I wanted a T34 for photo reference for the webcomic I’ve just started working on. It’s actually in the centre of the very first frame, advancing up a shattered Berlin street, so I can’t go any further until I’ve built this. The plan was to get a cheap kit for a fast build- it’s an alternate reality tale, so historical accuracy isn’t so important- but this one (bonus) comes with a Berlin colour scheme.

I don’t know what the current state of the art for small scale armour is, but I’ve read reviews hinting at assembling tracks from individual chain links, a long way from the bendy soft plastic tracks I remember from my youth. Thankfully this kit manages to hit an acceptable middle ground, with the tracks formed from five or six separate pieces of varying lengths with long flat stretches under and atop the road wheels and shorter links going round the drive and end wheels.

Despite it being a fast build I’ll try to do the model justice, with an amount of painting if not major detailing. Expect pictures of the beast going together.

The Airfix Russian infantry were bought to go with the T34, but I could almost have gotten away with any 72nd scale figures milling around. They’re not awful, but the detail is soft and only the occassional pose is distinctive. I don’t know if any other companies do World War Two Russian figures in this scale. These guys could make up the massed ranks backing up the more detailed frontline troops or would be ideal for wargaming.

Technorati tag: Scale Models, T34, Airfix, Revell