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

[KSaarni]

This has been Monty an intensive and fantastic "lesson" or "course" of your work with the T-34 !

The pictures are so excellent !

and if I don't remember wrong, all these pics are taken with your smartphone ??

- Kari

[dmminiatures]

Hi Kari - Thanks! Yes I hope some of it was useful!

This has been Monty an intensive and fantastic "lesson" or "course" of your work with the T-34 !

The pictures are so excellent !

and if I don't remember wrong, all these pics are taken with your smartphone ??

- Kari

[dmminiatures]

Burnt Out Wheels, Blown Out Tracks
The next phase of the build was to concentrate on the lower section of the T-34, particularly the wheels and tracks. So characteristic of burnt out T-34s are that the rubber that is part of the road wheels tend to burn in the process, leaving only the metal part of the wheel and a pile of ash around the area

Startboard Side

The starboard side has all the road wheels intact as the fire did not rage this part of the tank. They are only weathered using AK and AMMO pigment and weathering products.


This side will also show tracks that are still intact. For this, I used Academy's plastic tract set. its quite good. the fit is excellent and the link matches its length. Academy provides you with 2 extra links just in case you lost some.

Port Side

The port side of the tank will show the damage caused by the fire, which is the complete lost of the rubber on the first three road wheels.

To make the rubber-less effect on the roadwheels, I had to cut away the part using a side cutter and then smoothen them out using cutter and sand paper. I wish I had a lathe, which I think would make my work easier.


The port side show tracks that were blown out from hitting something hard during the process of running off the road. The lower and front track pieces relied on Academy's track, but the upper piece will come from the MiniArt single tracks. You can see that I have worked to cut out parts of the rubber on the No.4 road wheel.

[speedgraflex]

Wow, I just read through your thread again before this post, stopped to read Carlos’s thread, wrote a post and now here is more! So exciting to see you push forward the reality of battle damage and structural wear in such detail.

As a side note, I already ordered the Mig AMMO paint set for USAF interiors because the paint formula was “double duty,” i.e. workable by air brush as well as bristle brush just prior to your return to SPAM. I was happy using these acrylics due to their adhesion and flexibility. Since I am still well I am always going to be learning (aren’t we all) I ordered some Vallejo acrylics as well. I noticed some differences between formulas; some good some not so much.

Anyhoo, in no small part due to your use of Mig AMMO I just bought the USAF set for WWII a/c which will be my first airbrush attempts. I also purchased the specific thinner.

Thanks for being an inspiration!

[dmminiatures]

The MiniArt Kit
I think this is small package that has sets of single piece tracks and late-style wheels is a excellent value for money. The detail is great, molding is great. there was little effort to clean it. the plastic was rather soft and to my advantage that helped in the cleaning process.




These are not workable link-and-length tracks. They have small pins to put the tracks together, but their purpose is nothing more than to help you glue them together.


The possibility is pretty endless on how you wish to use these single tracks. Here is just an illustrative example. They are not glued yet as I am still researching how best to show blown out tracks.

[dmminiatures]

Hi Bruce, I am happy you see it that way. I think in a way all the good people here in SPAM forum is an inspiration. The camaraderie is excellent and they always help support each of us to make better models.

Wow, I just read through your thread again before this post, stopped to read Carlos’s thread, wrote a post and now here is more! So exciting to see you push forward the reality of battle damage and structural wear in such detail.

As a side note, I already ordered the Mig AMMO paint set for USAF interiors because the paint formula was “double duty,” i.e. workable by air brush as well as bristle brush just prior to your return to SPAM. I was happy using these acrylics due to their adhesion and flexibility. Since I am still well I am always going to be learning (aren’t we all) I ordered some Vallejo acrylics as well. I noticed some differences between formulas; some good some not so much.

Anyhoo, in no small part due to your use of Mig AMMO I just bought the USAF set for WWII a/c which will be my first airbrush attempts. I also purchased the specific thinner.

Thanks for being an inspiration!

[dmminiatures]

The Vignette Base
There was just so many things I could do on my T-34 until I got to a point that I needed a base to properly show the destroyed nature of the tank. Particularly a tank with a broken track trailing behind, I think that would pose considerable challenge for a stand-alone display


The base has a working area of 30cm x 25cm that is surrounded by a 2cm frame. All the wood used here were scrap materials that I bought at a reused wood recycling center for like US$ 2 dollars. The guy there happily sawed them up for me. Once I got back, I put the pieces together using CA glue (no nails were needed). I bought a set of wood filler, wood stain, and wood veneer (you can see the cans in the back) and started painting the frames. Good tropical weather here let me dry everything in two days.


While I was on my way home, I picked up some Styrofoam boards from the local office supply store. I think I bought two boards just so that I dont have to run back and forth to the store (saves petrol too).


Shaping the landscape was next. I stacked up some leftover Styrofoam and tried to create a dynamic landscape as a way to add some extra visual interest. I placed the model to get a sense of scale and help me see where I was going.


Refining the contour was the obvious next step. Using a surgery blade, I made slopes out of the square Styrofoam shapes and blended other bits and pieces so that the surface is far from being "flat". I learned from previous landscape building projecta that it was easier to set the shape of the landscape at this stage rather than later.


Correcting as I go, I made more changes to the elevation. Including here was a pit, a hole in the Styrofoam base , to which it will be the T-34's final resting place.

[dmminiatures]

Landscaping the Base
This is where I think the real fun part begins. Why? because I can go back and feel like I was a kid again. You know, playing with dirt, mud, glue all the gooey stuff LOL.


I used real sand for this project. They came from different sources. From the front yard, a housing material store, and a aquarium store. Having different colors of soil is very convenient as I can easily mix-and-match them to a color mix that I like.


Another part of my essential ground work materials is these landscaping products from WoodlandScenic. The long orange-colored grass is also from WoodlandScenic.


My first attempt at landscaping. It was a shame that I did not record the process until I got here. My hands were all wet and sticky from glue and other scatter materials and i had to move fast to get all the elements in place.

Can you see the small bottle of white liquid just behind the vignette base? That is diluted white glue in a used body lotion bottle. Every time I wanted to add some scattered materials, I would spray the liquid first and then immediately afterwards. I am trying hard not to touch the scatter materials with my hands.


These wildgrass from NOCH is just superb. They are sooo expensive in my country! But it was worth every penny I had. like the short static grass, these longer 2cm versions worked well with a static grass applicator. in the picture I used a modified mosquito racket .


A slightly different angle. What I also learnt from past work is that never be afraid to make mistakes. if it turns out the landscape wasnt to your liking, just take them off. Cut them off or pull them off and start reworking on patching the area.

[dmminiatures]

The Muddy Road Work
Who liked to play with mud when they were kids? I certainly did! We'll I got a chance to recreate that childhood memories again, albeit in a scaled version LOL.


My go-to materials from making artificial mud paste. Since the scene is not historically accurate, I had the leeway to create a landscape that took different elements from the Korean landscape, for the purpose of aesthetic improvements. I was going for a gravel road at first but then changed my mine after i saw some muddy roads that might add visual interest for the vignette.


Here was where I got the inspiration for the muddy dirt road


Here is what the muddy road look like after applying the paste, where you can see wheels and track imprints crisscrossing the road. A good practice before you do this is to prepare extra tracks and tires and have them near by. That way, you can immediately used it to make track and rubber tire impressions immediately while the paste is still wet.

[mostrich]

Monty, thank you so much for posting this wip. I'm abolutely enjoying it.
I purchased Meng's new Panther last week and I'm planning to do a "abandoned at the side of the road"-diorama.
Looking for one of the Panther books from the Panzer Wreck series at the moment.

Watching intensely!