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  #1  
Old 02-14-2017, 06:02 AM
hirondelle hirondelle is offline
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Smile GPM 353 T-34/76 mod. 1940

Having bounced from Modelik to Halinski, it's time to try GPM.
As I need to find out what track fatigue is I have chosen to build a T34 featuring one of the earlier Soviet track link designs from 1940, off my armor pile.
A quick count suggests 11 parts per link!

Some great coloring by GPM makes this model a pleasure to look at in pre-built book form. Hopefully the build will be equally good looking.

The model is one of a set of T34s released in 2012 this includes the Das Reich variant built by Jorzik. Like the Sd.Kfz 234 variants, on my wish list, GPM chose to produce a batch of similar vehicles which all come with laser-cut frames as standard.
The frames for the body, turret & a number of 'circles' for wheel building & some suspension parts are included (other laser-cut wheels & track links are also available separately).
This should significantly speed up the build process & help with getting correct shapes esp. circular wheels!
Will post some pics of the parts next.
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Old 02-14-2017, 08:01 AM
hirondelle hirondelle is offline
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So here are the supplied laser cut parts & the assembly drawing. Figured this would be of interest to potential buyers.

Also a nice pic of track links & assembly schematic to whet the appetite.
Attached Thumbnails
GPM 353 T-34/76 mod. 1940-frame-const.jpg   GPM 353 T-34/76 mod. 1940-frames.jpg   GPM 353 T-34/76 mod. 1940-tracks.jpg   GPM 353 T-34/76 mod. 1940-track-gpm-t34_new.jpg  
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Old 02-14-2017, 11:58 AM
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dje dje is offline
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hi,
started this one few month ago, done most of the hull but now it's in hiatus. Lot of issues. A little disappointed.
Take your time for the hull, driver hatch etc... parts doesn't fit well. Same for the bumper.
I probably finish it some days but not soon.

Anyway, looking forward for your build
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Old 02-14-2017, 11:10 PM
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Johnny Johnny is offline
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Im also going to build a T34 someday.. will follow your build
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  #5  
Old 02-15-2017, 03:19 AM
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jorzik jorzik is offline
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Hi nice to see other who will do T34 model. It Is quite similar like T34/76 Model 42.
I will be wathing on your build.
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  #6  
Old 02-15-2017, 07:09 AM
hirondelle hirondelle is offline
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Thanks for the warning about fit DJE, I will have a look at the hatch before I fit the sloping frames.

I started with the lower hull, the engine & crew compartment.
The hull frames engine & crew compartment all fit together really well. Tight & exact. The engine is a very basic form & I decided to add some bits of copier paper to it to hold its' shape when it is placed into position between W3 & 4 which is a snug fit & it distorts as it slides in otherwise. (See pic)

The seats (see pic of S3 & S4) have me kinda stumped - there are 2 parts to make 2 sets of legs! I assume this is an error as I cannot see how these 2 pieces make enough supports. I can easily replicate the simple loop shown in the schematic (see pic in above post) but it just really puzzles me because as Jorzik said in his thread the interior is not complex, & it should have been obvious/easy to make seating parts available.
It very basic but is nicely colored.

The designers focus obviously was the running gear, tracks & wheels, but after the Halinski build it feels kind of wrong to have an empty interior.
Time being what it is I will just build it stock.
Being covered up I can live with it & as this build for me is about making 160 track links & all the wheels, the interior is secondary.

There is plenty of room to scratch build a detailed compartment though. I did wonder about using some of Enrico63s IMR1 interior parts rescaled... it is do-able if req'd.

Johnny & Jorzik - Thanks for the interest guys, I expect this will be a how not to build a T34 thread tho as I don't have super skills like you yet
Attached Thumbnails
GPM 353 T-34/76 mod. 1940-seat-1.jpg   GPM 353 T-34/76 mod. 1940-interior.jpg  
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  #7  
Old 02-18-2017, 07:59 AM
hirondelle hirondelle is offline
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DJEs warning was well timed! Thanks again.
The frames are marked with lines to ensure the frame is assembled square (at least that is what I felt these markings are for). They had glued up nicely & it all looked square & measurements 'matched', no curves, odd gaps etc to worry about.

After a lot of dry attempts to match skin to hull frames, I decided that I would attach the glacis plate front section of the upper skin first, ensuring the hatch opening was 100% lined up.
I'd measured the distances with calipers & things seemed OK but...
Recalling my clockwise method of skin attachment from my BTR once the glacis plate had dried I started trying different positions to tag the skin & test alignment.
The result was attaching first one side, then the other. Not doing this (ie gluing the top down first) would have thrown these out in relation to the frame. (Re - DJEs comment about the 'bumpers').
The end result is the 2 sides & glacis is 99.99% perfect fit. The top - not so much! :(
Starting at the back of the turret ring I had a tetrahedral shaped bulge/ripple, the high point of which was at the rear sloped plate.
I decided to do some surgery, cutting through the turret ring to the engine bay & then from the engine bay to the back. The 1st cut is central & I took out about approx 1-2mm. I expect this to be mostly concealed by the turret.
The 2nd cut is off center & as it will be concealed under an upper cover (#40) I haven't (yet) cut out the slim triangular section to make the cut edges flush & skin flat. I will see how much is concealed or flush before trimming this for a clean fit. (See attached schematic)
The central point (for #39 & 41) of this skin remains centered according to the calipers, but I had an overlap of <2mm on the one side once the cut was made.
The top part of the upper skin is rippled in an uneven way, so I will need to made a few extra cuts. The turret ring opening will surely need some cutting as the circle is now not 100% aligned with the opening in the frame at the back edge.

Thanks to DJEs warning I aimed to keep the openings square from the start. As the pic shows it is pretty much square now & with a bit more twisting & glue I am pretty sure it will look Ok at the end.

I have come to see this kind of work-around surgery as a good aspect of paper modeling, forces me to think & experiment more & is more art than assembly. It is a good thing to learn to think on-the-fly, even if these things catch us out sometimes. :P
Attached Thumbnails
GPM 353 T-34/76 mod. 1940-hull-rear.jpg   GPM 353 T-34/76 mod. 1940-hull-1.jpg  
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  #8  
Old 02-18-2017, 09:27 AM
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dje dje is offline
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hi, glad my advice help you, here few pictures of my current build, can by handy
Take special caution too with the wrapping of the front bumpers, mine are, well, no comment ...
If I remember well, on the transmission on the back I had to trim some parts to make them fit, it's full laminated with cardboard too.
I stopped at the engine grid ; I were going to scan/print to do some test first.

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On: Gpm neubaufahrzeug
Still not dead: Gpm mi 4,Gpm jagdpanther,
Done: Mod hobby typ 97,Wak b1bis,Gpm ob3,Modelik vbl, Gpm do335,Halinski p39,Modelik flak 36,Modelik t27
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  #9  
Old 02-19-2017, 03:55 AM
hirondelle hirondelle is offline
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Thanks for those pics DJE. Looks like your build was going well.
I have my hatch aligned but this has come at a cost of perfect alignment at the top-rear. This engine area will be covered so I can live with it.

The skin on the bottom had the same result on my attempt - not quite long enough to align/touch the top skin perfectly.
I have found a variance of 0.1 - <1.5mm at different places I wonder if the frames weren't quite square when they dried. It all looked ok but I'm still learning so I won't blame GPM 100%
I did sand some frame edges to improve the fit.
No 'zapas/rezerwa' :( I could really use some spare color panels.

I am going to try the mud-guards (bumpers) today. The parts design is unusual. I have the Answer T34 & that is made up in a different way. Different in real life as well perhaps.
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  #10  
Old 02-28-2017, 03:59 AM
hirondelle hirondelle is offline
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Like Jorzik I have found the fenders/bumpers/mud-guards slightly too short for placement of parts on the white spaces (in this case a hinge/bracket at the rear.). Not a huge problem.
Also like Jorzik & DJE the skin covering the hull is a bit short.

But I am not unimpressed by the overall appearance so far however. Dealing with the unexpected should hone skill.

Johnny's technique of 'pricking' has helped me with a few things on this build. I started to play with the turret/bashni & found removing the necessary panels was easier with his technique.
I am a little bemused by the frames vs skins & the lack of diagram for how the bashni frames assemble (it may be in the Polish text) but from the schema it is not obvious if the top frame S-10 goes inside or on top of the outer wall S-09. I cut out the colored skins to see if that helps & it suggests that it's within but it's a bit tricky to hold together to test fit.
It also looks like the top skin isn't 100% aligned with the holes in the laser cut frame, wondering about whether to make a new one myself.
So at this moment I have a pile of parts & nothing worth photographing. :D

It is interesting comparing this model T34 with the later ones. Clearly the T34 it has a number of changes taking place throughout the war. The obvious ones like bigger guns, can obscure the many little tweaks & trials that occurred elsewhere in the design.
This model is showing me a few things I didn't know about early T34s. One thing I liked was the bending in/under of the front corner of the fender. This simple act pushes back in any track pins trying to wiggle loose as they pass. Quality engineering with a hammer
Attached Thumbnails
GPM 353 T-34/76 mod. 1940-t-34-inst-turr.jpg   GPM 353 T-34/76 mod. 1940-s-9.jpg   GPM 353 T-34/76 mod. 1940-s-10.jpg  
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