Kit Build/Review: 1/72 T-34/85, Revell

Revell are known for modelling excellence, and this kit conforms to that standard. Is it a re-boxed Esci model? I don't know. But it does have Esci-style patented 'link and length' type tracks. Not everyone's cup of char, on account of their fiddliness, they can be great, or a real headache.

Laying out parts for pre-build clean-up.

At the time of typing this, I've only just started making this kit, having been on a bit of a T-34 binge, building, in total (including this tank), ten T-34s over the last week or three. These have ranged from Armourfast and Italeri quick-build wargamers kits to more detailed offerings, such as this one, and two Zvezda snap-fit T-34/85. The closest to this Revell, in terms of detail, was the Trumpeter T-34/85 I bought ages ago, from the shop at the Muckleborough tank museum.

Like many 1/72 tanks, this starts with running-gear.

Also visible in these photos are a batch of scratch-built tow-cables for the simpler Armourfast T-34s, etc. I've made six, plus I have a seventh left over from (I think?) the Trumpeter kit. Below are a couple of pics I took even earlier, during the process of making the eyelets for these cables.

Making eyelets for tow-ropes.

Establishing a suitable cable length.

I couldn't get a suitable weight of cotton thread at any of our locals craft supply stores, and I didn't want to wait for an online order to arrive. So I went to a nearby fishing tackle supply shop, looking for rod-binding thread. They didn't have any. They did, however, have some suitable braid. RRP was a rather steep £5.95, but the guy in the shop, not wanting to empty his till changing my £20 note, let me have it for about £1.50! Which was all the change I had on me. Close inspection of the braid shows it to be just that. But at a glance from a distance it looks fine.

Making a start on the 'Lincoln-Length' tracks...

... using Tamiya masking tape to bind the parts together.

As ever with these types of track, it was hard work.

And done. For tonight, anyway...

Turret hatches up. Shame the driver's hatch wasn't open-able.

And that's that, for this evening, at any rate. A lovely model, even though the link'n'length makes things rather heavy going. That's my tenth T-34, of which nine were built over the Easter break. I still have several two-cables to add, and with the turret hatches open on this latest one I feel the need to detail the internal/undersides a bit.

I might even try and do that lot this evening, so as to be ready for undercoating and painting, next time. But I really ought to go to bed, what with my first days teaching since the Easter break being tomorrow.

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Well, I went to bed, like a sensible adult (for once). That meant I didn't attach my scratch-built tow-cables until this evening. And I'm thoroughly pooped after my first day back at the goal face. Watching Jack Lesowski play Ali Carter on the BBC iPlayer, snoozing intermittently! But here they are, attached to the four Armourfast kits. I'm quite pleased with my detailing of these kits. The tracks are awful. But thankfully they'll be largely unseen.

1/72 WWII - Italeri King Tiger

I built the Italeri 1/72 King Tiger over the last day or two. It was a simple and enjoyable build, by and large. The first few pics just show the usual 'what's in the box?' stuff.

You get two sets of tracks, as pictured above: a link-and-length set, and some of the old rubber band jobbies. The only really tricky part of the build was the tracks, as we'll see below.

The rubber band tracks are, as can be seen, oversized. So, I thought I'd do the link and length ones...

Hmmmm!? So, I made a right mess of these, and in addition to that... they're too short!

 So... back to the rubber band tracks.

The two driver type figures are identical, and are fixed to the little bracket type parts you can see pictured above.

I decided to go with just the driver, and leave the other hatch closed. The machine gun is in position. It can be built in movable mode, but I decided to glue it securely. The MG includes inner hull detail of the stock/handle that won't be seen when built.

Building the turret. I opted to use the commander figure. I might want to modify his right arm: the left one sits atop the hatch, the right kind of floats above... nowt.

The completed kit. I've chosen to paint the whole thing post-assembly.

I thought about replacing the rubber-band tracks with the link-and-length ones, as it turns out that with the mudguards in place you can't see the upper part of the tracks, so a gap in them wouldn't really matter.

 I like the above view: the two figures look good, and the vehicle itself has a commanding presence.

At the top is my first model, the Airfix 1/76 Panther, and another early model, a Kettenkrad from a set of WWII light vehicles by Academy. The unfinished Brummbar and the King Tiger being my most recent builds.

This King Tiger was a fun straightforward build. Admittedly the tracks aren't great. There is also a slight anomaly, in that the figures included are not referred to at all in the instructions. Another notable thing is the difficulty of separating some of the parts, e.g. the tow cables, from the sprues without damaging them.

But, all things considered, this was a simple and fun build, and that's got to be good!

UPDATE:

Since first posting this build I did a bit of surgery on the commander's arm, as it was floating in mid-air (see directly below). And then I undercoated in black. So this King Tiger joins the growing ranks o' tanks awaiting the arrival of a decent airbrush.