T-34-85

Manufacturer: Revell(03130)

By Marko Mäkinen .

In WW II the Finnish armycaptured amongst other equipment a total of seven Soviet T-34-85tanks intact, which proved to be an important addition to theanti-tank equipment of the field army. All of them weresuccessfully operated against their former owners by the 2ndcompany of the Tank Brigade "Lagus" on the KarelianIsthmus in 1944 and after the armistice in Lapland againstGermans. Surviving vehicles of this type were removed from activeservice in 1962. This model represents the company commandvehicle (Ps. 245-5) painted in the scheme of summer of 1944. Themodel is the fabulous new Revell kit, which is slightly changedto resemble the original, earlier type vehicle by cutting off thefender ends, changing the outer hull equipment a bit andenhancing the turret cast seams with stretched and sanded downsprue. The cast appearance of the turret is enhanced by softeningthe surface with liquid glue and then pressing the texture onwith an old toothbrush. Some details are added (turret lifthooks, additional hull stowage hooks, support bars for spare fueltank racks, track log, headlight cord, antenna). The nationalinsignias and serial numbers are self made. The error with theseis that the small serial numbers should be white instead ofblack. Altogether, this is one of the nicest kits that I havebuilt, but there is one very annoying mistake, which is thatthere the track measurement is wrong, like many other modellershave noticed. This leaves a narrow gap somewhere at the length ofboth tracks, which needs to be filled somehow.

I enclose a picture of anactual T-34-85 in Finnish Tank Museum in Parola for reference.This is not the same vehicle depicted by my model, and differsfrom it for the part of its fenders and some after warassemblies. The painting of the museum vehicle is not original,but replicated in recent years. A close resemblance of thewartime Finnish camo scheme can be obtained by using TamiyaXF-52, XF-57 and XF-58 colors, but in the small scale they shouldbe toned a bit lighter.

NOTE: The Finnish national "swastika" insignia (used between1918-1945) has no nazi implications, but is an ancient sign ofprosperity and good luck. It was brought to the Finnish armedforces by Swedish count Eric von Rosen (whose family crest theswastika was), who donated the Finnish Air Force its firstaircraft in 1918, well before German nazi period. Because of itsnotorious nazi reputation the swastika was replaced in 1945 by ablue and white roundel cockade, which is still in use.