Academy T-34-85 Korea War Vignette 1/35 scale

[KSaarni]

Wouh!

- Kari

[Stikpusher]

This is great! I love Korean War subjects.

One correction for you, Major General Dean was Army, not Marine Corps. That particular T-34 was knocked out by him during the battle of Taejon where he was in command of the 24th Division during the summer of 1950. He was “leading by example” to get the GI’s to overcome their tank fright. In the opening battles, the 57mm recoilless rifles and 2.37” bazookas had proven ineffective against the T-34. He led out a tank hunting party with the new 3.5” bazooka to put the T-34 invincibility aura to rest. They knocked out some, but eventually Gen Dean would be captured and spend the rest of the war as a POW.

[dmminiatures]

LOL . dont forget the beer or soda!

Wouh!

- Kari

[dmminiatures]

Thanks much for the correction, Stikpusher! Done editing my original text.

This is great! I love Korean War subjects.

One correction for you, Major General Dean was Army, not Marine Corps. That particular T-34 was knocked out by him during the battle of Taejon where he was in command of the 24th Division during the summer of 1950. He was “leading by example” to get the GI’s to overcome their tank fright. In the opening battles, the 57mm recoilless rifles and 2.37” bazookas had proven ineffective against the T-34. He led out a tank hunting party with the new 3.5” bazooka to put the T-34 invincibility aura to rest. They knocked out some, but eventually Gen Dean would be captured and spend the rest of the war as a POW.

[speedgraflex]

I am subscribed. I really appreciate the way you document changes on builds—this is very relatable and in your case leads to some incredible (also very credible as in incredibly realistic) details with painting and weathering; in other words, simply amazing!!

[dmminiatures]

The Burnt-out Weathering Effect: Phase 2
Now, this is the stage that got me a bit excited but nervous at the same time. I have NEVER EVER done a burnt-out effect before. To add to the confusion, there are literally 101 ways that a tank can turn into charcoal. Either i would eventually overdo the effect or the opposite. I have to make sure get the effect done right I on my first pass. So the stakes are high!

The Thinking Process
What I learned from the exercise was a burnt out tank is a kinda of a signature. A unique tell-tale of what and how the tank or vehicle was destroyed at the first place. What penetrated the tank? how did it trigger the fire? The effect of ammunition fires will be different compared to say, burning of paint, fuel, or wood. This led me to admit that I need a good story for a convincing burnt-out effect. With all those factors calculated in, I decided the story for my burnt-out T-34 is that:

"The T-34 was hit by two penetration shells in the front armor, perhaps by a 75mm round from a M4 Sherman. It stop short and veered off the road. The shell penetrated the transmission and started a fire, but the crew managed to escape in time. Once abandoned, the fire started to rage but fell short of cooking the whatever ammunition was left in the vehicle. The low intensity fire soon died down on its own but managed to burn the rubber of the road wheels to ashes."

With the story fixed, now I can stage the approach. The tank will have blown out tracks as the driver tried to steer the hapless tank off the dirt road. I left the hatches open as an indicator that the crews managed to escape. The T-34 will be partially burnt leaving parts of the tank with its original paint.



The first stage was to give the surface a blackening color. This is basically soot, it should be wider than the actual burnt-out area as they are only the carbon residue of the whatever the burning process was (paint, rubber, wood).


Showing you the discoloration of the hull and turret due to the fire. The black soot was achieved by spraying a mix layer of Tamiya XF-1 Flat black with XF-69 Nato Black.


A different angle of the hull and turret shows where the carbonized paint ends and meet the original green paint.


An overhead view from the rear shows the previous weathering coated over with the black paint. can you see also the engine maintenance hatch partially open, and the dents on the auxiliary fuel tanks?

[dmminiatures]

Hi Bruce, Thanks for following. This project is a learning curve for me too. Bear with me!

I am subscribed. I really appreciate the way you document changes on builds—this is very relatable and in your case leads to some incredible (also very credible as in incredibly realistic) details with painting and weathering; in other words, simply amazing!!

[dmminiatures]

Adding the Ash Effects.
The second layer to the burnt out effect is spraying a thin layer of dark grey. Thin and random, and layered sprays is the key here. i want to build the ash effect as it gradually thickens towards the source of the fire.




Keeping the look as random and irregular as possible, the left and right side should be different.



This was also the time I added the shell penetration holes in the sloped armor. I used a mini drill to bore a hole and twisted it to create an uneven border around the point of impact.

[dmminiatures]

The Rust Effect
Literally in every burnt and destroyed tank photos I saw rust.... everywhere ... and in different colors from mute dark brown to vivid orange depending on how long the wreck was left in the open for the elements to play its role. Unprotected steel surface rust easily as they oxidizes. But my limited knowledge of the matter says that burning of steel makes it more easier for the metal to rust because the burning process is an acceleration of the oxidation process. (Any chemistry guru here to verify, correct that?).


I started off with a mute dark red color using XF-9 Hull Red. Thinly and randomly sprayed to different areas but keeping in mind the source of the fire.


Using a sponge, I dabbed light grey using highly diluted XF-19 Sky Grey in different areas to show pooled ashes. i did this sparsely as i will add more of this as I continue to put layers upon layer of different colors of rust.

More Concentration of Ash.
Shifting gear to AMMO and AK weathering products. I added more ash effects. this time not just pools of ash, but also streaks running down on the sides of the hull and turret. an indication that the T-34 carcass might have seen some rain.


To create this effect I use a combination of sponge and also a fine tipped brush.


Ash effect on the other side of the turret.

[dmminiatures]

More Rust, More Ash, More Soot
The following images show the escalation of effects that I added onto the model, notably the rust color shifting from a mute dark brown to almost orange in nature. More layering and streaking of ash, and adding soot to compensate the evolving nature of this effect.


A redder tone was added towards the source of the fire - notably the turret hatches - using sponges and airbrush. A combo of XF-79 Linoleum Brown and also A.MIG.1204 Streaking Rust Effect.


This photo show the brightest of all rust color for this model using A.MIG.1004 Light Rust Wash. Again, dabbed using a sponge in combination with a fine tipped brush.


A different angle to show the additional layer of light-colored rust, particularly on the edges and higher surface areas to show recent oxidized metal.

The Material Roundup
Here is a family photo of the products I used to create the ash, soot and rust effects. There are just tools and supplies. Good reference photo (or photos) was essential to help me correctly and effectively use these products.