Primer: Tamiya “Fine Surface Primer” (light grey) spray can, applied to the hull and turret.

Base coats: For this one, I thought I would try the Mr.Hobby Russian Green modulation set. In all cases the paint was sprayed as a 1:2 mixture in Mr.Color leveling thinner.

• The darkest colour (“RG shadow” CMC13) was sprayed over the entire model, to act as a dark base.
• The next darkest (“RG CM base” CMC10) was sprayed over the bulk of the vehicle, save the deepest recesses.
• “RG highlight 1” CMC11 was sprayed on the upper hull, the sides and top of the turret and the outside part of the wheels only.
• “RG highlight 2” CMC12 was sprayed only on selected parts of the hull and turret.

As can be seen I have not gone for the most vivid example of this type of painting – I consider some examples of it to be artistic but unconvincing. In the end I like the base colour which the vehicle has ended up with. I am sure it will act as the platform for further variation with oils and enamels.

Details:

• Machine gun: Vallejo Model Color “Black” (70950)
• Headlight: Citadel “Mithril Silver”
• Saw: Vallejo Panzer Aces “Old Wood” (310), Citadel “Boltgun Metal”
• Spare track: Tamiya “Dark Iron” (XF-84)
• Tyres: Tamiya “Rubber Black” (XF-85)

Gloss coat: A 1:2 mixture of Mr.Color “Clear Gloss” (46) and Mr.Color Leveling Thinner was sprayed over the entire model. The decal was applied to the turret and this area resprayed.

I find that these Dragon T-34s go together pretty well. I did make some changes:

• the solid, moulded on handles were sliced off and replaced with photo etch parts from the spares box or wire.
• parts of the fuel drum holders were replaced with brass rod.
• various weld details were restored with thin Plastruct rod, softened with thin plastic cement and shaped with a knife.

For my next one, I will replace parts of the fenders and the engine bay grills with brass pieces. Also, I am not completely happy with the look of the fuel drum attachments – in retrospect there are solid parts to them which should not be there.

I found the road wheels to be quite crude, with copious sink holes on the inner rims. These proved to be too messy to fill in so instead I opted for the MiniArt running gear set, which were a great improvement. I added varying degrees of damage to the rubber with the use of metal files.

The vehicle

“The finest tank in the world”

Field Marshal von Kleist [1]

The above picture is of the vehicle in the Muckleburgh collection. Built in 1944, apparently it still has the original paint and has been repaired just once since then, despite still being in running order. Looks like it leaks a bit though…

The kit

Dragon 1/35 kit (#6066) [4]. This looks to be a simple kit, less detailed than the later Dragon T34/85 (#6266). I have that kit also, so this current one will act as a test run for that. It seems strange that I have no models of the T-34/85 – this happens to be my favourite of all tanks – so this is long overdue.

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-34
2. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/soviet/soviet_T34-85.php
3. http://www.primeportal.net/tanks/paul_adamson/t34-85/index.php?Page=1
4. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/108141-dragon-6066-t-34-85-mod-1944

Unknown unit, Southern sector of Eastern Front, 1942.

Valentine Mk II/IV build – Part 1:Introduction
Valentine Mk II/IV build – Part 2:Assembly
Valentine Mk II/IV build – Part 3:Painting
Valentine Mk II/IV build – Part 4:Weathering (rust, chipping, wash)
Valentine Mk II/IV build – Part 5:Weathering (fading and streaks)
Valentine Mk II/IV build – Part 6:Weathering (dust and mud)
Valentine Mk II/IV build – Part 7:Weathering (oil, fuel and damp stains)