Tamiya's vintage T-34/85

I've always wanted to do the workhorse of the armies of world war 2 and Tamiya's T-34/85 from the 70s/80s fit the bill, well actually HLJ was running these on discount that's why I picked one up rather than build something from stash.

There're a few firsts in this build, all part of my feeling my way back into the hobby properly this time, aftermarket tracks, oil paints, metal barrel and pigments (Tamiya weathering master).

I used AFV Club's T-34 500mm workable indy tracks which fit perfectly fine I might add. I dare say I agree with what I've read online mostly, having individual link tracks rather than the vinyl ones that comes standard with lots of kits does make a difference. I must confess I think I was too concerned with having the sprue links for each individual track link be sanded smooth which took some joy out of the build (THOSE DAMN TRACKS!) but it was unnecessary! Just a bit of sanding did the job and that's how I completed the set.

The metal barrel was something random I picked up and initially couldn't fit onto the mantlet properly, a bit of sanding did the trick and it does improve the overall look of the tank. More like I was too lazy to sand down the seams of the plastic barrel.

Oil paints were much better than the usual acrylic I use for washes (Yes I'm an idiot, and lazy). Got them off M Workshop just to try something different. The weathering master works wonders too when applied on top of the usual washes and dry brushing.

Here's the finished T-34/85

I still didn't have an airbrush at this point and the base coat was Tamiya's dark green spray paint on top of Mr Surfacer 500.

More to come!