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Modeller Build Logs
Building the Soviet T-35 |
| By Daniel LeClair |
| Started: | Jan 30, 2006 | | Updated: | Feb 23, 2007 |
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Tanks have always fascinated me, and the more exotic the better. So, when I saw the ICM "Battle of Moscow, 1941" kit, which features the multi-turreted T-35, in a hobby shop recently, it was a no-brainer to buy it. Despite the fact that I knew nothing about the manufacturer, or hadn't done an armor model for nearly 25 years!
As it turns out this is an excellent kit, loads of nicely-cast parts with very little flashing. And, since I'm a glutton for punishment, I thought I'd blog my efforts at building it. Although it looks like it would finish nicely straight out of the box, I intend to detail it with some of the aftermarket parts that are available:
- Friulmodel ATL-75 metal tracks (the kit comes with separately-molded track links)
- Eduard 35316 photo-etched detail set
- Replacement barrels - Armo, Jordi Rubio, and Model Point all make them
As reference, I will be ordering Militaria 159 - T-35 (book). If anyone knows of other references for this unusual vehicle, please let me know.
I expect this project will take some time, so bear with me. Meanwhile, since this is my first project here on Track-Net, feel free to check out my website for a little info about me. |
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| Chapter 12 - Fitting the Turrets - Part Three | Feb 23, 2007 |
| One other problem made itself known after painting. If you look at the photo below, you can see lines around the PE star from excess CA glue. I've learned a lot about working with PE since building that turret, but at the time I had to un-bond and re-glue the star to get it pointed correctly (the... more |
| Chapter 12 - 2 - Fitting the Turrets - Part Two | Feb 11, 2007 |
With the upper hull and turrets painted, time to put it together. I'd heard there were fit problems with the turrets, so now was a good time to make sure everything went together properly.
Bad move, space cadet.
If you take nothing else away from reading this blog, this is important: test-fit... more |
| Chapter 12 - Fitting the Turrets - Part One | Feb 9, 2007 |
| With the major parts and most of the PE attached to the upper hull, I decided to go ahead and paint the base coat, prior to attaching the side skirts and pioneer tools. The Eduard PE set comes with replacement mounting brackets for the side skirts, which I am pretty sure I'd mangle if I handled... more |
| Chapter 11 - Correcting the Main Turret | Feb 3, 2007 |
Hans Hasse pointed out in a reply to my Chapter 8 entry that the main turret shouldn't have a rear machine gun. Since I had essentially finished that part of the kit, I was a little dismayed by finding that out.
Here's the turret, with the rear MG removed - it was simpler than I thought,... more |
| Chapter 10 - Restarting the blog, and the project. | Jan 15, 2007 |
Well, it has been nearly a year since I started this project, and way past time to finish it up.
After it was pointed out the turret shouldn't have a rear machine gun, I sort of lost heart. Plus, the PE was proving to be more of a challenge than I expected. So, setting the kit aside, I moved... more |
| Chapter 9 - Engine Exhaust Panel | May 14, 2006 |
| This is a piece that definitely benefits from the PE upgrade. It took some careful sawing and sanding to remove the plastic louvres and replace them with the PE ones, but I think it will make the finished vehicle look that much better. The photo lighting makes it look a little more uneven than they really... more |
| Chapter 8 - The Main Turret | May 12, 2006 |
| One of the reasons it has been a while since I've updated the blog is, well, I had an "oh-snap" moment. The Eduard PE set arrived, and while it is pretty impressive, I had already build some of the subassemblies beyond the point where the PE parts should go. Like the secondary turrets and main gun... more |
| Chapter 7 - Engine | May 8, 2006 |
Here are the engine and transmission assemblies. This is a good building block for super-detailing, if you decide to build the vehicle with the engine exposed. I'm not, but since it might be visible through the fan and exhaust, I decided to paint it, using Model Masters gunmetal.
Unfortunately... more |
| Chapter 6 - Driver Compartment | Apr 26, 2006 |
This photo shows the few details included for the driver compartment. Its probably enough if you build the vehicle with the hatch open.
Now that I look at it, I think I left a couple of pedals off.
When painting time comes, I'm planning on doing the interior white although in all likelihood... more |
| Chapter 5 - Secondary Turrets | Mar 12, 2006 |
| Here are the four secondary turrets, two with the 45mm guns (primered), two with 7.62x54r machine guns (unpainted). I used Model Point barrels for the 45mm.Made of brass, these are actually two-piece barrels which give a realistic opening between the barrel and the outer sleeve. The kit barrels have... more |
| Chapter 4 - Lower Hull - External Details | Mar 3, 2006 |
Here is the lower hull with the external details attached, primed and ready to paint. As you can see, it is quite a number of parts.
A couple of comments regarding assembly order:
1) The upper mudguards don't anchor securly to the hull side. There are small grooves that they seat into, but... more |
| Chapter 3 - Assembling tracks | Feb 8, 2006 |
Although the links supplied with the kit looked fine, I had already decided to upgrade to the Friulmodel ATL-75 metal tracks. The set consists of 270 links, most nicely cast (considering the small size of the links), and as it turns out, much more accurate than those supplied with the kit.
The wire... more |
| Chapter 2 - Road wheels (and more road wheels) | Feb 2, 2006 |
| Because of the length of the tank, there is a mess of road wheels and other suspension parts to put together. Four pairs of bogie wheel assemblies: two suspension arms, two springs, four wheels, four wheel caps per pair - 96 pieces to assemble those alone! Plus mud guards once they go onto the hull.... more |
| Chapter 1 - Model Prep | Jan 30, 2006 |
| The ICM kit is huge - 21 sprues plus loose hull planks. It includes interior details such as engine, fully-formed machine guns, and ammo for the main gun (see photo). The first task was to clean off the mold-release agent; I don't know if this is typical for Eastern European kits, but the sprues... more |
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