. Chris Mann, a hardcover book on the T-34 with good coverage on the T-34-76 but only fair coverage of the T-34-85. MBI Publishing (1999).
• The T-34-85 Medium Tank, Development History. By Valera Potapov, The Russian Battlefield website. http://www.battlefield.ru/
• The IPMS FI-1877 Page website. A website with an extensive photo library of WW2 era Finnish T-34 tanks. http://www.geocities.com/~fi1877/
• T-34-85 MEDIUM TANK 1944-1994, softcover book by Steven Zaloga & Jim Kinnear focusing on history and development, and with good color plates, New Vanguard, Osprey Publishing (1996).
• T-34 IN ACTION, Armor No. 20, inexpensive softcover book by Zaloga & Grandsen focusing on photos and line drawings of variants, Squadron Signal Pub., (1983).
• From a colleague Andrey Cheremisken, some Russian publications on the T-34-85 that I am not yet familiar with can be found at: M-Hobby Magazine, Armada Series and new Military Museum Series. Address is: Air Connection, Box 21227, R.P.O. Meadowvale Mississauga, ON, L5N 6A2, Canada, e-mail at: sale(at)airconnection.on.ca, website: http://www.airconnection.on.ca/Default.htm
• Eastern Front Hobbies, 148 Briargat Lane, Madison, AL, 35758, USA, e-mail: bob.lessels(at)mindspring.com, website: www.easternfronthobbies.com. On his site you'll find very old information. But, perhaps, he'll revive it.
• Dmitriy Shumakov (Achtung-Dish!!! website: www.dataforce.net/~dish/index1.htm) includes some research on T-34-85.

• Introduction

• Turret Identification

• Reviews of Complete T-34-85 Kits

• Reviews of Conversion Turret Kits

• Turret Markings

• T-34-85 Accessories

• Conclusion