Revell 1/35th scale T-34/76 (Model 1943)

I can’t believe my last post was in February.  Well, time flies when you are having fun.  One of my other interests is Cowboy Action Shooting, and I have started competing again.  And it takes time what with reloading ammunition, taking care of a number of firearms, practicing and competing. 

And, I put the B-25 aside and did build that tank.  Actually, this is the ICM kit boxed by Revell.  Since I got back into the hobby, I have discovered that there are fewer new kits coming out and that many of the “new” kits are re-boxed older kits.  I understand that ICM Holding is a Ukrainian company, and from what I saw in this kit, they produce a very nice model kit.

I was impressed with the surface detail of the model, particularly the weld marks and the surface texture showing the casting.  The parts fit was excellent, and the instructions were reasonably clear.  I used some dry transfer markings.  I am not sure what they say.  Probably Stalin is a Great Guy! or I Love the Party!

I made an attempt to do some weathering.  Tamiya makes a powdery product that you brush on, and I tried some.  It left a nice dusty looking finish.  It is called Tamiya Weathering Master, and it comes in all sorts of colors. 

Preparing to do this kit, I read a number of articles about weathering.  And, I looked at hundreds of photos of finished models.  Now, there is no question that some armored equipment looked pretty beat up and covered with dirt and mud.  However, if one looks at photos of real armor in operation during the Second World War, many of the vehicles are not all that weathered, and that is because they have not been in service that long.  The armies in the East consumed armor at a ferocious rate.  Some of the tanks simply did not last long enough to get very weathered.  I know the U. S. Army during the war retrieved damaged armor form the battlefields and put it back in fighting condition.  How much of this the Russians got to do and what their practices were, I am not sure.  The conditions they fought under had to be seen to be believed.  For instance, tanks produced in Leningrad rolled right from the factory into the front lines unpainted.  They did not have the paint, and they did not last that long anyway.

The markings for this model tank are from a T-34 that fought in the Battle of Kursk, the largest armor battle in all history.  I prefer to think it is depicted on it way to Kursk and therefore just covered with road dust.

I also built another Spitfire kit from the stash, a Tamiya 1/48th scale Spitfire Vb.  I will post some photos of that soon.  I got into that one as I could not believe that Silly Putty made good masking medium for hard lines, but is sure does!  I will never try another method.

The temps are soaring here in The Valley of the Sun, so our “building season” is commencing.  The B-25 is back on the workbench, and I am getting to the final details I need to do before painting commences.  More on that very soon.

Thanks for your interest.