Purchase these Items

Products mentioned in this Article

--None--
 

 

28 Days Later: Part Two A T-34 Battalion

28 Days Later: Part Two
A T-34 Battalion
with Chris Townley

When I first looked at the contents of the box set, I can honestly say that I felt a little overwhelmed by the amount of assemble that was required (soon I would feel overwhelmed by the number of things that will need painting!). However once I started pulling the models out of the box and organising them I began to feel a little more confident about the task at hand.

Learn more about the Guards Tank Battalion here...

Read part one of 28 Days Later: A T-34 Battalion here... Read part three of 28 Days Later: A T-34 Battalion here...
Read part four of 28 Days Later: A T-34 Battalion here...
Read part five of 28 Days Later: A T-34 Battalion here...

I quickly began arranging each component by type, for example, the hulls, the 76mm turrets, the 85mm turrets etc. Beginning with the tracks, I cleaned them up and then put them aside as my plan required me to attach them till after I had applied on the base colour but more on that next week.


Right: The overwelming amount of contents of the Guards Tank Battalion box set represents not not a modelling challenge but also great value.

28 Days Later: Part Two A T-34 Battalion
28 Days Later: Part Two A T-34 Battalion
Assembly of the hulls begun by selecting one component from the plastic sprue, clipping it off and attaching it to all of the hulls moving onto the next component and repeating the process. This way I was able to break the assembly process down into small blocks and I was able to get a sense of achievement as the hulls started to come together. Luckily for me I was able to spend Thursday night after work with some of the Studio team assembling the hulls; however, the sheen number of fuel tanks stretched my hobby patience a little.

Left: The hulls starting to come together.
This session was followed by my usual Saturday afternoon hobby time with a few old friends of mine. This allowed me to complete most of the assembly work, leaving only a small amount that I was able to complete during my lunch breaks.

Right: Dedov fully assembled.

28 Days Later: Part Two A T-34 Battalion
28 Days Later: Part Two A T-34 Battalion During the assembly process, I picked up on a few tricks I thought I’d share.

Left: Dedov's turrets.
Front Mudguards
These are relatively simple to attach to the hull but only if all of the feeds are significantly removed. Start by clipping them off the plastic sprue with a pair of side cutters and then run a very sharp hobby knife along the feed. This makes sure that all of the excess plastic from the feeds is removed.

28 Days Later: Part Two A T-34 Battalion 28 Days Later: Part Two A T-34 Battalion 28 Days Later: Part Two A T-34 Battalion 28 Days Later: Part Two A T-34 Battalion 28 Days Later: Part Two A T-34 Battalion
The Plastic Components Sprue
The plastic frame holding that contains the T-34 components is quite rigid so to make it a easier to remove the necessary components I cut it into pieces. This gave the plastic frame some more flexibility and reduced the level of breakage to components as they were removed. Another option was to use a hobby knife with a new blade to ensure a clear cut.

28 Days Later: Part Two A T-34 Battalion 28 Days Later: Part Two A T-34 Battalion 28 Days Later: Part Two A T-34 Battalion
Next week I’ll share how I’ve progressed so far with painting so many vehicles all at once.

~ Chris.

28 Days Later: Part Two A T-34 Battalion


Last Updated On Thursday, March 7, 2013 by Blake at Battlefront