Kit Review: Dragon Models Limited 1/35 scale =9139-=9145 Series Kit No. 658=
4; T-34/76 Mod. 1943 w/Commander Cupola Factory No. 112 - Smart Kit; 811 pa= rts (518 in grey styrene, 160 =93Magic Track=94 twin links, 129 etched bras= s, 3 clear styrene, 1 twisted steel wire); pre-order price US$48.95 via Dra= goon USA Online=20Advantages: large combination of T-34 parts will fill up many a parts box
Disadvantages: does not match photos of most known Factory No. 112 built la= te model T-34 76mm tanks; large number of etched brass parts for a =93Smart= Kit=94
Rating: Recommended
Recommendation: for T-34 fans with a deep parts box
It was not until early 1943 that Factory No. 183 chief designer Aleksandr = Morozov got the authorities in Moscow to sign off on his being the chief de= signer for all T-34s produced by all other factories. The reason he wanted = this control was to ensure commonality of production and standardization of= parts among all of the tanks.=20
Up until that time the factories were provided with the Factory No. 183 pl= ans but made local changes as they saw fit. Factory No. 112 - =93Krasnoye S= ormovo=94 =96 was no different, and in point of fact produced the early mod= el T-34 with the small turret until mid 1943 as a result. Once the factorie= s standardized, they upgraded their production to use the larger =93Gayka= =94 six-sided cast turret.=20
Other changes were introduced as they went along. The Factory No. 112 tank= s had a so-called =93Sharp Edge=94 turret with many small casting fillets u= nder the swell of the turret, as well as the interlocking hull design used = by =93Krasnoye Sormovo=94 from the beginning. As features were added, they = applied them, with the result they quickly added the commander=92s cupola. = When the restriction on using cast road wheels with internal buffers =96 ha= ted as they made the tanks noisy and fatigued the crew =96 they adopted fir= st the cast wheels and later the solid disk wheels more commonly seen on T-=
34-85 tanks.=20DML=92s latest effort is supposed to replicate the very late production Fa= ctory No. 112 76mm tanks, but it does not use the better known turret assoc= iated with this factory. It does have the interlocking hull and profusion o= f =93tankovyy desant=94 handrails for tank riders, as well as the very late= production solid disk road wheels and rubber tires. It also uses the same = turret casting numbers on both of the finishing options (found just forward= of the pistol ports on Factory No. 112 turrets) which does not make sense.= =20
The rest of the parts are =93mix and match=94 sprues from DML as most mode= lers who have built many kits are familiar with as a rule. As T-34s did not= vary that much, this is not a bad thing and in most cases the parts are fi= ne. It comes with several glacis plates (P1 is the =93winner=94) and stern = plates too (P21 here). Three alternative engine decking grilles are provide= d with P18 being the solid one and P19 the one to use with the provided etc= hed brass parts. Note as with all DML engine grilles the louver mounting pl= ate (MA1) will interfere with their fit on the rear of the hull so care mus= t be taken to get it to fit correctly (e.g. trim the edges of the mounting = plate back a couple of millimeters if you are not leaving the cover open).= =20
The kit is shown offering either the rounded bow for the glacis (P27) or t= he sharp-edged one (C3) which was introduced for T-34-85 production. Rememb= er these are very late production tanks (e.g. November 1943 and later) and = may well have had the new bow installed.
Most of the rest of the model is pretty straightforward. It comes with =93= Magic Track=94 two-section tracks (plate and tooth) so requires getting the= geometry straight when installing the tracks (e.g. leave the idler wheel m= ounts loose until fitting the tracks at the end to ensure the right number = of links and the right amount of =93slop=94 are used).=20
Technical assistance was provided by Nick Cortese, Tom Cockle, and Gary Ed= mundson.=20
Two finishing options are offered: Unidentified Unit, Germany 1943/44 (red= 44-1, =93Choybalsan Mongoln=94, whitewash over 4BO green); and Unidentifie= d Unit, Voronezh Front 1942/1943 (green heart with white drop, whitewash ov= er 4BO green). Neither option makes any sense for a true Factory No. 112 = =93Gayka=94 tank with cupola unless the first one was captured and the seco= nd one was misidentified.=20
Overall, this is a nice kit but has a number of problem areas in its =93pe= digree=94.=20
Thanks to Freddie Leung for the review sample. =20
Cookie Sewell