1/72 Zvezda 5001 – T-34/76 model 1943 – Snap Kit

Tags: ,

I’ve always liked this symbol of the Russian army and soon as I’ve heard about its release I wanted one for myself. This snap kit proved to be the perfect opportunity. Though apparently designed for wargaming, I’ve learned from Russian forums it has the most accurate dimensions in 1/72 scale.

It will turn out fine just out of the box, but I decided to upgrade it with a photo-etched set from Part and a gun barrel from Aber. Although designed for the ancient Eastern Express T-34/76 ’43 (late version with a raised commander cupola), the Part set fits almost perfectly. The snap technology is quite OK, I glued all plastic parts together for extra strength.

The Aber barrel however was a huge disappointment: is far too short. Even the label is wrong, as it designates a F-32 gun, while T-34 used the F-34 gun. So I was stuck with the gun barrel from the box, which looks just fine (you have to drill it though).

The mesh grills from the Part photo-etched set fits perfectly, except for the small pair on the top. I used a tow cable from Karaya and made few additions myself: lifting rings on the turret, power cable for the headlight, MG barrel from a syringe needle, holding straps for the fuel drums (which came from an IS-2 made by PST). The tracks are very easy to assemble, and are provided in hard plastic, not link&length but in large sections thus saving a lot of time. I also drilled the exhausts.

After spraying Tamiya white primer, I brushed four layers of Vallejo Russian Green from Model Color range. This particular range of paintings is perfect for hand brush.

The final touches were oil washes and some pigments, applied also wet and dry. The decals are not from the kit and were taken from my spare box. In conclusion, this kit is very well engineered, it’s easy to build. I highly recommend it to all T-34 fans and Braille lovers.

RELATED KITS

en_USEnglish