Soviet Attack

Subject:
Soviet Attack
T-34/85 & Assault Infantry
Kit Used: TAMIYA 1/35

Review & model by:
Tim Howell
Pictures: R. Forys

Early in 1945 the Soviet Army was on the move in Eastern Europe with relentless determination and overwhelming numbers, in both men and equipment. The T34/85 arguably one of the best tanks to be developed in WW II, had many new innovations that were battle tested on the original T34's. This tank however carried a heavier and larger caliber gun, the 85mm. Using this gun meant redesigning the turret at and around the mantlet. The T34/85 went through many turret upgrades before its final production version, which is the subject that I built.

[With Assault troops on its back, the T-34 moves into position.]

The Soviet fighting men and women were not to be taken lightly. They knew how to fight and were highly motivated. Armed with the PPS-43 and PPSh-41, (known for its cylindrical magazine) sub machine guns and the Degtyarev DP light machine guns, these assault troops were very well armed. The Soviet army leaned well the lessons their enemies taught them in the previous years leading up the final victory they would achieve.

[The squad jumps to the orders of its commander, standing next to a smoking hole of a recent mortar hit, barking out his directions.]

The Scene:
Mid February, with a fresh coat of new snow, an early dawn raid on the outskirts of an enemy stronghold is about to take place. With Assault troops on its back, the T-34 moves into position. The squad jumps to the orders of its commander, standing next to a smoking hole of a recent mortar hit, barking out his directions. The teams move quickly to a flanking position and bring the fight to the enemy. Some troops on the tank are engaged in covering fire, while some take the chance to reload. Can you say "Sense of Urgency"????

The Tank:
An unfinished model on my bench started as a Tamiya T34/85 kit Number 35138. The kit is from the late 80's and went together well with no fit problems. Only the seam lines had to be removed from the side mounted fuel tanks and the gun barrel. I new it was going to need extras on the tank itself to make it look right. I made small tarps from tissue paper and white glue, and a larger tarp from a piece of paper towel and glue mixture. The texture of the paper towel seemed to work out very nicely. After drying, the tarps were painted khaki drab. The rope around the large tarp is piece of thread from a wash towel that's falling apart. Stuff like that comes in handy. I replaced the tow cable with a piece of string which made it a lot more flexible than the kit offering, and also the antennas are made from very small steel wire. The tow cable was painted with metallic gray and a silver pencil was used to show wear.

[I made small tarps from tissue paper and white glue, and a larger tarp from a piece of paper towel and glue mixture.]

[I replaced the tow cable with a piece of string and used a silver pencil to show wear.]

I wanted to do a winter scene, so I started to look for pictures of T-34's in winter camouflage. Short of going out and buying a lot of reference books, I decided to do it how I thought it might look. The original color of the tank called for in the kit instructions was dark green, and that's what I used, Tamiya's XF-61. After the kit decals were applied, I then used white (XF-2) thinned 2 to 1 thinner to paint as an over coat, lightly dusting to get the desired effect and coverage. After everything dried, the detailing of the tires, machine guns, and exhaust came next. I then gave the entire model a burnt umber wash, but this made the tank look very dark, so I used Q-tips and small wipes, moving vertically to simulate striking, and this gave me the effect I was looking for. All the details popped with some real depth in the finish.

The Troops:
The Tamiya Russian Army Assault Infantry kit number 35207 was assembled out of the box. The only thing I added to the figures besides paint was helmet and gun straps made of foil from pudding tops. I also tried to drill the eyes out with a pin vise and small drill. This seems to give a sense of focus to the subject in a certain direction for some added realism. I'll let you decide if it worked! The colors used were just what the directions called for, with a wash of brunt umber and raw sienna.

[A $2.00 piece of wood from a local craft store was topped with some static model railroad grass and then layered with model railroad snow, some tall grass and a few rocks.]

The Base:
A $2.00 piece of wood from a local craft store was topped with some static model railroad grass and then layered with model railroad snow, some tall grass and a few rocks. I drilled a hole in the base for the mortar crater, and then used part of a cotton ball and some thinned black paint for the effect.

Conclusion:
Overall, this was a very fun build, and it turned out to be an exercise in getting the tank to look the way I saw it in my mind. It was pretty much an out of box project, but it was interesting how this could be improved with just some everyday stuff that I had lying around. Happy building.

[Drilling the eyes out seems to give a sense of focus to the subject in a certain direction for some added realism.]