King Of Panzers

Historical Background

On 26 May 1941, Adolf Hitler met with officials from the Waffenamt discussing panzer development. By Fall 1942, designers at Porsche and Henschel started work on a new heavy tank that would replace the Tiger Ausf. E, which at that time, had not yet fully entered service. In January 1943, Hitler ordered that the tank would be armed with a long-barreled L/71 88mm gun and protected with 150mm frontal and 80mm side armour. The armour plates would be sloped and interlocked, similar to the then-new Panzerkampfwagen V Panther. Development work was given to Porsche and Henschel as both companies had started work on heavy tank designs since  1939 and 1937 respectively. Porsche provided two projects designated VK4502(P). The first one, Typ 180 (Turm Vorne) A/B had its turret mounted centrally while the second, Typ 181 (Turm Hintern) A/B/C had a rear-mounted turret. Both designs share the same hull and chassis with a gasoline-electric drive system. Henschel's design was more conventional. Designated VK4503(H), it has sloped armour reminiscent of the Panther with a suspension system similar to the Tiger I.

The contract was eventually awarded to Henschel with production beginning in January 1944. Officially, it was known as Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B, or Tiger B with ordnance inventory designation Sd.Kfz.182. Informally it was known as Königstiger (German for Bengal Tiger) which was mistranslated by Allied soldiers as 'King' or 'Royal' Tiger. The first 50 vehicles were equipped with the so-called 'Porsche' turret while the rest were equipped with 'Henschel' turret. The designation was due to the erroneous belief that the turrets were designed by both companies for their respective prototypes; in fact, they were both designed by Krupp, with the 'Porsche' turret being the initial design. The earlier turret has steeply sloped sides and a rounded front (creating 'shot traps') and a bulge on the left side to accommodate the commander's cupola. The latter turret has a thicker, flat face (eliminating the shot trap) and less sloped turret sides. The turret was traversed by a hydraulic motor which was driven by the engine through a secondary drive shaft. The Tiger II has the same Maybach HL230 P30 V-12 petrol engine powering the lighter Panther (45 tons) and Tiger I (56 ton) tanks. This made the Tiger II (68 tons) underpowered and have a poor fuel consumption rate.

The Tiger II was armed with a Krupp KwK 43 L/71 8.8-cm gun and two MG34 7.92mm machineguns. Combined with the Tzf 9 monocular sight, it was an accurate and deadly weapon. Penetration of typical armour plate inclined at 30 degrees was 202mm at 100m and 132mm at 2,000m using PzGr.39/43 APCBC-HE rounds and 238mm and 153mm at the same ranges using PzGr.40/43 APCR rounds. HlGr 39 (HEAT) round had a 90mm penetration capability at any ranges and was used as dual-purpose round while SpGr. 43 round was used against soft targets. The combination of heavy armour and powerful long-range gun gave it an advantage against all Allied and Soviet tanks. None of the Western Allies tanks can engage the Tiger II head-on until the introduction of the 90mm-armed M26 Pershing heavy tanks and M36 tank destroyers, and to a lesser extent, the Ordnance QF 17-pounder gun arming Sherman Firefly tanks and the Archer and Achilles tank destroyers.

Apart from research, training and a five-tank detachment (the first five production vehicles actually) with the Panzer Lehr Division, the Tiger II was only issued to Heavy Tank Battalions (schwere Panzer Abteilungen) of the Army and the SS. The Army (s.H.Pz.Abt) battalions were the 501st, 502nd, 503rd, 504th, 505th, 506th, 507th, 508th, 509th, 510th and 511th while SS (s.SS.Pz.Abt) battalions were the 501st, 502nd and 503rd. The Tiger II first saw action in May 1944 near Minsk. Two companies of s.H.Pz.Abt 503 were present at the Battle of Normandy but mechanical problems, coupled with Allied fighter-bomber activity and naval bombardment took their toll and all were lost by August 1944. s.H.PzAbt 506 took part against Operation Market-Garden in September 1944 while s.SS.Pz.Abt 501 took part in the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944. On the Eastern Front, Tiger IIs took part against the Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive in August 1944 where 14 Tiger II of s.H.Pz.Abt 501 were lost in ambushes. On 15 October 1944, s.H.Pz.Abt 503 took part in Operation Panzerfaust, the taking of the Hungarian capital Budapest, ensuring the country remaining in the Axis camp until the end of the war. The 503rd remained in Hungary for 166 days, destroying at least 121 Soviet tanks, 244 anti-tank guns and artillery pieces, a train and five aircraft while losing 25 of their number. Feldwebel Kurt Kniespel, the highest-scoring tank ace (162 kills) served with the 503rd and was killed in action on 26 April 1945 at Czechslovakia. Surviving Tiger IIs continued to be used until the end of  the war.

The Kit

Tamiya came up with a new-tool 1/35 kit of the King Tiger in 1993, releasing both versions of the tank (i.e the 'Porsche' and the 'Production/Henschel' turret). The kits were well-received, being crisply moulded and has a very good fit. In 2002, Tamiya re-released the 'Production Turret' kit as 'German King Tiger Ardennes Front'.  The latter is basically the same kit as the former, moulded in dark yellow plastic which is another hallmark of Tamiya AFV kits. The tracks are still the one-piece glueable vinyl type with a sprue from Tamiya's King Tiger separate link tracks set to be used as spare tracks mounted on the turret. The difference is the inclusion of a smooth, late-style gun mantlet, a DKW NZ350 motorcycle and three figures in addition to the original commander's figure. Markings are provided for four tanks: #008, #204 and #332 from s.SS.Pz.Abt 501 during the Battle of The Bulge and #555 from s.H.Pz.Abt  502.

Construction

Because of the Schachtellaufwerk road wheel arrangement, the wheels were assembled and painted first. The completed wheels were set aside and I turned my attention to the lower hull. The suspension arms have positive location tabs although care needs to be taken when cementing them to avoid unevenness. This was followed by the final drive cover and the idler mounts. Before proceeding any further, I painted the lower hull XF-60 Dark Yellow. The road wheels can then be cemented onto the lower hull, taking note the two types of wheels which need to be placed at their allocated slots. The rear panel was then fixed to the main hull although the fittings on the rear hull would be left off at this time. 

For the upper hull, I started by cementing the periscopes for the driver/co-driver. The upper hull was then test-fitted to the lower half. Tamiya suggested that the hull halves be taped together temporarily during construction. Feeling confident, I cemented them anyway. The minor sub-assemblies for the headlight, machinegun mount and the engine access was done first before attaching them to the hull. For the headlight I added the power cable using solder wire, I however believed that I used too coarse a wire for this purpose. As for the machine gun mount, I assembled it without the barrel in place, to ease handling. They were followed by the driver/co-driver's hatches and several other small parts but certain others like the towing eye and pioneer tools were left off for the moment. Next were the engine and air intake grille covers. While Tamiya provided a piece of mesh material (to be cut into shape) for the air intake grilles, they have this habit of not having the PE screens in many of their kits and modelers have to buy them separately. Thankfully the local Tamiya distributor has what I need although the separately-available parts still annoys me. To enable fitting of the tracks, the fenders were left off at this time too.

Moving on to the turret, I started by assembling the interior of the turret which consists of crew seats, gun breech and the ammo racks (although no ammunition pieces were provided - again they are available separately). The barrel was then assembled and it was here that a decision has to be made as the smooth gun mantlet was only applicable to tanks #008 and #204. I decided to finish my model as #204 and so the smooth mantlet was used. The turret shell was then glued together and the various fittings can be cemented. Tamiya provided two styles of the turret ventilator but did not mention which was needed for a particular tank. The barrel assembly was then cemented to the breech while the commander's hatch and the MG mount was left separate at this time. Because of the fenders and to maintain continuity of the camo pattern, I finally had to put the tracks in place. The tracks were first painted a mixture of XF-1 Flat Black and XF-64 Red Brown and once dry, they were looped and glued, using superglue. The lower hull and the wheels were painted XF-60 Dark Yellow. The tracks were then slipped over the wheels and this is where the weakness of belt-type tracks is apparent. I have to study pics of King Tigers (mainly those missing their fenders) and then apply super glue at the proper road wheels to get the best look for the draping tracks. Finally the fenders were put in place.

Painting and Decalling

The German 'ambush' camo scheme was painted using Tamiya paints, that is XF-60, XF-58 and XF-64, starting with XF-60 as the base colour. The problem however is that Tamiya only provided the left, front and rear views only and none for the top and right side. I have to look around the internet for photos of #204, even including completed models as a guide. The dots of the camo scheme was done using a brush dipped in the respective paints (Dark Yellow on Red Brown and Olive Green areas and Olive Green on Dark Yellow areas). While I think the dots are fairly accurate size-wise, there were probably too much of them, according to my references. Once the painting was done, the decals were put in place. While they adhere well, the number 204 were translucent, allowing the colour demarcation lines and dots to be visible beneath them. The cables, jack and the metal parts of the pioneer tools were painted Metallic Grey and then washed with AK Interactive Track Wash solution. The gun cleaning rod was painted XF-59 Desert Yellow as also the wooden parts of the pioneer tools. 

Finishing

Firstly, the pioneer tools and the cable 'sets' were permanently fixed to the hull. Next, the exhaust assembly was cemented to their places at the rear of the hull. Afterwards it was the turn for the more delicate parts such as the headlight (Parts C31 and C25), the hull MG barrel and the commander's machine gun. The latter was spruced with an anti-aircraft sight from the same PE engine grille set. The model was then subjected to a wash. To make mud, I first mixed Mig Productions Russian Earth and Euro Dust pigments and applied them 'dry' on the tracks. The same company's Pigment Fixer was then applied to fix the 'mud' in place. This was followed by an application of AK Interactive Earth Wash. While many photos of King Tigers showed them without any stowage, I decided to symbolically place some items on the rear deck - a Panzerfaust 60 from Dragon, a StG 44 assault rifle from Tamiya's old German Infantry Weapons Set and three jerricans. The weapons, together with the King Tiger itself are to symbolise the advanced weapons available to the Wehrmacht later in the war and the fuel cans to symbolise the Achilles' heel of them - oil.

The kit provided three figures - the loader, commander and the motorcycle dispatch rider. What was not mentioned is that the kit also included the commander's figure from the original kit 35164. Anyway, the original figure was used in my Panzer III kit. Of the new figures, I decided to use the loader's torso, reposition his right arm and use the commander's head and left arm. The conversion was easy and I only need a little bit of putty to cover the resulting gaps. I painted the uniform in the SS-Erbsenmuster ('pea') pattern using the template provided in the instructions and also Tamiya's own camouflage pattern sheet. But before that I sliced off the moulded on Nazi Eagle and SS Death's Head (just a blob really) on the officer's cap in preparation for the Tamiya German insignia decals. While I had a bit of a problem handling them on the Tank figures (for my Panzer IVF), I have no difficulties whatsoever this time. The figure was then put inside the commander's hatch, finishing the build.

Conclusion

The Tamiya King Tiger continues the marque's tradition of easy-to-build, reasonably detailed kit. While apparently the kit is less accurate than its Dragon rival, I am not really concerned with that as first and foremost, I do not suffer from AMS and the finished model looks like a King Tiger. The inclusion of the motorcycle and extra three figures also added some more value to the kit, although the lack of PE parts (at least for the more obvious areas) is still a bane for modelers (Tamiya did re-release this kit with PE parts and metal barrel, but at a higher price). As for the motorbike, I assembled it but put it in storage.....

Patton vs. 'Cong

Historical Background

On 27 February 1951, the Ordnance Technical Committee Minutes (OTCM) Directive #33791 initiated the design of a new tank designated 90mm Gun Tank T48. Although basically deriving from the existing M46 and M47 medium tanks, the T48 featured redesigned hull with a longer, lower and more sloped front, a new hemispherical turret and a new suspension. It was to be powered by a petrol engine. The bow machine gun, long the feature of American (and just about any other nations' tanks), was removed. The deletion of the bow machine gun meant that the crew was reduced to four. Following tests, OTCM #34765 on 2 April 1953 standardised the T48 as the third member of the Patton tank family as the M48. Production of the M48 actually started in April 1952. However, the first 100 M48s were found to have poor ballistics protection and therefore had to be relegated to crew and gunnery training duties, designated M48C.

The M48, although basically derived from the M47, was a completely new design. The turret was a departure from the previous lozenge-shaped turret - being a lower, more hemispheric shape with much reduced shot traps. Made of cast steel, the turret was 7 inches thick at the front, 3 inches sides and 2 inches on the rear. The armament comprised of a 90mm T54 tank gun (the M48A3 was armed with the M41 90mm gunk while the M48A5 was armed with the M68 105mm gun), an M73 7.62mm machinegun co-axially mounted with the main gun and a M2 machinegun in the commander's cupola. 60, 5,900 and 500 rounds were provided for each gun respectively. From the M48A1 onwards, the M2 machinegun was mounted on the M1 cupola, allowing the commander to operate the machinegun from inside the turret. The armour of the M48 took into account intelligence reports on the performance of the D-10T 100mm gun arming the T-54/55 series, being generally raised from 4 inch to 4.3 inch.The glacis was well-sloped with a curvy 'beak'. The driver, now being the sole crew inside the hull, was relocated to the middle driving position. The rest of the crew remain at their customary positions.

The M48 was powered by a Continental AVSI-1790-6 air-cooled twin-turbo V12 petrol engine rated at 810hp. Fuel capacity of the tank was 200 US gallons. However the usage of petrol engine meant that the M48, up to the A2 version, was severely limited in range; just 70 miles. Furthermore, like the Sherman of World War 2, a hit to engine will easily ignite the tank. Add to that, the low-flashpoint fluid used in the hydraulic system inside the turret can also be ignited if the hydraulic lines were severed by enemy fire. The problems with the engine resulted in a re-engining program for some of the M48s. The petrol engine was replaced with a Continental AVDS-1790-2 diesel engine rated at 750hp. At the same time the hydraulic fluid was replaced with a more fire-resistant fluid. The resulting version was the M48A3. Although the program was started in 1959, the US military only received the first M48A3 in 1963. 1,019 M48A1 and A2s were converted to A3 standard.

The M48 first saw action in 1965, in Vietnam and during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965. In Vietnam, the M48 was first deployed by the USMC, landing the 1st and 3rd Tank Battalions in 1965. The US Army deployed three battalions: the 1-77th Armor near the DMZ, the 1-69th at the Central Highlands and the 2-34th near the Mekong Delta. The M48 also served with the Armored Cavalry Squadrons until replaced by the M551 Sheridan. However, the 11th ACR retained their M48s to end of their deployment. Due to the nature of the war, the M48 was used in infantry support role and to back up large-scale search and destroy operations in NVA/VC-held areas. It also proved its worth fighting in built-up areas such as Hue during the Tet Offensive. Despite the jungles of Vietnam, the M48 was also effective there. Apart from using normal HE rounds against enemy bunkers and infantry, the M48 was also provided with 'Beehive' canister rounds, which contains 1,280 pellets or 12,000 darts to shred vegetation, and of course, infantry. Also deployed were M67 'Zippo' flamethrower variant of the M48. 

Tank vs tank combat did occur most notably during the Battle of Ben Het in March 1969 when M48s of the 1-69th Armor engaged PT-76 light tanks of NVA's 202nd Armoured Regiment. When the US forces began their withdrawal, hundreds of M48s (along with M41 Walker Bulldog light tanks) were handed over to the ARVN. During the Easter Offensive 1972, the ARVN M48s performed reasonably well against the NVA's T-54/55, T-34/85 and PT-76 tanks. However, Operation Nguyen Hue (as the Easter Offensive was known to the North Vietnamese) also marked the debut of the 9M14M Malyutka (AT-3 Sagger) ATGW, destroying one M48 and a M113 APC - even larger losses of M48s against ATGWs would take place more than a year later during the Yom Kippur War of 1973. During final 1975 Spring Offensive, the ARVN armour still managed to slow the North Vietnamese down but with fuel and ammunition getting scarcer due to the US Congress' ban on transfer of fuel and ammunition to South Vietnam, many were abandoned and consequently served just for a short time with the Vietnamese Peoples' Army post-1975.

Elsewhere, the M48 took part in the Indo-Pakistani Wars, facing Centurions and Shermans of the Indian Army. The Pakistani Pattons gave good account of themselves although inferior tactics saw the Pakistanis lost 100 tanks, mostly Pattons at the Battle of Assal Uttar in September 1965. Studies also showed that the Patton's armour can be penetrated by the 20-pounder rounds of the Centurion and 75mm rounds of the AMX-13, both used by India. Another major conflict where the M48 took part was the Middle East, where again M48s of the Israeli Defense Force prevailed over the T-54/55. Jordan also operated Pattons but came second best against even the elderly M50/51 Shermans, further showing that tactics can prevail against technology. The M48 underwent its final upgrading in 1975 as the M48A5. It was armed with the M68 105mm gun, the M73 MG replaced with M60D and the M1 cupola replaced with Israeli-style 'Urdan' cupola. The M48 was also exported to anumber of countries. Apart from those mentioned beforehand, other users include Greece, South Korea , Iran, Lebanon, Morocco, Republic of China, Morocco, Portugal, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Spain, Norway and West Germany. A total of 11,703 units of M48 (all variants) were built from 1952 until 1959). Some foreign users modify the basic M48/M48A1/A2/A3/A5 into variants tailored to their needs such as Republic of China's M48H Brave Tiger and the Israeli Magach. The M48 is also the basis of specialised vehicles such as M48 AVLB, M67 'Zippo', M88 ARV and the defunct M247 Sgt York SPAAG.

The Kit

Tamiya came out with their kit of the M48A3 in 1983, the year I started this hobby. The kit is well-moulded and generally OK. However it suffered from overscale smaller parts (not unique among 1980s-era kits) and also the simplified gun mantlet cover. Also, like most 1970s-1980s-vintage Tamiya kits, the M48 has motorisation holes in the lower hull. However, the most talked-about flaw with the kit is its suspension. Apparently, Tamiya based their drawings on a tank which had its engines removed, hence less weight on the suspension making it sat higher than it was supposed to be. Another issue is concerned with the height of the turret - some argued that Tamiya got it right while others said that it looked squashed. Despite its shortcomings, the kit was considered the best M48 until Dragon came out with their version of the M48 in 2013. The decal placement instruction is pretty generic and vague. The most striking marking, a shark (tiger?) face, while illustrated on the box side, was nowhere mentioned in the instructions while the Playboy Bunny logo was simply stated as 'some tanks wore this mark' without mentioning which particular tank. While there are specific marking options mentioned, such as the 11ACR and the 2-77th, it wasn't mentioned anywhere with which registration number they should be used. In short, modelers would have to do their own research for the markings.

Construction

As usual, construction starts with the suspension units. As mentioned before, Tamiya got their suspension wrong by using an empty tank to measure. To lower the suspension, the bumper springs and the piston rods of the shock absorbers need to be cut. While easy, I decided not to do it and left the suspension as they were. The motorisation cutouts were then examined and I decided to fill just the long vertical one near the sprocket wheel mount while the rest were judged to be barely visible to the casual observer and left as they were. The slot in the final drive cover was also left off as it will be hidden by the sprocket wheel. The wheels were the assembled and set aside. The sprocket wheel should have lightening holes, as many Vietnam-era M48s were seen with them. However, lacking powered drill, they were also left as they were. The rest of the parts that needed to be stuck on the lower hull were then cemented onto it.

Not wanting to put the driver half-figure in its place, I immediately cemented the upper hull to the lower half. Apparently there are shape issues with the 'beak'. Again I did nothing, just smoothing out the jutting 'lip' of the upper half (and not doing a good job at it). Once that was done, all the fittings on the upper hull were cemented. Needless to say, some parts need thinning down, such as the light guards and fender supports, although I left them as they were. The air cleaners were assembled but the intake/exhaust pipes were left off to ease painting. The next step is concerned with the gun barrel and the IR searchlight. The barrel is split down the middle and care has to be taken to avoid visible seams. The searchlight assembly includes a piece of clear acetate to act as the glass cover. I however did not include the 'glass' (and even the bulb inside) as I intended to cover the searchlight face.

For the turret, again I left it as it is. However, having seen some photos of M48s in Vietnam engaged in convoy escort duties, I decided to buy Legend Productions' M48 Sandbag Armour Set. The resin set consists of sandbag blocks that assemble on the kit turret a la jigsaw puzzle, a single mould of two sandbags for the fender, a single mould of sandbags for the glacis plate, a resin piece of 'timber' to hold the glacis-mounted bags in place, spare track links and jerricans. Dry-fitting the sandbags on the turret shows that there is no need to use the kit's infantry handrails. I then proceeded to cement the turret shell to the bottom and added most of the fittings. The front lifting lug was totally left out while the machinegun guard rail (I think) was left off until the sandbags were put in place. The main gun assembly was then cemented to the turret shell. Tamiya however still wanted to have 'playability' with their kits when they released the M48 and so the mantlet has only partial cover, allowing movement of the main gun. I therefore fashioned the rest of the cover using 2-part putty to the best of my ability (read: it looks ugly). The searchlight was left off at this time to facilitate painting.

The commander's cupola was next. I was thinking of using the commander figure but after looking at it, I decided to discard it. The commander's hatch was therefore fixed in the closed position. The kit also allows the commander's machine gun to be placed outside the cupola. I decided to place it outside. I however decided to replace the kit gun with an M2 from the Academy US Machine Gun Set.Finally I returned to the turret and fit the stowage basket. I might also add that the pieces are really overscale and should be replaced with more in-scale plastic rods. I also added a piece of aluminium foil to act as a cover for the searchlight.

Painting and Decaling

The Tamiya instructions have the M48 painted Olive Drab overall. I used their XF-62 Olive Drab acrylic paint for this model. I'm not very sure myself but the this particular bottle of OD was greener then the one I used previously - I guess it was one of the alleged 'wrong' batch of Tamiya's XF-62. But for the M48, I can say that this was a blessing in disguise as according to numerous modellers, the M48s (at least during the Vietnam War era) was not painted OD but a something more 'greener' than usual. While it doesn't exactly match, it does look like the shade I have seen on many photos of US M48s in Vietnam. The mantlet and spotlight cover was painted XF-49 Khaki. For markings, I decided to use the sharkmouth markings. This is another usage of creative license as AFAIK, there are no photographic evidence of sandbag-armoured Pattons wearing the sharkmouth, uh, nose art. The creative license was stretched further by applying the kit-provided registration number.

Finishing

I started by placing the commander's cupola in its slot, as dry-fitting of the sandbag armour showed that the latter may block part of the opening for the cupola.I then used the vinyl tubing from Academy's US and German Tank Accessories Set as the power cable for the searchlight.  I then placed the sandbag armour blocks around the turret. The fit for the main blocks at the front of the roof was very good, the one on the turret rear is generally OK but did not fit as closely as the one on the front. The sandbag blocks for the glacis plate and on the track guard was left off. They were then painted XF-57 Buff and a wash was applied to pop up the details. The MG was then placed on the cupola. To add a bit of interest, I did not add the usual ammo box on the MG. Instead, I used a length of 12.7mm ammo belt from Tamiya's old US Weapons Set (it has better definition than the Academy ammo belt). It was bended to conform to the contours, painted and fitted to the MG. The MG guard was then superglued to the slots in the sandbag block after it has been cut to the appropriate height.

For stowage, I placed spare road wheels, luggage, jerricans and spare track links from the kit (Legend provides items for the latter two, but I ended up using those from the kit), food and drinks containers and generic crates from Academy Tank Supplies set, .30 and .50 cal ammo boxes from the Academy MG set, a 105mm ammo crate from Tamiya's Modern US Equipment Set, home-made copies of C-Ration boxes, folded cot from the Academy M60A1 kit and a M1 helmet from the spares box. The lower hull, wheels and tracks were then subjected to an application of Mig Productions pigments. While I understand that they have a pigment powder dubbed 'Vietnam Earth', I do not have that in my inventory. So I improvised by using a mix of African Earth and Rubble Dust. They were mixed with water and brushed onto the relevant areas. Once dry, the excess was removed using a stiff brush. Finally I cut two lengths of copper wire and fashioned them into comm aerials.

Conclusion

The Tamiya M48A3 is a really old kit but until Dragon released theirs a few years back, this was the only available A3 version of the M48 Patton. Generally it was very buildable kit although a number of tweaks have to be done to correct the shortcomings, most notably the extra ride height and the motorisation holes.

Stalin's Steamroller Part II

Historical Background

The T-34 was a shock to the invading Germans when they launched Operation Barbarossa in 1941. The tank has a good balance between firepower, mobility and protection. The Germans initially responded by upgrading the guns of their primary tanks - Panzerkampfwagen III and IV. This was followed by the arguably the most iconic tanks of World War 2 - the Panther and the Tiger. The Panther was almost a direct response to the T-34 with sloped armour and wide tracks. For firepower the Panther was armed with the long KwK 42 L/70 75mm gun while the Tiger was thickly armoured and armed with the excellent KwK 36 L/56 88mm gun.

To counter these new threats, the Soviet Main Directorate of Armoured Forces ordered the Morozov Design Bureau to design a new tank with increased protection, torsion-bar suspension, new gearbox and a three-man turret. The new tank was designated T-43 and was intended to be a universal tank replacing both the T-34 and the KV-1. The project however received a low priority and the two prototypes were only delivered in December 1942 and March 1943. To help ease production, the T-43 was to be armed with the same F-34 76.2mm gun of the T-34. Mobility however was worse than the T-34, being slower and that the armour cannot withstand a hit from an 88mm shell. Nonetheless the T-43 has a better ride and gearbox and the larger turret was appreciated by the test crew. However, combat reports following the Battle of Kursk pointed out that the new German Panther and Tiger tanks are impervious to the 76.2mm shells except at suicidally close ranges while their guns outranged the Soviets'. An existing anti-aircraft gun, the 85mm 52-K has the firepower to match the German tanks but with the T-43 already suffering from mobility problems, plus the need to completely retool the production lines, the project was cancelled.

On 25 August 1943, the State Defence Committee met and decided to upgrade the T-34 with a new gun. To ensure minimal disruption, only the turret would be changed, The 85mm M1939 (52-K) was again chosen as it had a muzzle velocity of 792 m/s. One design team was assigned to convert it for tank use and it entered production as the D-5, and was first mounted onto SU-85 tank destroyers. Other teams proposed the S-18 and the ZiS-53 guns. The S-18 was dropped as it was not compatible with the D-5 mount. The D-5 was re-tested and was found to have some minor defects and limited elevation. The ZiS-53 showed mediocre ballistic performance and had to be redesigned as the Zis-S-53. The D-5 (as the D-5T) armed the initial batch of the T-34/85 while the ZiS-S-53 was chosen for mass production. The long gun (55 calibres) without a muzzle brake, now necessitates a large turret to contain the recoil. The turret was adopted from the T-43 and was large enough to accomodate three crew members. This additional crew member frees the commander from loading duties, allowing him to concentrate on locating targets and to have a better situational awareness in combat. The T-34/85 gave the Soviets a tank that with a better armour and armament against the workhorse Panzerkampfwagen IV tanks and Sturmgeschutz III assault guns even though it was still inferior against the Panther with its KwK 42 L/70 gun.

The T-34/85 did not totally replace the earlier 76mm-armed versions and both versions served side by side, although the -85 eventually outnumbered the -76. The early batches of the T-34/85 were issued to the elite Guards units and were first used during Operation Bagration in June 1944. Against the Germans, the T-34/85 was used until the final battle in Berlin. In the Far East, the T-34/85 formed the spearhead of Soviet armoured columns during the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation (alternately known as Operation August Storm) in August 1945. There, they totally outclassed the Japanese Type 97 Chi-Ha / Shinhoto Chi-Ha medium tanks. Although production stopped at the end of World War 2, the production lines was reopened in 1947 and apart from the Soviet forces, the T-34/85 was exported to allied and client states of the Soviet Union. The tank was used by North Korean forces during the Korean War, Arab armies during the numerous wars in the Middle East, numerous countries in Africa during the various conflicts there, North Vietnam during the Vietnam War and by the warring forces during the 1990s Balkans War. From 1944-1945, 22,609 T-34/85s were built with another 2,701 built postwar. Licence production in Poland and Czechoslovakia accounted for another 4,565.    

The Kit

This is the first incarnation of the Dragon T-34/85, being released in 1997. The kit then formed the basis for later releases of the T-34/85, adding PE parts for the 'Premium Edition' releases and figures for the 'Orange Box' value pack. The parts are moulded in the standard Dragon light grey styrene and are spread between 20 sprues and a one-piece lower hull.The parts are well-moulded although the biggest weakness is that solid transmission exhaust cover. 'Magic Track' is still in the future when the kit was released and the links would have to be cut off the sprue. Road wheels are of the 'full spider' type. The decals provide markings for five tanks, all in 4BO Green:

1. Soviet Army, Minsk 1944

2. Soviet Army, Berlin 1945

3. Polish Peoples' Army, Prague 1945

4. Soviet Army, Rosja 1944

5. Soviet Army, Eastern Prussia 1945

Construction

As usual, construction starts with the lower hull. I followed the construction steps to the letter (almost). The suspension were first glued in place. Then the running gears (idler and drive wheels) were added, but not yet glued to the chassis. This was followed by the road wheels but I left off the outside wheels at this time, to facilitate assembling the tracks. Since the T-34 used the Christie suspension with large road wheels and with no return rollers, assembly was quick, Also to ease matters, the completed lower hull was painted at this time. As this is the original release of Dragon's T-34/85, there are no Magic Track links. The separate track links were cut off their sprues, cleaned, painted and kept in a container. Once all of the track links have been so processed, they were assembled. The links had tight fit and hard to get together. Furthermore I think I have goofed up when assembling the left-hand suspension, This in turn affected the track assembly - the were uneven numbers of the toothed and flat track links and I can't complete the track loop. So, I have to trim two of the 'toothed' link to act as 'cheaters' and complete the track assembly. 

Attention was then turned to the upper hull. While the plastic grilles for the side and upper vents were acceptable, the grille for the radiator cover was solid, making it the weakest feature of the model. The rear panel have the wiring for the smoke generators but curiously, the generators themselves were not included. The exhausts and their covers were not installed at this moment to ease painting. At the front glacis plate, the hull MG fairing and the driver's hatch were cemented. Boxes on the fenders were also affixed at this time together with the mountings for the external fuel tanks. The tanks and the tankovy desant rails were however not cemented at this time. 

Finally (before painting, that is) the turret was put together. The upper shell of the turret have separate cheeks which need to be cemented carefully to avoid unsightly seams. The gun mantlet was then placed on its cradle and the upper and lower shells were cemented together. Afterwards turret fittings such as ventilation domes, viewing slits, turret lifting hooks and tie downs were cemented. The rail was left off to allow placement of decals first. The commander's cupola was assembled and the hatch was set in the closed position as I have no suitable figures.  

Painting and Decaling

Painting Soviet tanks was simple : 4BO green. What's not that simple is to get that 'correct' shade. The model was originally painted a mixture of XF-61 Dark Green, XF-3 Flat Yellow and XF-2 Flat White.Afterwards it was time for the markings. I'm a sucker for Soviet WW2 tanks with slogans and therefore narrowed the choice to just two - the first and the fourth options. The latter was more unique by having kill marks (I presume) on the gun barrel but I decided to do the more restrained first option - 'Chevronny'. The decals went on beautifully although I dabbed a bit of flat white over decals to simulate the hand-painted design often found on Soviet WW2 tanks. And that basically completed my build.

Years later (early in April this year actually) while I was removing dust from the display cabinet I accidentally dropped the -85. Thankfully only a number of the track links came loose. However the accident prompted me to do a makeover on the kit, just the painting would suffice. This time, I used the Tamiya 'recipe' of equal parts of XF-58 Olive Green and XF-4 Yellow Green. There was a bit of difficulty painting round the turret markings as before but they still look good (to my eyes). The model was then given a wash with the tracks now given a wash of AK Interactive Track Wash. After that, I applied a green filter layer (more or less).


Finishing

The rest of the parts can now be finally fitted. There weren't many of them, just the rails and the external fuel tanks. I also noticed that the hull MG barrel has broken and I replaced it with a length of plastic rod. Once the glue has dried I touched the paint at the contact areas. Finally the lower hull was slathered with a mixture of Mig Production Rubble Dust pigment and water. The excess was removed with a stiff brush once dry.

Conclusion

This is the granddaddy of Dragon T-34s, especially the -85 versions. The kit is fairly simple but have adequate details. Sure, it has its shortcomings and that it wasn't really a Model 1944 and all but it definitely has its charms. The kit has since been upgraded somewhat with later releases which fixed some of the issues and also add PE parts for modelers to have a better-looking T-34/85. Hate it or love it, the re-issues also include Magic Tracks, reducing further workload.

Extreme Makeover : Tank Edition

Historical Background

In 1939, the United States Army was equipped with 400 tanks, including 100 M2 Medium Tanks. The M2 was armed with a 37mm gun and seven .30-cal machineguns and protected with 32mm of armour. The success of the Blitzkrieg, spearheaded by the Panzer III and IV tanks came as a surprise, and led the US Army to order a new tank armed with a 75mm gun. That tank eventually turn out as the M4 Sherman. However, although the design was ready in mid-1940, the US industry was incapable of producing the required items such as a large enough fully-rotating turret (and the turret ring) capable of mounting a 75mm gun. An interim solution was found in the T5 medium tank design. The T5 was basically a scaled-up M2 design with a thicker armour. The new tank has a higher and wider hull to mount an offset75mm gun in a traversable sponson on the right side. A fully-traversable turret was placed on top of the hull, mounting a 37mm gun. The 75mm gun was intended to deal with hardened targets (including tanks) and infantry while the high-velocity 37mm gun was intended solely to deal with enemy tanks, A cupola armed with a .30-cal machinegun was placed on top of the turret, completing the 'battleship' looks of the tank. A further one to three .30-cal machineguns compeleted the armament fit. The hull mounted gun allowed the M3 (as it was officially designated) to be developed in the shortest possible time. This was further aided by using the tracks, roadwheels and most of the suspension system of the M2.

The interior of the M3 was roomy and protected by up to 51mm of armour. Power was provided by a Wright (Continental) R975 EC2 radial engine rated at 400hp allowing a speed of up to 16mph (off-road) and 26mph (road). The vertical volute suspension system include a self-contained return rollers, allowing easier maintenance in the field. The sponson gun was provided with 46 rounds, the 37mm gun with 178 rounds and up to 9,200 for the machine guns. Overall the M3 was tall, 10 ft high, earning it the nickname 'iron cathedral', and later, appropriately enough by the Germans as 'splendid targets'! The Russians meanwhile has a more poignant-sounding nickname - 'a grave for seven brothers'.

Back in Europe, the British Army found itself without many of its heavy equipment, abandoned after the evacuation from Dunkirk. The British armaments industry was unable to adequately supply the Army with enough armoured vehicles to defend the British Isles and the Empire and so the UK government had to turn to the US. Although not yet at war, the United States was willing to sell war materials to the UK, including armoured vehicles. The British had requested that the American factories build the Matilda and Crusader tank, but these were rejected. The M3 was offered to the British Purchasing Commission, but they were not entirely satisfied with the design, namely with the height, insufficient armour, sponson-mounted main gun, riveted hull and hull-mounted radio. However, since the production was ready to commence and lacking other alternatives, an initial order was placed for 1,250 M3s. The British however required some modifications:  a cast, rather than riveted turret  with a bustle at the back mounting the radio, a  thicker armour and a simple hatch replacing the cupola. The British-spec prototype was completed in March 1941 with production commencing July 1941. To make up their losses in North Africa and Greece, the British realized that they need to accept both types of M3s. When the British received the American tanks, confusion rose because of the 'M' designation of American vehicles as M3 was the designation for both a light tank and a medium tank. To avoid this, the American tanks were given American Civil War General names. The original M3 Medium Tank became General Lee (or just 'Lee') after General Robert E. Lee and the modified M3 as 'General Grant'/'Grant' after General Ulysses S. Grant. To help the UK (and later, other Allies) in securing the weapons from the US, the Lend-Lease Act was passed.

The Lee/Grant first saw action during the Battle of Gazala on 27 May 1942, where their presence surprised the Germans, who were unprepared for their 75mm gun. The Lee/Grant's primary armament allowed them to engage Afrika Korps tanks and anti-tank gun emplacements beyond the range of the KwK L/42 gun arming the Panzer III and Pak 38 50mm anti-tank guns. Despite the earlier misgivings, the Lee/Grant provided the British 8th Army with a sturdy, reliable and adequately protected and armed tank. The drawback of the Lee/Grant was its height, coupled with the low mounting of the 75mm gun, preventing them from fighting in the hull-down position. The use of riveted armour caused 'spalling' when impact of enemy shells caused the rivets to break off and caroming inside the tank with grievous results. Nevertheless, the lessons learnt were applied to the design and production of the M4 Sherman. The British Lee/Grant were joined by American M3s following Operation Torch in November 1942. The M3 Lee/Grant was used in North Africa until the end of the North African campaign in May 1943.

When the British received the Shermans, approximately 1,700 Lee/Grants, which were by now outclassed by 50mm L/60-armed Panzer III and 75mm L/43-armed Panzer IV, were transferred to South-East Asia. 800 were received by the Australians with the remainder used by the Indian Army. The Lee/Grants gave excellent account of themselves during the campaign, most notably during the Battle of Imphal. Japanese armour in the area, consisting mainly of Type 95 Ha-Gos and captured M3 Stuart light tanks found themselves totally outclassed by the M3. The Lee/Grant was used in this theatre until the end of hostilities, mainly supporting the infantry.

The Kit

Academy released a new-tool 1/35 M3 Lee in 2006 and was followed by the Grant in 2008. While they feature vast improvements over the ancient Tamiya kit, both of them suffer from 'too-tall' bogies. The Grant was more regrettable as the bogies were corrected in the M7 Priest kit released in-between the Lee and Grant in 2007. Apart from the bogies, comments on the internet include issues with the turret, being too high and of the wrong shape (others digress about the shape, however). Anyway in 2009, Academy re-released the Grant kit as 'M3 Grant El Alamein 1942'. The re-release finally corrected the bogies although other issues remain. The kit comes in 486 parts and two one-piece vinyl tracks. As with the original release, the tracks are still the T51 type rather than the more usual WE210. The plastic spare track links however were of the WE210 type...hmmmm. As with the original release the kit featured a fairly complete interior details. Three gun barrels were provided for the main gun. Academy also included the complete figure set from Miniart's British Tank Crew set. While a nice addition, they weren't really suitable for North Africa as the set depicted them in European theatre-style uniforms (they however would be very useful for other British AFVs in my collection). Markings are the same with the original release - T24334/Atlanta II, Royal Army (sic), North Africa 1943 and Fosios II, 'Royal Army', 8th Army, El Alamein 1942.  

Construction

The bogies were assembled first. They have simpler construction than some other companies (plus the real thing is also a bit simpler than the M4 bogies). Just a little cement was deposited on the contact points of the suspension arms to allow free movement of the wheel. The completed VVSS suspension and the sprocket wheel was then set aside. Academy included some interior details, including part of the transmission but since I'm going to close all the hull hatches, I decided not to add them. The hull floor was then cemented to the lower hull shell and was followed by the rear panel and the transmission cover. Academy has you add Parts G7 and G8 to the transmission cover but I found that the fit is better if the parts are glued to the hull instead. The internal bulkhead was inserted although I didn't add the ammunition included. The addition of the front fenders finished the construction of the lower hull.

The upper hull consists of a single upper panel and separate walls. Although fit is excellent, care has to be taken to ensure that the separate hull panels align correctly. I cemented parts F6 and F7 and checked the alignment by dry-fitting it over the lower hull. The bulkhead installed earlier helped in aligning the upper hull panels. Once I was satisfied, the rest of the panels were cemented together, The hull machine guns were painted first and then inserted into place. the main gun was then assembled, even though I didn't paint the parts inside the hull. Academy provided three barrels : short, long and long with counterweight. However Academy did not mention which barrel to use for the tanks depicted in the kit. I used the short barrel just because I like it, ha! The completed gun assembly was placed in position and the upper hull was then cemented to the lower half. The stowage boxes were then assembled and cemented onto their places.

Moving on to the turret, I believe the Academy Grant is one of the few tank/AFV kits which include a turret basket. Although not comprehensive, it does include a whole bunch of 37-mm rounds. The turret basket was assembled but I decided not to paint it, and neither did I add all the ammo parts. The gun was assembled and placed into the front plate. Some online build reviews mentioned that the gun sits too low (or was it too high?) and suggests that the gun assembly from Tamiya's Grant, which despite its age, is more accurate. While I do have that old kit (now serving as a weathering technique test-bed), I couldn't find any difference between the two. Anyway, the kit parts was used, cemented onto its place and it was off for painting.

Painting and Decaling

The colour options for the kit only depict the Grant in the theatre where it was well-known: North Africa. The basic colour recommended by Academy was Sandy Brown (or Gunze H66). The article written by Mark Starmer stated however that British tanks in North Africa were painted Light Stone. Using the mixture given by him (7 parts XF-2 Flat White + 2 parts XF-59 Desert Yellow + 2 parts XF-3 Flat Yellow) the model was painted so. To make it less boring, I decided to finish the model as 'Fosios II'. The camouflage colour was Khaki Green as per the instructions but I painted it XF-62 Olive Drab (it didn't look like OD as I was using the 'wrong' batch of Tamiya XF-62). The tracks were painted the usual red brown/flat black mix. Afterwards it was time for the decals. As usual I was quite apprehensive about Academy decals but this time only the decals for the tank's nickname misbehave by silvering, and not even Mr Mark Softer can rectify that. The model was then given the usual wash.

Before weathering the model further, I added some stores. A pair of folded canvas from Tamiya Aliied Vehicle Accesories Set was hanged on the right-side hangers while two 4-gallon flimsies from Bronco were placed on the rear deck. I also robbed the tow cable from Tamiya's Grant and placed it on the engine deck. The model was then subjected to an overall application of Mig Productions pigments; thicker on the lower hull and thinner elsewhere. For figures, I chose two from the Masterbox 'Commonwealth AFV Crew' set: a sitting figure set inside the turret hatch and a leaning and eating figure which I put next to the turret.

Conclusion

After a wait of more than 30 years, modelers finally have a successor to the ancient and mainly inaccurate Tamiya Grant. The Academy Grant however received rather vicious reviews on the internet, with many so-called experts bashing the kit of a number of inaccuracies. Cooler heads however prevailed and pointed out that the worst features of the kit were the too-tall bogies and some contour issues on the turret. Academy however listened and released this revamped version (and throw in the Miniart figure set for good measure). The Academy kit is a nice kit anyway and can be build by anyone. My true grouse with this kit are the less-used T51 tracks and the too-small selection of markings and the lack of information about the markings provided.