{"id":6167,"date":"2020-06-04T12:59:46","date_gmt":"2020-06-04T19:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ricklawler-propaganda.com\/propaganda\/?page_id=6167"},"modified":"2020-06-04T12:59:46","modified_gmt":"2020-06-04T19:59:46","slug":"for-the-motherland","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ricklawler-propaganda.com\/propaganda\/modeling-projects\/for-the-motherland\/","title":{"rendered":"For the Motherland"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>When it comes to armored warfare and the history of WWII, the T34 (and it\u2019s variants) deserve an extra thick chapter any book that chronicles defeat of Nazi Germany – and afterward.  <\/span>In 1942, Adolf Hitler is reported to say to his military staff at his Wolf’s Lair headquarters in East Prussia, “If I had known that there were so many of them, I would have had second thoughts about invading!”<\/span><\/p>\n

The “them” he was referring to was the Soviet Red Army T-34, the now-iconic tank that had come as such a nasty surprise to the Germans in the summer of 1941.  <\/span>The T34, and it\u2019s variants continued to be a thorn in the side of the German\u2019s throughout the war, ultimately rolling onto the streets of a shattered Berlin in April of 1945.<\/span><\/p>\n

Drs. Matthew Hughes and Chris Mann in their 2002 work The T-34 Russian Battle Tank<\/i> noted, “The presence of the T-34\/76 in 1941 proved to be a rude shock for the Germans. Compared to other Soviet tanks, the T-34 was able to take on and destroy the best of the German panzers. In various modifications—and despite some setbacks—the T-34 held its own until the war’s end in the ruins of Berlin in 1945.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Initial T34 production models sported the 76.2mm gun as its\u2019 main weapon which had a real hitting power by the standards of the day.  <\/span>Perhaps, more importantly, was its radical sloping armor that gave superior protection while keeping overall weight down. Its diesel engine and Christie suspension system provided superb cross-country performance as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Realizing their disadvantage, Germany set about an aggressive program of regaining the advantage, upgrading the panzer forces with armament upgrades to existing the of Pz. III and Pz IV variants, and the introduction of a newly designed Pz. V, Panther, and later King Tiger, who design are clearly influenced by the T34 distinctive sloped armor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, a punch must be responded by a counter-punch, and by 1943 the Russians realize that the T34\u2019s 76.2 main gun is becoming ineffective against the up-armored German panzers. In response, a program was begun to up-gun the T34. After tests, the ZiS-S-53 (85mm) and chosen to go into production as the new main weapon.  <\/span>For expedited production reasons, it was ordered to be equipped upon existing T34 chassis design. In the end, the turret required some modifications to accommodate the larger 85mm main gun, and heavier armor were added to the same basic chassis.  <\/span>“Indeed, the T-34\/85 makes the strongest claim of any of the T-34 family for the title of the best all-around tank of any stage of the war,” wrote Hughes and Mann. “The design has also proved to be remarkably durable. It remained the Soviet main battle tank until the mid-1950s, and the Bosnian Serbs were still using T-34\/85s during the fighting in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Such longevity in a modern major weapon is unprecedented.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>When this project came to be the only direction was to \u201cbuild a T34\u201d.  <\/span>Now that\u2019s wide open\u2026and great.  <\/span>That is until I realized that choosing which variant I was going to do of this iconic tank was going to be a bigger challenge than I expected.  <\/span>What to do? Should I do an early version or late?  <\/span>Should it be with the 76mm or 85mm gun?  <\/span>Of the nearly 40,000 vehicles produced during the war should I find a unique, eye-catching <\/span>example; or one-of-the-many?  <\/span>The T34 world is very big, indeed.  <\/span>In the end, I decided to portray a more-or-less \u201crun of the mill\u201d T34\/85 as would be common during the spring of 1945.  <\/span>However, being \u201ccommon\u201d doesn\u2019t mean that I can\u2019t have fun with the project; test my skills using aftermarket upgrades and produce an interesting finish.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before I get started, let me give you a bit of an overview of the base kit and a few thoughts and intentions for this project.  <\/span>First, as the article progresses you may notice a lack of kit build shots. This is partially due to the fact that the kit is relatively easy and straightforward to build and I felt that it might become redundant (boring?) if the body of the article was a recipe narrative of \u201cI glued this part to that part\u201d.  <\/span>Modelers with basic skills shouldn\u2019t find any difficulties with this model if built straight from the box.  <\/span>That said, what I hope will to accomplish is to show areas that can include adjustments, alterations, improvements, and additions to the basic kit, along with an explanation of what I did and why.<\/span><\/p>\n

In terms of finishing, I wanted to change up my normal routine, even if only slightly, by using different brands of paint and fully exploring the power within the artist\u2019s oils.  <\/span>I\u2019ll get into these specifics as the article unfolds.  <\/span>Overall, I chose to portray a veteran tank with wear and damage operating in the spring of 1945, its\u2019 winter white was nearly worn away. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an armor kit, and guess what?  <\/span>Road wheels. In this instance along with the normal cleaning of the molding seams and sprue points, I also wanted to create a worn, used appearance on the rubber adding divots and blemishes using my trusty #11 blade.  <\/span>While these effects can be subtle, it\u2019s the cumulation of these small enhancements that help to create the overall tone of the model. <\/span>Photo etch details can add exceptional touches of realism to your models, but using it also brings an added level of complexity to the project. \"\"<\/a>First, there is a balance of two (or more) sets of direction on the workbench.  <\/span>Then, there is the decision of when to use the kit part, or when the use of the photo-etch replacement is the better alternative.  <\/span>And finally, there is a base level of skill, proficiency, and probably most importantly, confidence that the use of photo-etch requires. <\/span><\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve decided to take the photo-etch plunge, one of the most important investments you can make is a good photo-etch bending tool.  <\/span>These tools are available from a number of companies, look for one of the finest quality you can afford.  <\/span>This photo shows one of the fender stowage boxes is bent to shape using my bending tool pried upward using a straight-edge razor.  <\/span>A file is used to remove unwanted sprue burs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo-etch parts can be attached using two methods; the first being the use of CA glue, the other being soldering.  <\/span>Each of these methods has it\u2019s purpose and use, but on larger parts such as the storage boxes solder is the better option as it provides a strong bond.  <\/span>Soldering also allows for further manipulation (read damage) that I\u2019ll be doing in the later steps without fear of everything falling apart.  <\/span>The lid of the storage box has raised strengthening ribs.  <\/span>The photo-etched part includes location indicators on the inside of the lid part. Pressing these areas using a ballpoint pen and using a thin piece of cardboard underneath (rather than on a hard surface) will indent the part to create the raised feature.<\/span><\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n

The photo above shows the reverse side of the same piece after pressing, now with the raised ribs. The next step for this part will be to fold down the thin edges to create the sides.  <\/span>To do this, I will flip the part over once again and then bend the small tabs upward, using the etch tool to securely hold the part while using the razor blade to leverage the part upward for the bend.<\/span> Two storage boxes are used on the T34, one on the front left fender and the other on the right rear fender.  <\/span>After building the basic box shapes, including soldering both the lid and box on the inside joints, the hinges, latches, and chains are added and secured in place using a tiny amount of CA glue. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The rear engine vent and hatch is the most complicated photo etch element of this project in that it\u2019s large and includes curved surfaces.  <\/span>The payoff is that it absolutely enhances the final appearance of the model.  <\/span>The curved shape is dictated by the side pieces, and with a little patience and some gentle coaxing, it\u2019s fairly easy to get the top piece to follow the side-wall contour.  <\/span>I used a pen, rolling it back and forth to help initiate the curve of the top piece.  <\/span>Even with this preliminary bending and coaxing there still is quite a bit of tension and spring within the parts.  <\/span>This is absolutely one of those instances where soldering is the best option to ensure a tight, permanent bond between parts.  <\/span>The soldering bead is done on the inside of the part so that only a small bit of clean-up or filing is required along the outside edges for the part to look perfect.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This photo clearly compares the kit part against the new photo-etched part.  <\/span>The solid, textured plastic screen is now replaced with a real mesh screen.  <\/span>The unevenness of the new screen adds a bit of lived-in character to the part.  <\/span>One note, the mesh of the provided photo etch screen is
\nvery fine and the open areas are susceptible to being filled or clogged during the painting process – this happened to me.  <\/span>Later, during the project, you may notice that I removed the screen that you see here and replaced it with a larger weave mesh in order to eliminate the issue.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another important point to consider when working with photo-etch is that there is a lot of time spent simply making the necessary preparations for the kit in order to accept the photo-etch details.  <\/span>In this case, the notches on the rear hull are locator holes intended for the kit’s external fuel \"\"<\/a>tank brackets, but since I\u2019ll be using photo-etch replacements these holes must be filled.  <\/span>The quickest, easiest method for dealing with this type of issue is to first fill the hole with an appropriate size of plastic stock (Evergreen), and then finish the surface either with a bit of putty or CA sanded to remove any trace of the hole.\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

This same type of prep work is done in each of the areas where I will be adding photo-etch details. It\u2019s at about this point that I have 3 sets of instructions spread out on my work table – one for the kit and 2 for the photo-etch – at times it can feel a bit overwhelming with all these diagrams telling me what do do. Just take a deep breath. It\u2019s important to study all sets of instructions thoroughly so as to come up with a game plan on which items you will choose to remain as original kit parts, and which items are to be replaced or enhanced by the etch. In this photo, I am removing the brackets for the snow cleats as they will be replaced with small photo-etch brackets.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/b>The Voyager set includes a resin replacement for the copula ring, a nice addition as it has finer detailing than the kit part.  <\/span>While the resin part fit perfectly into the turret hole, the hatches did require a bit of sanding.  <\/span>As you can see photo-etch details also replace the periscope covers and hinges. <\/span><\/p>\n

Is there a doctor in the house?  <\/span>Now comes the major surgery, and as scary as this looks it is really a simple process and one that really makes a statement.  <\/span>The goal here is to replace the existing kit fenders with brass etch fenders.  <\/span>On most armored vehicles this is one of the more important upgrades that you can do, as the slight wrinkles and waves in the metal provide a very realistic appearance.  <\/span>Not to mention the fact that if you are portraying damaged metal fenders there is nothing more realistic than bending real metal.<\/span><\/p>\n

The T34, in particular, is an easy surgery as the fenders are clearly defined along the hull edge. The plastic fenders are removed by scoring along \"\"<\/a>the edge of the hull and fender using my trusty #11 blade using light strokes until I achieve a depth of cut that allows me to snap off the fender.  <\/span>For ease, I did this in two parts removing the front fender separately. <\/span>  <\/span>A sharp blade makes this work much easier and helps to ensure a clean-cut, making for less clean-up or fixing.\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not uncommon when removing plastic that gaps may be revealed, and that was the case here along the front of the hull. Once again I used an appropriate size of Evergreen strip plastic to fill the gap and then sanded the surface flush.<\/span><\/p>\n

After all of the unwanted plastic is removed, the surfaces are sanded and clean, it\u2019s time to get busy on the new photo etch fenders. One of the first things I notice about these fenders is that they include a very small upward profile along the outer edge.  <\/span>While it\u2019s possible to, accomplish this bend with the etch as is, it is much easier to do this type of bending after first annealing the brass.  <\/span>Annealing is a simple technique of heating the brass, using a flame or burner, so as to \u201csoften\u201d the brass.  <\/span>You will know it has achieved the desired heat threshold when the brass either turns bright orange or darker blue color as it\u2019s heated. It\u2019s a quick process and you\u2019ll need to be careful not to over-do it and burn the metal.<\/span> <\/span>The small outer edge of the fender is secured by my folding tool and now all I need to do is bend the fender fold the fender upward using the razor to create the upward edge.<\/span><\/p>\nngg_shortcode_1_placeholder\n

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I mentioned earlier that soldering parts was preferred, especially on larger parts. For these small fender supports, I choose to solder for no other reason than I needed them to be securely fastened so that they won\u2019t pop off later while I\u2019m \u201cdamaging\u201d the fenders.  <\/span>I prepare the surfaces by brushing a light coat of soldering flux to the area that will receive the part.  <\/span>In this particular instance, I first tinned the bracket and then placed the bracket into position onto the area that I had previously added flux.  <\/span>Next, I will touch the bracket (while in position) with the soldering iron, re-melting the solder on the bracket which will then mate the bracket to the fender.  <\/span>This is a quick and clean way to attach small parts when soldering. <\/span><\/p>\n

Before I move along past this step, let me try to clarify and define some of the soldering terminologies. <\/span><\/p>\n