Zvezda 1/35 T-34/85 & others.................

[langy71]

Dave,
From what you have seen is there anyway the suspension on this could be altered without too much work ?
I'm thinking of doing a Dio with it 'cresting' a pile of rubble'..possbly next to a ruined house..(if Miniart do a berlin style house).

[Dave Ward]

Chris,
the suspension can be easily altered - for example by shortening the springs in picture on post #28, that would enable the suspension arm ( and thus the roadwheel ) to pivot up. You wouldn't be able to use the tracks, though - straight runs top & bottom would prevent that, so AM tracks would be needed. MiniArt do some T-34 plastic track links ( if you can get hold of them ), otherwise metal tracks start getting expensive.................
Dave

[langy71]

Chris,
the suspension can be easily altered - for example by shortening the springs in picture on post #28, that would enable the suspension arm ( and thus the roadwheel ) to pivot up. You wouldn't be able to use the tracks, though - straight runs top & bottom would prevent that, so AM tracks would be needed. MiniArt do some T-34 plastic track links ( if you can get hold of them ), otherwise metal tracks start getting expensive.................
Dave

Thanks mate, i hadn't thought about the tracks. .(been a busy day, just walked in from work, started this morning at half two........) maybe the MiniArt tracks might be searching for..

[Dave Ward]

Chris,
I wanted to replace the vinyl tracks on my ICM T-34/76 - I had to search on ebay to get the individual links, although you can get the complete T34/85 running gear
https://miniart-models.com/products/...ear-late-type/ seems to be a waste, as you already have the wheels/idlers/sprocket, but still cheaper than metal replacement!
Dave

[Guest]

Separate-link T-34 tracks are offered by a lot of makers, in plastic and metal (perhaps resin as well, I’m not sure), so it shouldn’t be that hard to find a set.

[Jack L]

Looking good Dave!

[Tarps]

Dave it’s looking good and I like the Russian green colour.

[Dave Ward]

Road wheel tyres painted & added to the hull....................

I generally just took the sharp edge off the tyres, then dinked & notched them at random

The track jig assembled


And in use

The links are such a good fit that they can be positioned easily, before gluing - that is the only problem - making sure you don't glue the tracks to the jig! You have to look at the instructions carefully, to see which way round the top run fits, then all falls into place, with the teeth neatly fitting into the jig.
Dave

[Tarps]

Great job on the wheels and tyres Dave. That track jig definitely makes life easier.

[Dave Ward]

Kevin,
to be fair, the T-34 isn't the most difficult tank to add tracks to, and these fit so well together, that the jig is an additional luxury! Zvezda have thought this through well - I believe the same feature can be found on all their tanks with the same running gear - T-34/76, Su-85, Su-100 & Su-122..............
Dave

[Guest]

Do the drive sprocket and idler wheel have locating pins so they only fit one way? If the track links fit into the jig only in one way, that would be necessary for it to be guaranteed to fit around the wheels.

[Dave Ward]

Jakko,
The drive sprockets are keyed to fit one way, but the idlers are smooth, so can be fitted in any orientation
Dave

[Guest]

No, wait, that’s right, the idlers on the real tank didn’t have crosspieces between the halves for the teeth to slot between. The sprockets have rollers in them to push the track teeth, so they would need to go in a fixed position on the model, but it doesn’t really matter for the idlers.

BTW, here’s a translation of the T-34’s service manual with original illustrations:

http://www.allworldwars.com/T-34%20Tank%20Service%20Manual.html

[Dave Ward]

Here's how the jig performed.................
Sprocket end of the top run on jig.


Idler end on jig ( you can't assemble the whole run - a) You'd never get it off the jig b) If you could it'd never fit over the tank sprocket/idler.


This is just dry fitted at the moment - it actually is perfect in length etc.
Dave

[Guest]

I think Zvezda hit upon a good idea with those track jigs.